Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-09
Trolley Lines and Railroads
 Badly Crippled
WATER WAS 12 FEET DEEP


 Taken Across in Drays-This Storm
 is Believed to Have Passed All Pre-
 vious Records.
 New York, Oct 9.--After twenty four hours of pouring rain New York city and the adjacent country suffered early today from severe floods. Six and 24-100 inches of rain had fallen in the twenty-four hours ending at a. m. to-day and 1t was still raining hard. This was believed to be near Il record rainfall Many trolley lines and railroads were either crippled or delayed and in New York city con- duit containing seventy telegraph wires was SC flooded as to disable all the wires.
 A heavy flood in the Bronx damaged the packing houses of SchwarZschild & Sulzberger, Swift & Go, and Nelson, Morris & Go, and portion of the freight yard of the New York Central railroad was covered by twelve feet of water. A watchman who had sought refuge on the top of a car was rescued.
 From all parts of the city were re- ceived reports of flooded cellars, food cd sewers and impossible gutters Many cellars along the North river front were flooded and in some in- stances there was a loss on goods stored there. It is impossible to esti- mate the amount of the damage until the cellars have been pumped out.
 West street in front of the down. town ferries to Jersey City and Ho- boken was flooded and passengers were carried across it in drays and grocers' wagons temporarily pressed Into service.
 Trolley traffic at St George, Staten Island, was completely tied up by a rush of water over the tracks between Stapleton and St George.
 The water was two feet deep in South street at the New York side of the Fulton street, Brooklyn ferry. Pas Benges arriving on the ferryboats wad- ed through the water up to their knees until the dealers in the Fulton market used large boxes to build q bridge across the street The bridge block ed the street for truck traffic, but section of the bridge had to be remov- ed every few minutes to admit the pas- sage of horse cars.
 Nassau street between Wall and Pine streets was closed on account of R washout in the middle of the street. Pedestrians waded through foot of water. The sidewalk at the corner of sub-treasury building was undermined.
 The water was two feet deep in West street in front of the ferry house of the Barclay street ferry to Ho- boken. For nearly an hour working girls and women waited in the ferry house marooned by the food until truckman backed his wagon to the ferry house and announced that he would take as many persons as could stand on the floor of the truck across the flood for five cents apiece. The truck was quickly loaded. It had hard ly started on it's way when several oth er hackmen did likewise. Every fer ryboat was met by half dozen truck men, and the passengers instead of bearing the usual cry of "Keb, keb, kerrige, kerrige,' were greeted with, 'stake yer across the street for a nickel'
 Many thousands of men and women were unable to reach their places of business to-day owing to washouts and landslides on the railroads and trolley. lines in New Jersey, Long Is- land and Westchester county. The Newark branch of the Erie railroad was said to be entirely tied up. Hun Creds of tons of dirt and stone had been washed into the cuts and stalled the trains The hundreds of people ln the stalled trains were forced to re- main where they were for many hours owing to the fact that the streams had oyerfowed their banks and food ed the roads, making them almost inn passable for vehicles. A heavy wind accompanied the storm early today and the telegraph wires of the Erie railroad were blown down. The poles had been partly undermined by the waShouts in places. Barns were blown down, barns and outhouses on the farms undermined and cattle Etrayed from one farm to another seek Sng shelter.
 Local Forecast Officer Emery said that he believed this was a record rain fall. The highest previous record he could discover was September 23, 1882, 61T.1O0 inches of rain fell in twenty four hours.
 The St Marks district in Brooklyn suffered severely. The water was two feet deep in Fulton street near Tomp- kins avenue and access to the eleyat- ed stations was extremely difficult. Several of the surface lines were stalled and in Nostrand and Putnam avenues the cellars of residences were hooded by water which poured over the sidewalk into the cellar windows.
 The Lone Hill, l.. l., life saving sta Hon reports a barge anchored half a mile off shore at Ditch Plain near Montauk Point, unable to proceed In the storm.
 Tarrytown, N. Y. Oct 9.-All north bound traffic on the New York Central railroad was stopped to-day by a washout at Hastings. six miles from here. The Empire State express is among the trains held up. The tracks at several other places are in danger Dus condition from the flood.