The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-16

owned by the Atlantic Coast Line, the Mobile and Ohio by the Southern Rail- way, the Georgia and Alabama by the Seaboard Air Line and the Louisville and Nashville by the Atlantic Coast Line, the the Western alone remaining just as it has been since the sos.
 Tn and out of the Union Railway Sta tion every day there are fifty-four pas senger trains, of which thirty -rour are local. bringing the trade of 8 vast section of country to the merchants of Montgomery, and twenty great through trains connecting Montgomery every few hours with every section of the0s United States-North, South, East and West.
 Of the pioneers connected with rail- back in the 40's, none is here now. A small band of the men connected with railroads in and about Montgomery during the eos are here now, Major Durham, Cad Beale, James Parker, Captain Cal Keeler, Captain Howard, Captain Bell and Tobe Barksdale are living. Captain Keeler is the oldest conductor on the Louisville and Nash vile, running from here to Tensas, when the Alabama and Florida was first built, and Mir Beale was one of the first engineers when that road first got through to Tensas. Captains How ard and Bell are the oldest conductors on the Western, being with that road during the war, while Mir. Barksdale has been running between here and Selma since Colonel Jones first built that road. Major Durham and MT Parker have retired from active rail road life, MT. Beale is in private busi- ness though still a moving spirit in the local Order of Railway Conductors, while Captain keeler is still a passen- ger train conductor between Montgom- sl T1I.t ,Hofv T9al1 a,.l Howard passenger conductors between here and Atlanta, Mir. Barksdale taking his regular run a sa passenger en- gineer between here and Selma.
 By this time the railroads had thrown into the laps of the Montgomery mer- chants the trade of the entire section of Middle Alabama. MT. Plant had built a branch of twenty-seven miles from Abbeville Junction, ten miles be- low Newton, in Dale County. to the town of Abbeville. the county seat of Henry County. From Newton he had built branch thirty-eight miles to Elba, the county seat of Coffee County, thus putting the counties of Henry, Dale. Coffee. Pike and the western por- into Montgomery,
 The Luverne extension. or Dr. Le- Brands old Montgomery Southern. had brought into Montgomery most of the middle section of Montgomery County and the northern part of crenshaw County
 From Georgiana the Louisville and Nashville had built a branch through an undeveloped section of Covington and Geneva counties to the town of Geneva, seventy seven miles from Geor- giana From Opp on the line of this branch another branch was built to the little town of Florala in Conecuh County and on the line dividing the State of Alabama and Florida, the dl- viding line running through the heart of the town. This branch from Geor- giana to Geneva and Opp to FIorala was called the Alabama and Florida Railroad" in honor of the railroad built by Colonel Jones way back in the sos.
 The trade of all this vast section of country had by the grace of Milton H. Smith of the Louisville and Nash vile been turned and poured into the now throbbing mercantile veins of the city of Montgomery
 Col Edward Russell with his Mobile and Ohio. had turned the trade of the entire country between here and Tus- ealoosa into Montgomery.
 Colonel Hawkns's old Sam" had turned the trade of the county of Rus sell intb Montgomery. Col. Louis Ow- ens's original Montgomery and Eufau- la" was bringing all of the counties of