Evening journal., 1909-12-28
SCENES OF BEAUTY
in THE COUNTRY
Arctic Grandeur Marks Land
Along Local Railroad
Lines
ACTUAL STORM
DAMAGE NOT GREAT

hundreds OF miles in every direction. All /
of them had suffered long and tedious de-
lays. Many OF them had missed meals, had
failed to keep important engagements and
had been prisoners long and unexpected
hours ia passenger and Pullman cars.
:, Despite disagreeahle features OF every
kind. however. there was a fairly unani-
nous verdict that the panorama present
ed from car windows had been worth the
delay and Inconvenience
Tho area Of greatest snowfall stretched
from Philadelphia TO tho susquehanna
river. In each case the river valleys were
chosen by tho storm as highways TO the
sea. The schuylknl and Delaware jointly
made a very vortex of the storm. while
the great basin OF tho susauehanna was
tho soeno OF equally tcmpestuous condi-
tions.
Transportation difficulties and scenic
marvels reached their climax In the terri
tory between this city and Aberdeen. Md.
repeating the history OF the great sloet
storm OF March last From Aberdeen
northward there stretched a landscape OF
elmost unhroken white Country roads
could not be distinguished from open
fields. Here and there long lines OF Slack
dots across the snow revealed an other
wise submerged post and rail fence. but
more often fences shrubbery and even
low outbuildinss clustered around barns
were utterly hid from view. Houses look
ed deserted. The whole countryside show
ed no sign OF life. except ror restless
nochs OF crows or iuncos IN swallow-like
flights. scanning tho wastes below them
IN vain search for food.
Drifts Ten Feet Deep.
While tho snowfall varied from seven 10
ten inches there were hundreds OF places
where drifts we're ten feet deep This was
apparent when trains passed through
"cuts" Ordinarily the snow had poured
over tho tops OF these like vast biiows.
Countless tons fell upon the tracks. form
ing barriers which dcned the most power
ful engines. More serious even than this it
buried signal apparatus, froze upon the
rods and wires apd made train operation
as difficult as though there had been no
such intricate system upon which depends
tens OF thousands OF lives each day
Al Edge Moor north OF this city one OF
these barriers reached depth OF 70 feet.
Tremendous efforts manifestly had been
made to open the track There was mute
~ eloquent evidence both OF the effort and
its failure as late as noon yesterday. Two
freight engines stood on the southbound
! freight track literally submerged IN snow.
In front of the foremost engine there was
; reared a mountain OF ice and snow reach
ing 10 tho top OF the locomotive smoke.
stack and revealing only tho roof OF IN,
engineers cab. on every siding stood lire.
' Of freight cars awaiting tho pick ant
shovel brigade to release them. 'snov
blanketed the roofs OF box cars TO a dept
Of two or three feet and hung over th'
< edges I'm fantastic shapes.
Not even oil tanks. coal choppers" o
cattle cars were unsightly. and tho whole
effect was revelation OF what fresh coat
or white paint might do toward enectni
ploturesqueness in railroading.
. Station Like Arctic igloo.
Near Newark Is a little station call
D ed "ShOrt Lane" unknown to fame
a To this little frame track-side struc-
i- ture. the only visible habitation as the
~ train crept past. falls the distinction
OF preventing the most Arctic-liSe mp.
pearance Of any place within the south
h ward storm belt.
,- The small station nestlcs under ar
10 cmbankment Is feet high The wine
had swept several hundred TONS o
VI snow over the cmbankment ont 20 tho
1t structure. Early yesterday morning
the agent had carved his little housl
Ir out Of the heart OF the avalanche H'
Is had cut away the snow I'm perpendicu
N lar wallis about two feet from the sidel
N and back Of the house. These white
,t wallis lowered from four 20 six fee
Is above the roof Of the station, and thu
~ framed in ice and snow, the scen'
10 might well have been photographed by
< Doctor Cook as the last igloo before hi
reached the Pole"
v Snow shovelers along the railroad
tracks robbed the scene OF absolute
10 desolation. These had cut pathway
n at the various stations. At Aberdeen
n and Havre de Grace. south OF tn
k Susquehanna, and at Perryville, Princi
I'd bio. EllSton and Newark, north Of tn
n river. these pathways were hardly NOR
n than two feet wide and were fiankel
m by snowbanks three. four and five fee
a deep. so that. from the car windows
tho army Of shovelers and station EN-
N ployes. moving about their work, seem
n ed to be wading waist deep In drifts
N Except where great drifts crossed tn
"a tracks little shoveling was done alon
" the right Of way. Work was concen
ID trated on clearing the signal apparatus
but despite the efforts Of several thous
he and worixmen. recruited from ever
"a city on the line. there are scoreso o
H. signal towers still awaiting relief eN
petitions
on No Evidence Of Destruction.
ay Despite engulfed freight engines an
n cars and the aspect of the long line
he OF tracks. apparently carved throug
in glaciers there was no suggestion {
havoc and destruction in the scene. /
this respect conditions were entirel
different from the great storm OF Lar
March. Then the lines southwaf
were paralleled by tangled masses
he wires and broken and PROSTATE pole
To- Wherever a woods was passed n
he trees could be seen broken or howe
N I'm graceful lsemicircles to the cart
es These were the only desolate spot
mt The unique beauty Of the whole lan6
he scape was the feature which elaine
unbroxen attention. Every unsigh
er " thing except an occasional advel
no tising sign was gone. Barnyard
ne freight yards outskirts OF towns an