Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1910-12-30
B. s. o. Company Accords Recogni.
tion To Old Pensioners.

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The veterans of the b. & o. Railroad
who are on the roll of honor, as the pen.
sion list is well termed, have New Year.
greeting with the dawn of 1911 that will
greatly please them. not alone for the
privilege extended but for the recognition
il accords.
OF the earliest Of Mr., A. W. Thompson's
instructions when assuming direction OF
operation Of the Baltimore and Ohio System
asGeneral Manager was that annual passes
should be issued to the men on the PEN
sion roll that they might come and 60 as
they pleased over the Grand Division on
which they had long served so faithfully
and well.
Thus those living on the Main Line Sys-
tenn have open to them, wherever they so
will, any portion of the road from Phila-
delphia to Parkersburg, including the Phila-
delphia, Baltimore, Shenandoah, Cumber-
land and Monongah Divisions Those on
the Wheeling System. anywhere between
Wheeling, Grafton, Cleveland. Columbus,
Sandusky and Kenova, including the Wheel
ing, Ohio River, Newark and Cleveland
Divisions. Those on the Pittsbure System,
anywhere between Cumberland, Pittsburg,
Akron and Chicago Junction, including
Connellsville, Pittsburg and New Castle
Divisions. Those on the Northwest Grand
Division, anywhere from Chicago to Chi
cago Junction, including the Chicago Di-
vision and those on the Southwestern
Grand Division, anywhere from Cincinnati
to Louisville and st. Louis west and Column
bus and Parkersbure east, taking in the
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois Divisions.
Numerous of the veterans will hardly
avail themselves of the opportunity afforded
to much extent, nevertheless to none of
them will the recognition in the form of
the companys recorded appreciation of
what they have been to it in the past come
with keener qualification than the old fell
lows in their eighties, and there are no
less than thirty-s of these with four Others
in the nineties. Seventy-seven others are
from rs to 70. The oldest is 80, next
oldest 81. Two are 80. two 80, one 50,
one 81, three SO. two IS, four 81, three
80, six so, five 81 and nine 80
These mems lives cover the whole period
Of the evolution and development of the
railway Of the American continent, il be-
ginning with the opening of the Baltimore
and Ohio from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills,
in the spring of 1880. The oldest of them
was ten years of age when the first meet.
ing was held In Baltimore-l827-to con-
slider the building of a railroad Twenty
of them antedate in their births the time
of the laying of the cornerstone of the
Baltimore and Ohio on July 4. 1928; ten
or more of them being old enough on that
memorable occasion to remember IT,
There are in all, or were on December
!, 6S4 pensioners on the roll and it doubt
less will appear somewhat surprising
demonstration of the longevity Of railroad
life that of these III, or seventeen per
cent, are upward of rs years of age, and
40, or six per cent, 80 years and upward.
Another interesting as well as suggestive
feature is the service record of these roll
of honor men. Four hundred and twenty
six of them. or so per cent. of the entire
number. we're in active service forty years
or more. So serving from forty to forty
four years were 1873. from fOrty-fve to
forty-nine years 1919. fifty years II, fifty
one years 10. fifty-two years 10. fifty-three
8. ffty-four years 8. fifty-fve and fifty
seven years each, flfty-eieht years 2, one
sixty years and one sixty-two years
The Baltimore and Ohio was the first
railroad company, as il was the first corpora
ton on the American continent to estab-
lish a pension system, it antedating the
next railroad company to follow the exam
pie by sixteen years. Since the inception
the company has made available for pen
sion payments to its employees something
over a million and half dollars