The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-01-14
OLD LOCOMOTIVE HISTORY
Charles j. McMaster Writes Inter
estingly for Railroad Mems Magazine


Charles j. McMaster Writes Inter.
estingly for Railroad Mems Magazine
The following, which we clip from
the Railroad Mems Magazine, will
prove very interesting to many Ban
ner readers Charles J. McMaster,
father of George McMaster, both for
merly of Bennington, is now located
at Malone, N. Y, where he is the
master mechanic of the Ogdensburg
division of the Rutland railroad. He
was one of the best known engineers
In the '70's and early SOS on the old
Lebanon Springs railroad, and later
on the old Bennington and Rutland
road The letter in question is as
follows:
I'VE acknowledge with much pleas
ure a letter from Mr.. c. ]. McMaster,
Malone, New York, which brings to
our notice some intimate information
regarding the locomotive that made
the remarkable run with the Jarrett
e Palmer Special, in 1876, from Og-
den, Utah, to Oakland California, as
described in our March number. The
distance between the two cities is
! SIC miles, and the engine that made
I the run was the Black Fox.
1--WE are always glad to receive
such letters as Mr.. McMaster's, and
we take pleasure in publishing 1t in
full:
Editor, The Railroad Mans Maya
Editor, The Railroad Mems Maya
In your issue of March, 1910, in
the article about the Jarrett & Pal
mer special, | note you give the
names of several railroad officials
connected with this train, but do not
give the names Of the engineers and
firemen, or other railroadmen that
did the work and brought about such
satisfactory results. l am not kick
ing, but 1t would be a pleasure to
many Of your readers to have such
information.
Il was in the employ of the Long
Island Railroad as a locomotive en-
glneer in June, 1869, and Oliver
Charlick was the president. He oc
casionally took a ride with me on the
engine, and, as he was quite well ac
Iquainted with me, he would often
converse with me at Hunters Point
Station while we were waiting fol
the boats to come from New York fol
our connection.
AT this time, was running the
engine A. j. Vanderpool on the
Greenport express. This was fine
Schenectady or Mcqueen locomotive
and Mr.. Charlick semed to take great
Ipride in her.
"Mr. Charlck told me that Mr.
Huntington had an order with the
Schenectady Locomotive Works fol
fifty locomotives and he was trying
to get two out of this particular or
der, as they could not build those he
had ordered early enough for his re
quirements. He had been made pres
ident of the Lebanon Springs ant
Bennington and Rutland Railroad
which was an extension Of the New
York and Harlem Railroad from
Chatham, New York to Rutland, Yer
mont
incidentally, he asked If | was
much acquainted with that locality
informed him that | had been EN-
ployed on the New York and Harlem
Railroad for several years, as fireman
and engineer, and that | was at home
at Chatham.
HE then instructed c. A. Thomp
son, NJ. NJ. of the Long Island Rail
road, to send three old locomotives
to the Lebanon Springs road. Mr.
Thompson sent the Pacific (Which
was later named the Manchester
the James Sedgley (Which was late
named the Lebanonl, and the George
f. Carman.
Il was sent with the Carman, Sc
her up. and turned her over to th'
l.. s., and b. and X. X. X. He theI
got two locomotives out of Mr.. Hunt
ington (orders No. $50 and l5l)
named Mountain Boy and Mountain
Girl. Now, the engine that made thu
run from Ogden TO San Francisco
pulling the Jarrett & Palmer Special
SIG miles without change, was No
l49, named Black Fox, and was
sister engine to the Mountain DO,
and Mountain Girl.
Il took the Mountain Girl the lot
day OF August and ran her most o
, the time up to FEBRUARY 70, 1906
when | was made NJ. NJ. OF the b. an
r. road, and kept these two engine
in good repair up to the summer Q
1906 when the Mountain Girl was dc
molished in an automobile wreck
running backward on the Bennint
ton Branch.
"The boiler of this engine is nov
in service in an excelsior mill at Ru
land, Vermont The Mountain 30
Is still in service on the Rutlan
Railroad under the number 1860"
The automobile accident, to whic
Mr.. McMaster alludes, occurred a
Pixies crossing a mile and a half O
more north of this village on the a
ternoon of August IA, 1905. Harrl
NJ. Lindsey, third deputy police con
missioner of New York city and hi
finance, Miss Evelyn p. Willing
Chicago, were killed.
I Ienkinef Ear