The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-03-14
Weakened Temporary Tres
tie Over Central Vermont
Railroad To-day
CENTRAL TRAINS RUN
IN OVER M. & w. r. IRON
Some Other Inconvenience
from First of Spring
Freshets

FreShetS
A spring freshet, resulting from heavy
rainfall and melting snow, did some dam
age and impeded railroad traffic thi.
morning Stevens branch was running
bankfull and losing some of its current
now and then to the detrment of sur
rounding property. However there is
little snow in the hill districts and the
usual amount OF damage from flood is
not expected this year.
Traffic over the Barre branch of the
Central Vermont railroad was hindered
owing to the reported unsafe condi-
tion of the bridge at the Dodge cross
| ing. The danger was first detected after
the regular branch train, leaving this
city at O'Clock, bad gone over.
Then railroad headquarters was no
titled and arrangements were made with
! the Montpelier & Wells River line to
run the Central Vermont branch trains
over its track between Barre and Mont
peler until the Gentrafs bridge could
be repaired. Workmen are now engaged
in making the bridge safe. The bridge
was considered only temporary affair
1t replaced a wooden bridge which was
burned last summer. 1t rests on timber
piles.
Last fall a construction gang built
concrete cement abutments at each end
of the trestle and were awaiting the
opening of spring TO erect steel struc-
ture to span the river. The wooden
piles which support the temporary tres
tie were loosened last night and today
by the high water. According to local
railroad officials, traffic should be re-
sumed tomorrow.
At Williamstown, it is reported, the
station agent has constructed q raft,
which he is obliged to use to get from
his home to the station.
Men Driven from Work by Water.
High water held up operations in
many granite manufacturing plants,
and flooded cellars in several stores along
North Main street Due to an ice jam,
which formed near the junction of the
Jail and Stevens branches at the south
end, the two streams first became swollen
around 10 o'clock and not until an hour
later did the waters begin TO recede.
Not since Easter Sunday, 1912, when a
disastrous flood did damage to thousands
of dollars worth of property in Barre and
Montpelier, mas Jail branch risen to such
alarming proportions. The loss to-day
in dollars and cents is trivial, although
the stone industry was all but paralyzed
in certain sections and hundreds OF men
were compelled to leave the sheds in a !
hurry when the water first began to
rise
Soon after 10 o'clock, manufacturers
at the south end were obliged to close /
down and employees abandoned work, |
and later the floor levels in several sheds /
were three and four feet under water |
At the Z. G. Glysson plant, the water
rushed through the polishing mill, the
engine house and eventually flooded the
stoneshed. Likewise at the Straiton shed
Just south of the south end bridge, the
made quick exit from their
working quarters and looked around to
see the fiat of the large shed submerged
70 a considerable depth.
The waters backed up at the Trow
( Holden dam and threatened for a time
% flood large area in that vicinity.
Employees of the Trow & Holden Co.
vent to the dam and after much hard
work succeeded in blasting away a small
ce jam, thus relieving the situation
arther up the stream. Almost from the
moment the way VAS cleared at the
ROW & Holden factory. the water began
0 recede, although the discharge of the
last was the signal for an immense !
olume of water and ice to sweep down
rard
Many men were at work in the I
rown-Carroll shed Off Depot square,
rhen the floor of the plant was trans
ormed into small pond. They made )
hasty departure, as did the employees {
other sheds down the stream. Earlier !
D the forenoon, the blacksmith shop 9
I Young Bros. was closed for the day.
wing to high water, and the last rush 5
water was instrumental in eompell- 5
~ several large plants below to close u
ones Bros shed shut down soon after
o'clock because high water and ice had I
lterfered with the machinery operated
V the company's dam. The Harrison
ranite Co. let its men go home as soon a
5 the water began to reach the shed. p
Down the stream iloated a winters y
-op of ice, and in many places bridges $
r buildings situated near the banks of Y
he branch were threatened. Ice collid- q
g with a pole west of the plant of Il
he Peoples Lighting. Heating 4 Power Il
o. caused a short circuit OF wires, re-
,onsible for a sharp blast from the fire
histle emitted few minutes before II
clock. None of the gas compauy's
'operty was damaged TO any extent
' the water. although there were times Z"
hen the flood threatened 20 advance on a.
e brick building which houses the
manufacturing plant.
By II O'Clock. the branch had reached >.
5 greatest height. aud a few moments -
ter the water began to 90 down rapid
An hour later all danger was past. "a
ID the stream began rapidly to assume =
, normal hank marks Some apprehen- "
On was felt by employees Of the Con- n
lidated Lighting Co. but Manager {.
Millar stated AT noon that neither its
action lines. lighting system nor power
Ies had been affected by the swift rise "
the water. srl
Owing to heavy demands on the c. v. au
light crew. the regular forenoon trans so
Williamstown were not run and in 81
- r,asseusTrre were carrfaf hY team 70 nf