Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-02-16
AUGUSTA IN BLiZzAR D
Continued from Page One)

open until nightfall it was losing
fight. The cars on the Waterville-
Lewiston line made their early morn
ing trips but the piling drifts block
ed their progress and during the fore
noon they capitulated, one car being
stalled in the Weeks field, about six
miles above Augusta. Then the To-
gus line went out of commission, and
later in the day the winthrop line,
another car being stalled near the East
winthrop sub station. Both of these
cars remained where they stalled un
! til Sunday afternoon. The Augusta
Gardiner cars were kept moving un-
til the arrival of a car from Gardiner
at 6 p M, when the struggle was CIV
en- up although the plows were kept
busy during the night.
Sunday Morning Service.
Sunday morning service was resum-
ed as fast as possible. The Augusta
Gardiner Togus line was in operation
during the day, and the winthrop line
was opened up during the afternoon.
The line to Waterville was also open
ed. the first car going up river at P.
a harder piece of work was to be done
The line from Gardiner to Babcocks
in West Gardiner was opened, but the
line from Lewiston to that point was
still unbroken Sunday night and
through service will not be resumed
until sometime today.
The Maine Central also was forced to
bow to the storm for while service was
maintained the trains were far off tn
schedule. Those from the east were not
bothered much because of the fact that
the storm was much more severe in
southern New England than in Maine,
and the most of them were but little off
time, but those from the west felt the
storms full strength and had hard work
TO get through.
Train IL, the afternoon express from
Boston going east from Augusta at 2S4
had the hardest time and was seven hours
late. not arriving in Augusta until 1890.
This train got as far as old Rigby park,
just out of Portland, when it became
stalled and a crew had to be sent from
Portland to dig it out. Train 49, which
goes east from Augusta at 3.16 p. M, ar
rived at 6.15 with but two coaches, and
Train %, due to leave Augusta for the
east at Z p. NJ, was also lost in the shuf-
fie and struggled into the station here at
1890 A. NJ. Sunday, five and one-half
hours late. OF the two east-bound Pull
mans, Train II, leaving Augusta at Ill
a. NJ. got along in season to leave at
40 while Train 127. leaving at 800 A. NJ,
pulled out on its train to Bangor at 446.
The westbound night trains We're some
,bat nff It,f ~
eastbound. Train liz. due to leave Au-
gusta at SOB \. NJ, was an hour and q
half late, and Train 2. leaving at 1910,
was delayed until 11.17, while Train s,
the Sunrise Express got away on its
journey for Boston at 6.16 Sunday morn
ing Plows were sent ahead of about
every train, and in this way the road was
kept open where otherwise there would
have been all kinds of trouble.
Probably among the people who are
best qualified to Judge as to the Sc
1erity of the storm are the carriers on
the several rural mail routes running
from the Augusta postoftice. All thS
men made their rounds portion of
the way in the teeth of the storm and
while they agreed that it was the
toughest day since they had been on
the road not one of them turned back
The last one reported at The office at
about $50 in the afternoon.
Telephone Operations Busy.
The storm did not seriously affect the
wire service of either the telephone or
telegraph companies owing to the snow
being fine and light. but while other
branches of business were at a standstill
the operators I'm the telephone exchange
had one of the busiest days in years, in
fact the busiest day In the history Of the
Augusta -Hallowell exchange. From 10
O'Clock In the forenoon until well into the
evening the calls came thick and fast.
AS the signal the operators see when n
call is made is tiny electric light about
the size of the end OF a pencil, immedi-
ately in front of them on the switchboard.
the board itself seemed the twinklins OF
stars on a clear night as the lights fash
ed on and off. Fortunately the better
methods of construction over former
years by which all wires within the city
are in underground or aerial cables the
service was not in the slightest interrupt
ed and many a disagreeable trip through
the whirling snow was saved.
An extra force of operators worked well
into the evening and there was not an
idle moment There was hardly time for
relief, they taking turns in going to a
nearby restaurant during the dinner and
supper periods where meals were furnish
ed by the company Although few people
realized it, the number of local calls Sat
urday was from 100 to 200 per cent. great
er than corresponding hours of an aver
age day.
The telegraph wires, although some
what affected by the extreme cold of
Thursday and Friday owing to contrac-
tion and breaking Of wires. were not
noticeably affected. During the past week
the linemen hunting broken wires have
had hard experiences, the top of pole
not being an ideal pleasure spot in win
ters gale and severe low temperature
such as all parts of Maine have expert
enced in the past few days.
Cleaning Up.
The storm was all over by o'clock
Saturday evening but the work of
cleaning IN after it although Ii was