Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-12-14
Broken Telegraph Poles and
Wires, and Stalled Rail
road Trains Left in Its
Wake
CABLE COMMUNICATION
is BADLY HAMPERED
I5-Inch Fall at Poughkeepsie,
N. y; Jersey, Penna., a,
Delnware and New Eng
land in Winters Grasp

Sew York, Dec. 14.-Snow. sleet
and at times cold. drizzling rain
swirled over practically ali of New
England and the States of New York,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Della
ware most of last night in which is
possibly the most general storm that
has gripped the east since that of De-
cember +, 1904.
Having blown itself out to sea to-
day the storm will likely be followed
10y sharp drop OF temperature
throughout the States affected and
will next he heard of sweeping east
ward along the routes of the Trans
Atlantic steamers. Snow was still fall
ing during the forenoon in parts of
New England and in upper New
York State.
Wire trouble. stalled trains. tenn
porary milk shortage in New York
and street accidents familiar to New
York at storm time, all came as the
aftermath of last nights blow. The
New York, New Haven and Hartford
Railroad by reason of breaks in its
iced wires in the so-called electric
a noon its schedules had not emerged
from Generalization. The New York
Central was less affected, though the
trails from the west We're many
hours late. The Erie and Lacka-
wanna were less seriously handicap
ped.
Snow Fifteen Inches Deep
The heaviest fall of snow in this
Vicinity was at Poughkeepsie. \. Y,
where il was fifteen inches deep. Some
of the New York Central's through
express trains from and to the west
forced their way through the drifts
and arrived here to-day hours behind
their schedules. The whereabouts of
other through trains were unknown to
the railroad officials and none would
say when they might arrive.
The blockade of the electric zone
Of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford railroad between New York
and Stamford. Conn. was described by
officials of that road as the worst in
Years. Electric feed wires broke down
and held up every train in the zone.
Hundreds of passengers spent hours
last night in the stalled trains or ma
rooned in the stations until steam loco
motives were sent out to pull the
trains TO their destinations. The cleo
iric service was still suspended when
the morning rush of commuters to the
city began and the steam locomotive
service was in effect.
Trains Eight Hours Late
New Haven officials said that the
through trains between Boston and
New York began to move from six to
eight hours behind their schedule early
this morning and that the situation
was lIlell clearing. IneN expected that
II would become normal before noon,
by which time they hoped the electric
service would be resumed. The snow
was not deep enough to interfere with
the movement of steam trains in the
immediate vicinity of New York. but
in Connecticut many trains were held
up by drifts.
Telegraphic communication between
New York and points west and north
was cut by the breakdown of wires
and poles under the weight of clinging
snow. The telegraph companies stated
that their service had been affected as
far south as Virginia and that in New
Jersey the main trunk lines leading
from New York to the west suffered
severely.
Wires Down
At one time the Western Union TeIe-
graph Company was virtually without
wire leading from New York to cities
mp the Hudson river and all the signal
wires of the New York Central Rail-
road used in operating its trains were
down.
Gable communication across the At
lantic was badly hampered Iy the fail
ure of the cable companies land wires
between New York and Nova Scotia.
The snowfall in New York city is
estimated at six inches, but a consid-
cradle part of it melted almost as fast
as it fell. During the height of the
storm the wind here attained a We
iocity of siXty-foUr miles an hour. the
highest reported by any of the eastern
weather bureau stations. Because of
its uneXpectedness the storm caused
some damage TO shipping in the har-
bors and along the coast