The Ocala evening star., 1915-02-09
0SCEOLA AVENUE
WILL SOON BE OPEN
cast Line is Moving Its Antediluvian
Chicken Coop


If you take a good look up Osceola
avenue you viii probably miss some
thing you have seen every time you
gaz-d that way for the last thirty
+ years-if you have been here that
/ lon-, and that is the freight ware
house of the Atlantic Coast Line.
Ten years ago, the Coast Line sol
emnly promised TO remove the old
building if it was allowed to close
Fourth street The city allowed it to
close the street, and the railroad de-
liberately broke its word Absolute
proof of this is on the city records.
+ Moreover, a previous superintendent
of the Coast Line is reported to have
said that the old depot would stay till
/ the city gave the railroad just what
/ it wanted.
/ However, there is law in Florida,
and the law is bigger than any rail-
road whenever the people have the
backbone to invoke it. Let it be re-
membered to the credit of last years
council-it had the nerve to apply the
law to the railroad. The railroad is
moving the depot out of the street.
Now, let the present council order the
railroad to open the streets it has un-
/ lawfully closed, and the railroad will
build a new depot either on its prop
erty south or its property north of
town. 1t has laid it's tracks without
authority, and the city has authority
to make it take them up. A private
citizen who had South Fourth street
blocked had 20 open it-a railroad
hasn't any more rights and shouldn't
have any more privileges than a pri-
vatc citizen.
A Star reporter visited the old de-
pot and the yards Monday afternoon.
1t might be supposed from the sassy"
way the Star talks about the railroad
+ that Star man wouldn't dare show
his face in Coast Line yard or sta
ton. However, the Coast Line has
mighty fine set of men here, and the
Star is proud to say they are among
it's friends, and it doesn't think any
the less of them because they are
loyal to their road.
A force of men under Mr.. NJ. E. Nc
Cullough are moving the old depot in
southeasterly direction out of the
street. 1t looks like an immense job,
but the very competent men in charge
are carrying it out without any dis
turbance of traffic. They took off the
/ platforms, put rollers under the build
ing and began to make it move. They
have not stopped the handling of
freight, and hardly Jared the build
ing. Mr.. Mccullough and his assist
ants are onto their job. When they
have pulled the building out of the
street, they will put back the plat
forms and business win go on as
usual. In fact, it hasn't stopped.
The Coast Line has good force,
and its sin that such a fine bunch of
date rattletrap shebang. Mr.. John F.
Thompson, who belongs to nearly all
the lodges in town, is agent; w. u.
Norwood, chief clerk; J. S. Fulcher,
billing clerk and operator; C. C.
Fraser, receiving clerk It's a trade
mark of merit to hold job with big
railroad. 1t has no use for incompe-
tent men.
The old depot was built when the
Florida Southern came to the city
thirty years ago. Unsightly tho it be,
it has done lot of business in it's
day, and enough goods to feed the
kaiser's army has passed thru it.
The Coast Line yard is always a
lively switching is constantly
going on, and engines and cars being
cleaned or repaired. Mr.. Burkhardt,
the efficient yardmaster, and his crew,
are always busy. Since Mr.. Fl. E..
Moree, machinist foreman, has been
transferred from Dunnellon to Ocala,
the work of his department is also
done here, and there is quite a lot of
: it. He has just finished repairing
Engine 81 and sent it out on the line
No. 81 was one of the crack flyers of
the Florida Southern, and can
yet do mighty good work with light
train. 1t now pulls Sunnyjim.
Mr.. Moree has an office in common
with Mr.. S. A. Fraser, the veteran car
inspector, who sees to it that bum
wheel don't send a piece thru the
floor of the car between here and
Gainesville or Trilby, and take you