O&W; or, The Long Life and Slow Decline of the NY, ON and Western Railway

226 Pages·66.564 MB·English

by  Helmer, William F.

The long life and slow death of the
New York, Ontario & Western Ry.
By WILLIAM F. HELMED

Otto Kuhler
MIDNIGHT AT MIDDLETOWN
[The Long Life and Slow Death of the
New York, Ontario & Western Railway
by
WILLIAM F. HELMER
Howell-North
Berkeley, California • 1959
O&W—-THE LONG LIFE AND SLOW DEATH OF THE
NEW YORK, ONTARIO & WESTERN RAILWAY
©Copyright 1959, by Howell-North Press, all rights reserved. No part
of this book may be reproduced in any manner without permission in
writing, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.
Printed and bound in the United States of America
by the Publisher.
Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 59-15621.
Published by the Howell-North Press
1050 Parker Street, Berkeley 10, California
FOR JOAN AND THE BOYS
P R E F A C E
The writing of this book has
been both a sad and pleasant
task; sad because it records the end of an era, pleasant because
it has acquainted me with the loyalty and affection of a host of
O&W friends and employees. Although the troublesome and
cantankerous little railroad has passed from the scene, its days
of glory live on in the minds and hearts of thousands. A large
segment of this faithful group supplied me with the raw mate­
rials and the encouragement out of which this history has come.
The story told here makes no attempt at completeness —
such an attempt would take a lifetime of labor and result in a
multi-volume work. Neither does this book presume to be a
corporation history — such an approach would miss the pulsing
life of the gallant line and reduce the story to a mass of mean­
ingless statistics. What is presented here is a selection of the
events, the individuals and the anecdotes which gave the
Ontario and Western its special appeal, its individuality, its
uniqueness among the family of American railroads. If I
have re-created the atmosphere that distinguished the Old and
Weary, then my goal has been achieved.
The satisfactory completion of this history depended to a
great extent upon the cooperation of the individuals listed at
the end of the book. To these persons and to hundreds unnamed
I owe a debt of thanks. In addition to these, I must acknowl­
edge the assistance of the Research Foundation of State Uni­
versity of New York for a grant enabling me to obtain secretarial
assistance and to defray travel expenses. The secretarial assist-
page vii
ance was most ably supplied by Mrs. Charles Townsend; the
transportation was furnished rather grudgingly by a vintage
Dodge. I wish to express my further appreciation to Mr. Royson
Whipple, Director of the Institute, for assigning me extra office
space and for extending numerous other courtesies. Two of my
colleagues have been most generous with their help: Professor
Frank Leaden drew the maps and Mr. Arthur Hicks provided
valuable photographic aid. Last of all, I am grateful for the
infinite patience of my wife.
State University of New York William F. Helmer
Institute at Morrisville
page viii
C O N T E N T S
Page
Preface .......................................... vii
Chapter O n e ............................ 1
Chapter T w o ............................ 31
Chapter Three . . . 47
Chapter F o u r............................ 65
Chapter F iv e ............................ 85
Chapter S i x ............................ 115
Chapter Seven............................ 139
Appendix (Roster of Equipment) 169
Bibliography............................ 207
Acknowledgments . 209
page ix
I L L U S T R A T I O N S
Page
Midnight at Middletown...................................................................................frontispiece
First NY&OM m a p ............................................................................................................xiv
Dewitt C. Littlejohn.................................................................................................... 5
NY&OM Articles of Association............................................................................. 6
Lyon Brook brid ge.............................................................................................................11
No. 1, the O sw ego.............................................................................................................11
H. H. Purdy............................................................................................................................14
Thomas L. Foulkes.............................................................................................................14
B. of L.E. c a rd .....................................................................................................................14
NY&OM tim etable.............................................................................................................19
NY&OM b o n d .....................................................................................................................23
“Rainbow Trestle” .............................................................................................................26
Two passenger tick ets.....................................................................................................26
Auburn Branch m ap .............................................................................................................30
Abram S. H ew itt.............................................................................................................32
No. 2, the M adison.............................................................................................................40
No. 3, the Chenango.............................................................................................................40
Cal Sanford............................................................................................................................41
No. 76 and crew .....................................................................................................................41
Inspection engine No. 3 .....................................................................................................43
Blind crossing at Trout B ro o k ......................................................................................43
Tombstone of John E. M inshull......................................................................................44
O&W joint tim etable.....................................................................................................46
Winter at Walker’s C u t.....................................................................................................49
Engine No. 4 1 .....................................................................................................................49
Sylvan Beach Sp ecial.....................................................................................................53
Haverstraw station 53
Early Mother H ubbard......................................................................................................54
Disaster at Fish’s E d d y ....................................... 58
Tracks into Edm eston.....................................................................................................61
Northfield Tunnel baptism ..............................................................................................61
Official car W arwick.............................................................................................................63
Engine No. I l l .....................................................................................................................63
Scranton tim etable.............................................................................................................66
Steel bodied § 2 6 .....................................................................................................................68
Inspection engine § 2 8 .....................................................................................................68
Carbondale station.............................................................................................................69
Wooden coach # 6 5 .............................................................................................................69
Middletown station and lunchroom..............................................................................70
Inspection engine § 2 6 ......................................................................................................70
Raft-O&W photo spoof ......................................................................................................71
Wreck at Fish’s E d d y .....................................................................................................71
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