Auburn Evening Auburnian
April 1, 1879
A Trip to Sayre on the Southern Central
Railroad Locomotive “Owasco”
Incidents of the Journey
Few even of those who are accustomed to ride behind a locomotive have a full conception of the duties of the engineer and fireman in whose hands are placed the safety of passengers and freight. An Auburnian reporter boarded an engine on the Southern Central railroad the other day to obtain a knowledge of life on the rail.
Shortly after ten o’clock in the forenoon the locomotive, the Owasco No. 65, with ninety-four empty coal cars stand out of Auburn for Sayre, eighty-one miles distant. The Owasco is of the order known as the “Mogul.” It has six driving wheels and is one of the heaviest engines on the road. The tank was full of water and the tender was heaped with coal.
As engineer Bob Rhodes opened the throttle, the couplings one after another drew taut and the long train began to move. Gradually the speed was increased until the “jimmies” were flying over the rails at a lively rate.
An opportunity was afforded to study the requirements of an engineer and fireman. The track was slippery and “wheeling.” Never relaxing his hold upon the throttle Engineer Rhodes kept his eyes constantly upon the road ahead, and ever anon sanded the rails to keep the wheels from revolving without doing service.
The throttle valve was allowed to remain idle. At some places the grade was steeper than in others, and at those points the propelling power had to be increased. Frequently the oil cups on the cylinders had to be filled, and when the engine was shooting along, the engineer ran out along side of the boiler, and filling the cup, hurried back to his position.
Not for a moment was his attention diverted from his engine. There was no chance for him to look about the country, as he rolled along, nor to enter into long conversations with those on board. An engineer must be a man in whom every confidence can be reposed. He must be the very embodiment of trustworthiness and reliability.
A fireman’s duties are as laborious as any position on the railroad. The fireman of the Owasco was Eli Bordner, who although having been one the road but about ten months showed his ability as many who served twice as long. He watched the gauge carefully and did not allow the steam to fall below one hundred pounds. His periods of rest were not over front one to three minutes direction. From the time that the engine left Auburn he was kept almost constantly engaged in feeding the huge machine.
From four to a dozen shovelfuls wee thrown in at a time. After each shovelful was cast in the furnace door was closed to keep the cold air from entering and cooling the boiler.; Every fifteen or twenty minutes a long iron rake was inserted and the burning coal hauled over to keep the fire alive throughout.
About once an hour the fire was shaken by means of a huge lever which raised and lowered the grate. At Cascade it was necessary to take ware. The Owasco proved a voracious locomotive, and its digestion was good. It ate coal and drank water in such alarming quantities that the dyspeptic would wonder that the machine enjoyed immunity from gastric troubles.
When the tank was full Engineer Rhodes let on steam and in a short time the icebound Owasco (lake) was left behind and the train was speeding up the Moravia valley. The throngs of idlers at the various stations gazed at the train as it swept by and continued looking at it until it passed out of sight.
The little red caboose at the rear end of the long line of cars while passing round a curve would sometimes be out of sight for several minutes, and then, suddenly, it would burst into view again. At Freeville, the engine tank was filled again with water, and the trainmen procured their dinner at the hotel.
An order from the train dispatcher was awaiting the engineer at this point. This directed the movements of the train the remainder of the way to Sayre. After the appetites, sharpened by the long ride, had been satisfied, the train pulled out and did not stop again until Newark Valley was reached, where water was once more taken.
Owego was the next stopping place. The tender, which contained nearly eighteen tons of coal when it left Auburn, was empty. and the engine was detached from the train, and run up to the supply trestle and filled. While the men were shoveling on the fuel the engineer put some “packing” in the steam chests and oiled up thoroughly.
Finally all was in readiness and the train started up. At the bridge over the river a few cars to go over the Erie were switched off on a side track, and the Owasco with its load resumed its way to Sayre. For a long distance the rails run beside those of the Erie between Owego and Sayre, but no train came along the Erie and no opportunity was given for exchange of salutations.
As the Southern Central has no charter in Pennsylvania, when the state line was reached the train ran on the Lehigh Valley track. Sayre was reached at six o’clock, and the men after running the empty cards on a branch proceeded to make up a train of loaded cards to take back in the morning.
Everything was put in orderer the return journey, and the tired men retired to rest. At different points along the Southern central steel rails are laid to supplant the iron ones being put down as rapidly as possible. When these were struck the difference could be told instantly. The engine would run as smoothly as any easy carriage on a pavement. There would be scarcely any jar and the train seemed to pull easier.
It is expected that by winter steel rails will be laid the entire length of the line. The Southern Central will then be classed among the “steel clad” roads of the country. The summit of the road is a short distance below Dryden, opposite a small cluster of trees which stand in close proximity to the track, and after the train passed over the “hill” it ran along in many instances with steam shut off. Burt Smith was the conductor the train.
