New York Central’s Long Forgotten Oswego Shops
by Richard Palmer
Very few people today - even natives of Oswego, New York, are aware that the New York Central once had extensive shops there. It was a complex that covered some 40 acres on the west side of the city. Not a trace of it is left today. It was both the site of construction and repair of locomotives and cars.
These shops were originally established in Oswego in 1872 during construction of the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad when Oswego native Edgar A. Van Horne was superintendent. When the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad took over, these shops were gradually expanded.
Edgar A. Van Horne of Oswego was general superintendent of the R.W. & O. when the main shops were moved from Rome to Oswego.
Van Horne was associated with the R. W. & O. from the beginning. He had been railroad man since 1864, starting as an office boy at the D.L. & W. depot in Oswego. He quickly “learned the ropes” and in his early 20s became superintendent of the Lake Ontario Shore in 1872 that included the Oswego & Rome branch. In 1878 he became general superintendent of the entire R.W. & O. system.
In August, 1883 he was appointed superintendent of the Utica & Black River. He was described as “a practical, thorough and no-nonsense railroad man, whole-souled and genial, and sure of plenty of friends.” He was so well thought of two locomotives - one on the D.L. & W. and the other on the Utica & Black River, plus a Lake Ontario steamboat, were named in his honor.
For years the possibility of moving the locomotive shops to Oswego had been discussed. Oswego was not only more centrally located but with 40 acres on the western edge of the city there was plenty of room for future expansion.
The time finally came on February 27, 1878 when shopmen were told to pack up. They were heading for Oswego. Fifteen boxcars and flatcars were backed into the shop and the entire force spent the day dismantling everything and loading it on the cars. An eyewitness said “it came so sudden that the men hardly knew what to say or do.” A partially repaired locomotive was run out of the shops and sent to Oswego to be finished.
By nightfall all the lathes, belting, shafting and machinery had been loaded with the assistance of a large derrick. At 9 p.m. the special train left for Oswego where it arrived at 8 a.m. the following day. There the machinery was quickly set up. The Rome locomotive shops became quiet and deserted. The move came so quickly even the community wasn’t aware of it. That’s the way management wanted it.
Master Mechanic William H. Harris said this was done deliberately. “We did not want it in the newspapers,” he said. A reporter from the Utica Herald asked Harris for a comment. He said: Harris would not discuss it with a Utica Herald reporter, who said: “I like to get my information from headquarters, but if I can not, I must take what I can obtain from other sources.” Harris’; only comment was: “Well?” and that was the end of the conversation.
Twenty-two machinists moved to Oswego, most of whom were married men with families. Eight men left voluntarily or were laid off. Those remaining had their wages cut by five percent.
Master Carbuilder Henry H. Sessions told a reporter the move took even him by surprised, but said he thought the entire facility would now be devoted to car building and repairs.
Throughout most of 1878 and 1879 shopmen were busy 10 hours a day repairing and building new cars. Misfortune struck on the night of November 11, 1879 when fire destroyed the car shop, at least temporarily throwing 90 men out of work. Nothing survived. Four new boxcars, two old boxcars, five flat cars and a new snowplow were destroyed. The buildings and contents were insured.
The round house and machine shop which escaped the fire were then refitted as the new car shop.
The original car shop was built in Rome in 1864.
In April, 1882 a new car shop was opened in Oswego and the remaining facility in Rome was closed. In 1886 Carpenter & Dyett purchased the property and converted the shop into a cot, crib and chair factory. This evolved into the Rome Metallic Bedstead Company and finally, Rome Cable Company.
The new shop was constructed of brick with a tin roof, supported by iron columns, forming a single large room. The inside accommodated four parallel tracks totaling 900 feet. It cost $12,000. In an interview published in the Oswego Palladium on March 1, 1923, William Rockefellow, later general car foreman, recalled:
“Finally the company decided that the main shops would be located at Oswego. That was in 1882. On October 4th, that year, we landed here with the Rome shops. Before that the shops were not much of a place, just a few men working here, with the same force handling cars and locomotive repairs. We have had our ups and downs in the Oswego shops. After we got started we had 300 men employed, and we all looked forward to great things.”
A building known as the old “coach-house” in Rome, 350 feet long and 40 feet wide, was dismantled and re-erected at the Oswego shop complex in 1903. This centralized all repairs on both passenger and freight cars on the R.W. & O. division. By that time an average of 40 cars a day were being repaired here.
The R.W. & O. cited economic reasons for moving its far flung shops and offices in Ogdensburg, Watertown and Utica to Oswego, except for essential local facilities. Some accused new president Samuel Sloan of showing favoritism to Oswego, when in fact it was the most centrally located point on the system. It was done for economic reasons. Sloan, a shrewd business man and president of the D.L. & W., took over ownership and management the R.W.& O. in 1877. He immediately ordered that the R.W. & O.’s fleet of woodburning engines converted to coal, which was done mostly at the Oswego shops. It was a natural since the D.L.& W. controlled much of the vast anthracite coal region of northeastern Pennsylvania.
Sloan was also a “bean counter.” One of his first acts on the R.W. & O. was to reduce the wages of shop workers by five cents per day to $1.95. The Oswego Palladium noted: “The men are laying up as much money as possible, under the circumstances, under the impression that the day is not far distant when they will be called upon to pay for the privilege of working in the shops, and when that time comes they do not want to be caught empty-handed.”
Rockefellow continued: “In 1891 the R.W. & O. was taken over by the New York Central, and we thought it would be a great thing for the Oswego shops. It was for awhile. Then something happened. William Buchanan, the general superintendent, came along one day, visited the shops, talked with the men, etc. He called me into the office that afternoon and told me to lay off 100 men at once. I did so. When they got through reducing, our force was cut to 19 men. We were told to send all bad order cars to Albany.
“A few years later Mr. Waite came along as general superintendent of rolling stock, and with him Mr. Brazier, then his assistant, and W.O. Thompson, who had been appointed superintendent of the local shops. These officials decided that the Oswego shops would be enlarged. Mr. Thompson asked me what I wanted and I told him 25 men and 50 cars to repair. As soon as they got back to New York Mr. Brazier ordered me to put the men on.
“The force was increased right along, until at one time we close to 600 men on our department. I call that a pretty good force at work in the shops now.”
Rockefellow was one of the early pioneers of the R.W. & O. When he began his career, he said, there was nothing better than a 10-ton car on the line, the rails were light and held together with wooden joints. He was on the road when air brakes were introduced. A representative of the Eames Air Brake Co. in Watertown was sent in July, 1883 to Oswego to supervise installation of the first air brakes. He knew little more than the workers who had never seen them. At that time the coaches were lighted with candle lamps and heated with stoves.
The Oswego shops continued to operate long into the New York Central era. In 1903 there were 550 employed there, the monthly payroll totaling $37,000. The best description and background the Oswego shops is found in the Oswego Daily Times of August 4, 1906:
The New York Central Shops, One of the City’s Great Industries
The New York Central Railroad has big interests in Oswego and contributes very materially to the prosperity of the community. It employs many Oswego men in the operation of trains, in the maintenance of way department, clerks and despatchers. But the largest and most important of its local activities is the mammoth shops located in the southwestern part of the city. The number of employees is 596 and the pay-roll approximates $40,000 monthly. Few local industries are of such proportions either in numbers of workmen or amount distributed in wages.
What Mr. Thompson Says
The company is willing to add to this number of men and increase the amount of wages but the lack of accommodations in Oswego for mechanics and workingmen makes this impossible at present. William O. Thompson, master mechanic and superintendent of the shops, expressed himself very strongly on this matter to a Times representative who visited him at his office a few days ago.
Mr. Thompson is a big man physically, and mentally, too, judging from his success in the important position he holds. He has the appearance of a practical man, and he talks with his foreman in a way that gives one an impression he knows his business. Faith in Oswego of Mr. Thompson’s strongest characteristics. He has been a resident here only four years, but has become, in that brief time, greatly attached to the city. He said:
“The company would, I am sure, give employment to a larger number of men if Oswego had houses for them to live in. This city is way behind other towns in this respect but I tell you the time has come when the housing question demands solution. Modern houses, at moderate rental, suitable for mechanics and their families, are needed if Oswego is to reap any advantage from the boom at present upon her. I am not the only employer of labor who feels this need; several others have spoken to me in the same strain.
“Yes, I am sure that with the needed accommodations Oswego would begin to grow in population and in a few years from 10,000 to 12,000 would be added to the population, You will be surprised at the rapidity of growth, once a start is made.”
Important Announcement
Mr. Thompson revealed important information that the company is planning a new car shop and an engine house to be built at the shops at the cost of each to be $200,000, or a total of $400,000. These will be built next year and of course will mean an addition to the working force. The new engine house will have 25 stalls and will be be built near the present structure, which accommodates 17 engines.
At present 39 acres are occupied and devoted to locomotive and car shops and other buildings, and the additions will take up several more acres, making the the shops almost as the other shops of the company at West Albany, Depew and Jersey Shore.
An industry so large and having so many and varied departments requires competent and trustworthy directors. Mr. Thomson in his position of master mechanic is the active head of this big institution, and his immediate subordinates are Calvin Youmans, general locomotive foreman, and William Rockefello, general car foreman. Both men have many years in the service of the company and both are capable and efficient. The other foremen are as follows:
J. Frank, assistant general locomotive foeman; F. Coseo, machine shop; G. Kline, blacksmith shop; R. McGrath, boiler shop; W. Freeman, tin shop; A. Beardsley, M. Loftus, J. McNelis, car shops; James Brady, paint shop, and L.S. Albro, division storekeeper.
Division ‘Hospital’
Part of the Oswego shops is the division “hospital” of the R.W. & O. railroad, and here are sent all the sick, injured and disabled and broken down cars and locomotives for treatment. They are turned out spick and span and as good as new, and sometimes one wonders on seeing a car or engine just out of the shops what old part remains, so handsome and fresh are they.
The men employed at the shops are experts in their several trades. They are men who are as competent to treat a locomotive for a broken wheel or rod, or a smashed up car; as the physician is to mend bruises of the body. But considerable other work is done besides repairs in common with the maintenance of way and transportation departments.
The piece work system is in effect there and it works to the entire satisfaction of the company and employees alike, Mr. Thompson says. Under this system the skilled worker, machinists, blacksmiths, boilermakers, etc., make from $70 to $100 per month in accordance with their skill and speed. Laborers and helpers also receive good wages, and the average per man, skilled and unskilled, is about $50 per month. The hours of labor are nine in the locomotive department and 10 in the car department.
Within the past four years or since Mr. Thompson took charge the force has been increased from 319 to 598 and the pay-roll has increased proportionately. New and modern machinery has been installed during the past two years replacing old and obsolete machines. The new machines include steam hammers, lathes, cranes and all others needed in such a plant.Nearly $100,000 has been expended in machinery alone. The shops own 39 acres; which is considerable space of ground. There are machine shops, blacksmith shops, paint shops, carpenter shops, engine house, store houses and offices. Here is done all the repair work to locomotives on the R.W. & O. division of the New York Central.
Mr. Thompson says that the capacity of the shops is 15 general locomotive repairs, and 3,000 car repairs per month. These figures give an idea of the extent of the work done. They vary from month to month and occasionally work is done here for the other divisions of the road although at present the R.W. & O. furnishes enough work to keep the several departments busy.
History of the shops
The shops were established in Oswego by the Lake Ontario and the first buildings were erected in 1872, when Gilbert Mollison was President of the road and the late E. A. Van Horne was Superintendent. Most of the buildings are of brick, stone and iron, and are very substantial. Many additions and changes have been made from time to time with a consequent increase in capacity and equipment. The road passed into the hands of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, and was later absorbed by the New York Central.
There was a fear expressed when the Central gained control that the shops would be removed from Oswego, but fortunately the fears have proved groundless. The shops have remained and without a doubt will be maintained here permanently. Many of the men now employed there have been in the employment of the company for 30 years or more and the millions of dollars received in wages have largely contributed to the up-building of the Third, Fifth and Seventh Wards and all other parts of the city.
Later years of the Oswego shops
The Oswego shop complex was bordered by Liberty and West Erie streets and consisted of a full complement of facilities that rivaled East Syracuse, West Albany and Depew. There were two engine houses. A track chart of 1917 shows two engine houses with turntables. Other facilities included a large erecting shop, boiler, carpenter and blacksmith shops. The main yard was a dozen tracks wide tracks wide, with numerous running tracks surrounding the complex.
Occasionally as time passed the New York Central threatened to close down the Oswego shops for one reason or another. If it wasn’t over labor problems it was a shortage of work or a move to consolidate facilities as an economy measure.
Labor union strife went as far back as 1910 when a system-wide strike by the boilermakers union affected Oswego. The railroad said it would close the shops if strikers came to Oswego to cause trouble. They backed off. The shops were closed for extended periods of time when work was slow, putting hundreds out of work. Some were offered and chose to move to other places like West Albany, East Syracuse or Buffalo where jobs were more secure.
On the positive side the Oswego shop force was frequently called upon repair locomotives and rolling stock. Since the railroad was in a heavy snowbelt region equipment during the winter months took a severe beating. At times several shifts worked round the clock to keep locomotives, cars and snow fighting equipment operational.
The shops also had a competitive baseball team and a band that performed at public events. They usually hosted the annual picnic of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Veterans Association.
In 1914 it was reported that 100 men under the supervision of general foreman Hugh J. Ryan, were refurbishing and building new flat cars for the war effort to transport vehicles and munitions.
Through the 1920s operation of the Oswego shops was irregular. A closure on February 18, 1921 put 700 skilled and unskilled mechanics out of work. But they returned to work that spring. The car shops closed again on July 1, 1922 following a strike by 250 car shop workers. Again the railroad threatened to close the shop. But on September 26 they reopened and the the men returned, under their old contract. The Railroad Labor Board was involved. Although workers grumbled about piece work there was no alternative. The shops were again closed early in 1925 but were reopened May 1. This time it was due to a work slowdown.
Good news came in September, 1926 when Hugh Ryan, general car foreman, was told to increase the work force by 50 men, bringing the work force up to 230. In addition 218 men were employed in the locomotive department and 68 at the engine house, bringing the total up to 500 employees.
Over the years large lots of cabooses were built there including one built in 1910 restored by the Central New York Chapter, National Railway Historical Society which is on display at the New York State Fairgrounds near Syracuse.
Twenty new flangers were built there in 1927, rebuilt from old freight cars. But it was in the late 1920s that changes in railroading began to take place. The New York Central found it necessary to cut operating expenses wherever possible. A major decision was to close the Oswego shops and consolidate locomotive and rolling stock repair and maintenance work to other shops on the system. The shops were closed and the work moved to West Albany.
The shops were officially closed in 1930 although some minor car repairs continued to be done. This closure was a serious economic blow to Oswego. Subsequent industrial development never filled the gap. A fire destroyed several buildings, two cabooses, two snowplows and a day coach on May 10, 1935. The cause listed was “cinders burning underground.” The ruins were razed. The roundhouse continued to be used until the division was dieselized in 1951. A few years later it was demolished. Only what was called “West Yard” continued in use by Conrail until 1983. Only a small yard office remained.
Addenda
Prior to moving to Oswego, Rome shops built 20 locomotives between 1864 and 1875 - all 4-4-0’s. During that time records indicate at least 25 coaches and three palace cars and about 300 freight cars were built at the Rome car shops. The locomotives built there were:
No. 23 New York 1863
No. 24 Ogdensburg 1863
No. 25 Oswego 1864
No. 26 Delos DeWolf 1864
No. 27 David Utley 1866
No. 28 M. Massey 1866
No. 29 Hiram Moore 1866
No. 36 C. E. Hill 1866 Renamed Lewiston
No. 37 General S. D. Hungerford 1867
No. 38 Gardner Colby 1868 (first coal burner)
No. 40 Theodore Irwin 1872
No. 41 John T. Denny 1872
No. 42 W.M. White 1872
No. 23 J. S. Farlow 1873
No. 24 J.W. Moak 1873 Rebuilt at Oswego shops in 1882
No. 35 Moses Taylor 1875
No. 53 1875
No. 54 1875
No. 55 Cataract 1876
No. 57 1889
Locomotives built by the R.W. & O. at Oswego, all 4-4-0’s were:
Second No. 13 1883
59 1884
60 1885
88-89 1886
90-91 1886
94-99 1888
(Photos from the early 1900s courtesy of the Oswego County Historical Society.)
Portion of locomotive shop area in early 1900s.
Oswego shops looking west.
Equipment took a beating during the winter months, even the durable rotary snow plow.
Mountain-high snow drifts on the Hojack could quickly transform a Russell snow plow into kindling wood.
Views of modernized Oswego shops in the 1920s.
Oswego shops looking east during the winter months.
