The Golden Age of Coal Smoke

I've been reading Booth Tarkington's novels, and they often complain of an aspect of the "golden age" of rail and industry that was certainly mirrored here in Rensselaer 100 years ago - the problem of soft coal smoke.

The smoke was one of his great enthusiasms; he laughed at a committee of plaintive housewives who called to beg his aid against it. "Smoke's what brings your husbands' money home on Saturday night," he told them, jovially." [The Turmoil, 1915]

"Prosperity" meant good credit at the bank, black lungs, and housewives' Purgatory. The women fought the dirt all they could; but if they let the air into their houses they let in the dirt. It shortened their lives, and kept them from the happiness of ever seeing anything white. [The Magnificent Ambersons, 1918]

This article from the Rensselaer Eagle, Aug. 8, 1912 illustrates one reason why Rensselaer's North End park neighborhoods, built far from the rail yards, were so popular.

BLACK SMOKE NUISANCE COULD BE ABOLISHED

Rensselaer Suffers Much From Cloud Belching From Engines

Roundhouse Belches Smoke Continuously all Day and all Night - New York Central Has to Adjust Many Claims Because of Smoke.

Now that the city of Troy has succeeded in reducing the soft coal smoke nuisance to a minimum it is up to the people of this city to take similar action. Rensselaerites are a long suffering people and they have suffered to no small extent because of the fact the New York Central engines use soft coal and emit black, sooty smoke.

Residents have complained time and again of the soft coal smoke nuisance. It not only covers every portion of the city, from one end to the other, but the fact that the railroad companies are permitted to use soft coal within the city limits doubtless keeps away people who would otherwise live in this city.

ROUNDHOUSE SMOKE

The roundhouse on the Hudson island is perhaps the greatest evil so far as soft coal smoke is concerned in the city. It is bad enough to have long freight trains, switching engines and passenger engines moving through the railroad yards, but the roundhouse never stops and there is always a cloud of smoke issuing from there night and day.
...
There are lots of women in this city who can testify to the effects of soft coal smoke on their clothing. There are not many women, who, wearing dainty summer clothing, would walk the Maiden lane or upper bridges at any time because they are afraid of having their clothing ruined by the smoke. The smoke is often filled with enough moisture to make it very sticky and when it covers one as he walks the bridge, the effect is far from pleasing.
...
In many sections of the city unless an east wind prevails it is an unwise housewife who would think of putting her washing out to dry. The majority of them are forced to have washed clothes dried in the house year in and year out.

The smoke is also bad for paint, as a glance at many buildings adjacent to the railroad will show. But very few houses are painted a light color, for the reason that there being so much smoke in the air it would soon discolor the paint. This is one of the reasons why so many buildings, especially those near the railroad are painted in dark and sombre colors....

The Delaware and Hudson Railroad advertised that their passenger trains to the Adirondack Mountains and Montreal burned the cleaner (and more costly) "anthracite coal only...no smoke".

January 14, 1911: A Well-Traveled Policeman

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

POLICEMAN HAS SEEN MUCH OF THE COUNTRY

GEORGE SELLEY HAS GAINED SOME KNOWLEDGE AT FIRST HAND

Has studied conditions in New Orleans, Tacoma, Wash., and Then Went Down to Maine - Is Fond Of Finding Out Things For Himself

Rensselaer has a man who has visited every state in the union and who has seen every point of interest in the entire country which is worth a visit. So it is quite natural that policeman George Selley, the latest addition to the staff, should make a good officer. Roving around the streets in the dead of the night protecting the houses and citizens is a pleasure to the new bluecoat, inasmuch as he never tired of roaming through the great United States.

There are few men in the entire country today who can tell of such wide experiences as can Selley. He is not a man of wealth, but a man interested in the development of his country and his periodical vacations have been spent sometimes in the sunny south, other times in the wooly west and once in the frigid atmosphere of Maine during the winter.
...

HAS REMINISCENCES

When in a reminiscent mood Policeman Selley can tell more about his country's development in the last ten years than any other man in the city. He can also tell of the customs of the people.

He has been in New Orleans when that southern city was in its gayest attire for the Great Mardi Gras Carnival; in Tacoma, Washington and Portland, Oregon when the apples were being picked bigger than your head and journeyed to Portland, Me. from Boston via boat when the huge waves of the turbulent winter sea almost rose over the boat.

Originally a railroad man Selley took especial interest in the customs of the railroad men all through the country. He traveled many miles on freight trains through his brotherhood pass, just to see the country and learn the ways of its people.

The Railroad Trainman, Volume 19, 1902, shows Geo. Selley of 106 B'way was Secretary of Rensselaer's Horseshoe Lodge of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.

The Directory for the Year 1905 of the Cities of Albany and Rensselaer shows George, John, and William Selley, living at 248 Broadway, all held the position of "expressman" - packing, managing, and ensuring delivery of railroad cargo.

Learn more about the history of the Rensselaer police force at www.RensselaerPolice.org.

January 7, 1911: Rush of Railroad Freight

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

FIREMEN AND BRAKEMEN ARE WANTED

RAILROADS HAVING RUSH OF BUSINESS AT THIS SEASON OF THE YEAR

Advancements are Made Very Quickly These Days - Firemen Promoted to Enginemen and Brakemen Soon Become Conductors

Not in many years have Rensselaer railroad men experienced such a rush of freight in all directions as taht which now prevails and which has prevailed for the past months. At the railroad offices firemen and brakemen are in demand, the order being sent out that any one applying will be given a job.

At present on the list of the B. & A. offices there are over 60 regular belt crews. This is an unusually large number, when it is considered that six years ago the regular belt crews numbered but 25. Every Rensselaer fireman qualified to run an engine has been sent over to the right side of the cab and many young Rensselaer brakemen in the service of the company for but a few years have been advanced to conductors.

The rush of freight and work for the men is received in Rensselaer with no regret. The past summer and fall were bad seasons and the railroad men will have an opportunity of making respectable week's wages. Speek of wages, one young Rensselaer brakeman employed in the yard service drew $73 for two weeks work, after enjoying a two days' rest.

RUSH IN THE YARDS

In the railroad yards the rush is the same as on the road. Gen'l Yard Master Wood has more engine and train crews at work than have been on the lists for 15 years. His extra list now contains 15 members and all are working. He is making an effort to keep the yards clear so that no B. & A. trains will be forced to lay on the sidings outside of the city awaiting an opening to crawl into this city.

The Rensselaer yards have never been as busy as they are at the present time. The rush has been so great that many times during the past month many of the B. & A. crew were sent direct to West Albany with their trains to relieve congestion.

The rush cannot become too heavy for Rensselaer and its people. The officials are well equipped in the art of handling such an immense amount of business and the city will receive the many strangers with open arms.

January 15, 1910 - Car Thieves Busy

Car Thieves Busy

A car loaded with shoes was standing under the Herrick street bridge on the west side of the railroad yards saturday night and was broken into and six cases of shoes were stolen. The robbers probably had the assistance of a horse and wagon in carting the goods away.

[Posted 1/16/11 and back-dated for continuity]

Library Book Signing Update

NOTE: The Railroads of Rensselaer FaceBook Site put out a notice saying that Ernie Mann wouldn't be signing books at today's ribbon cutting, as incorrectly stated in the Times-Union article. He will be at the Saturday Grand Opening, but he will only have books available for sale if they come in on time. You are welcome to bring books purchased elsewhere and he will sign them.

Apparently three separate employees at Border's claimed Ernie's book signing on Nov. 7 was "by far the biggest turnout for a local author we have ever seen." Border's sold out of their books in 4 minutes and Ernie's personal stash sold out in about 20 minutes more. Follow the FaceBook link at the top to see photos of the first book signing.

Ernie Mann's "Railroads of Rensselaer"

Ernie Mann's "Railroads of Rensselaer" is available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com, and will be released on October 19, 2009.

Product Description

Rensselaer was once a classic American railroad town, and like most cities and towns of its type, it was part of an important junction of several destinations. From the 1840s to today, trains have rolled to the four principal compass points from town....

About the Author

Ernie Mann has had a lifelong interest in rail history and worked his way through college in locomotive service. His father and grandfathers worked a total of 123 years on local railroads. He had a long career as a teacher and many years as a city fire chief.

I love these books of antique photgraphs from Arcadia Publishing, and I couldn't be happier to learn about this one!

UPDATE: Stay in touch with release and book signing info by joining the new Facebook group for "Railroads of Rensselaer".

UPDATE: If you want to "buy local", Good Buy Books pre-ordered "a couple of copies". You might want to call or e-mail them if you want to be sure you get one.

September 4, 1909 - Nassau Fair

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

According to A Brief History of the Village of Nassau, the Rensselaer County Agricultural and Liberal Arts Society operated the annual Nassau Fair from 1892 to 1944. Rensselaerites could get to Nassau, NY on the Albany and Hudson Electric Railroad to see the Fair.

Nassau Fair Exhibition Hall and the Parade of Carriages. Postcards from 1900 at the Nassau Free Library, for educational use only. They have ten other great postcards from the Nassau Fair, including decorated bicycles and carriages - check them out.

PREPARING FOR THE BIG NASSAU FAIR

DAILY PROGRAM HAS BEEN ARRANGED AND A FINE TIME IS ASSURED

Exhibits in all Departments Will Be Larger Than Ever - Success of the Fair is Already Certain and a Fine Time for all is Promised.

The ever popular Nassau fair will be held this year Sept. 14, 15, 16, 17. ... The management is offering $1,500 [?] in race purses and $7,000 in other premiums, and is making every possible effort to secure the best in attractions and exhibits, especially in the Floral and Poultry departments, whose list contain entries of well known exhibitors with high class exhibits.

The Poultry entry list is especially heavy, containing the names of well known outside, and local breeders, and chicken fanciers will be well paid in journeying to Nassau and witnessing the extra large exhibit of this year.

The Exhibition Hall with its fancy, domestic, educational and artistic displays, promises a treat, and the cattle and farm produce stalls this year will be filled by the old regulars; and many new ones have been recorded.

At this early date the space on the Midway has been taken so fast that if the applicants continue a double Midway will have to be staked out...

The horse races which is always a big feature should this year bring forth some of the best brushing ever witnessed on the Nassau track....

The fairgrounds offer every accommodation for rigs and autos. For the visitors there is a half hourly schedule on the A. and H. road to and from Albany and Rensselaer.

"Brushing" seems to refer to informal or amateur exhibition races, often with high stakes (see New York Times, July 13, 1997: A Roadway Built for the Elite to Trot Out Their Rigs).

The Nassau Fair Association lost a "brush" with the law a few years later, when a state audit determined that a great deal of prize money was misappropriated. New York Times, Jan. 9, 1915:

FIND FRAUD IN GIFTS OF STATE BOUNTY
Controller Charges That State Was Swindled in Agricultural Fair Awards - ASSEMBLYMAN IS INVOLVED
Day Laborers Confess That They Unwittingly Posed as Prize Winners for Mythical Exhibits.

August 21, 1909 - Vaudeville by Rail

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

In 1909, Electric Park in Kinderhook, NY was a popular destination less than an hour south of Rensselaer via the Albany & Hudson Railroad. Such amusement parks were common in the US, and were built by the railroads as destinations to boost ridership. In addition to amusement rides and water sports, there was a theater with vaudeville acts.

Another Good Bill at the Park

That Manager Dikehaus has made good is the opinion of all who have visited Electric Park since he took charge and judging from his theatre offerings this week nothing but the best acts obtainable are to be presented during the remainder of the season. ... He is now busy booking acts for next week and says that he will offer as the headline attraction the Six Satsudas, a sextette of marvelous Japanese equilibrists and manipulators. ... Mr. Dikehaus showed his determination to please the patrons of the rustic theatre this week when he secured the Three Lucifers, the European comedy grotesques. Like Larose & Lagusta they have caused a sensation at the park and next week the success is sure to be repeated by the Six Satsudas. The Three Lucifers offer a refined singing, dancing and eccentric athletic novelty and those who have not seen the act would do well to visit the park before it is too late. In addition to this big act Carlo's Animal circus is holding forth and then there are Irvin R. Walton, the Mayor of Tanktown; Marie Bergere, character impersonator; Fred Wyckoff, the rube comedian, and new motion views. ...

Albany & Hudson Railroad #22 at
Electric Park Station, Kinderhook, New York,
from the Joseph H. Smith Collection

Click on the photo to zoom in and see how well people dressed for a day at the amusement park. I couldn't find images of any of the vaudeville acts named here, but this video might give you a flavor of the entertainment: Historic Footage- Vaudeville Acts 1898 to 1910. Maybe the "motion views" they watched could have included Mary Pickford in the 1909 film Gibson Goddess.

Earlier "1909" posts about Electric Park include the Memorial Day crowds and the railroad's new hydraulic power plant at Stuyvesant Falls. The Columbia County Museum "Journey to the Past" has some great old postcards from Electric Park, including the carousel, ferris wheel, and roller coaster. The Upstate Earth blog followed and photographed the traces of the old railway in these posts: Albany & Hudson Electric Railway and Following the Albany & Hudson route from Electric Park to Albany.

August 7, 1909 - Life in the Age of Rail

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

There were some unique problems in a 1909 railroad community.

Car Thieves Active

Car thieves have been busy in Rensselaer again. Saturday morning a car containing merchandise shipped from Boston to the West was broken open under the Herrick street bridge and several hundred dollars worth of goods stolen. The exact amount cannot be determined until the slips are received by the local freight officials.

Burned a Hole in Roof

A hole was burned in the roof of the home of Dennis Vaughn on Broadway near Partition street on Monday afternoon. The fire, which was started by sparks from an engine, was extinguished with a pail of water.

Many Rensselaerites in 1909 would have remembered the 1862 fire in Troy, where a spark from a locomotive ignited the shingled roof of the wooden railroad bridge at Green Island. Burning shingles blew across the rooftops of downtown Troy, and more than 500 buildings were destroyed by fire, and 8 people were killed.

• Troy Irish Geneology Society: The Great Troy Fire of 1862
• George Eastman House Archives: View of Troy, NY, ca. 1861 and Troy after the fire of May 10, 1862, Union RR Depot in foreground
• Engraving from Harpers Weekly, May 24, 1862: Ruins of the great fire at Troy, New York, May 10, 1862

July 10, 1909 - Rensselaer's "Liver Cure"

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

GET CURED AT HOME

No Need to Go to Germany for Liver Trouble

It will not be necessary for Rensselaerites to go to Germany to take the celebrated cures there for liver trouble. There is a local cure that almost everyone afflicted with the trouble can take right at home.

Perhaps some of the citizens have noticed it. Those who ride very often in the cars of the Cohoes Railway Co. over the viaduct must have given the matter some attention.

A ride over the viaduct has nothing to lose by comparison to the "Rocky Roads to Dublin." There are more bumps and much more of the sort of exercise that is recommended for liver trouble than one cares to have. Two rides would doubtless cure the most obstinate case while the wonder is that some of the motormen and conductors have not taken out a patent on it before this and chartered a car only to run across the viaduct.

But that is all to be changed now for the company proposes to fix its tracks and straighten out the bumps.

The Cohoes Railway ran a trolley in Rensselaer, which went over the Broadway viaduct. In 1908 the Cohoes Railway carried 1,238,841 passengers across the Hudson to Albany (the extra toll they charged for the bridge led to a 1910 lawsuit - they were ordered to reduce the fare from 6 cents back down to a nickel).

I couldn't find references to a German Liver Cure, although there were plenty of patent medicines advertised, and mineral springs such as Karlsbad were thought to be effective. There's an intriguing listing of a 1911 silent comedy called "Brown's German Liver Cure", a British Kinemacolor film. The movie isn't available, but you can listen to the "Rocky Road to Dublin" (Click "LoFi"). Sounds like a bouncy ride!

This 1905 reference from Chambers's Journal, "A Holiday in Russian Poland" illustrates the idea pretty well:

In the country people drive in a bryczka. The simplest form of bryczka is an oblong box on four wheels without springs and having two seats without backs. It is drawn by two horses. The jolting is terrible until one gets used to it and then strange to say one rather likes it. A drive in a bryczka is considered good for the liver.

June 5, 1909 - Trolleys and Cars

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

MANY WERE DISAPPOINTED
Car Service to Electric Park Was Inadequate on Memorial Day

Crowds went to Electric Park on Memorial day and many Rensselaerites were in the number. The service was not the best it would seem for during the afternoon it was necessary for a number of Rensselaerites to stand at the transfer station while car after car loaded down to the very doors went by.

There were those in the station who would have paid their extra fare to Albany and then rode back to Rensselaer but although the cars went to Albany empty Rensselaerites were not permitted to go over.

Of course it was a rush day and many things must be considered. However, it would seem that some better arrangement could be made, such as perhaps starting a car out of Rensselaer or providing some other accommodations for local traffic. Rensselaer is one of the most important stations on the Albany and Hudson road and no community gives the company any better patronage or more loyal support than Rensselaer.

Doubtless this matter which may have escaped the eagle eyes of General Passenger Agent Deeds will not occur again.

Wikimapia: Kinderhook Lake

"Electric Park" opened in 1900 or 1901 by the Albany and Hudson Railway and Power Company. ... The park had a carousel, a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, a "Chute-The Chute," an aquarium containing fish from the lake, a dancing pavilion, and two rustic theaters offering vaudeville shows, comic operas, and bands. Fishing, boating and other watersports were available, as well as a beach and bathing suit rentals.

=========================================

HILL CLIMBING . . . . CAR OF CLASS

Herreshoff Car

Arrange for Demonstration
No better Car made at any price
Delivery ten days

BERNARD AUTO CO. 1918 Sixth Ave.
TROY, N. Y.

AGENTS WANTED RENSSELAER . . . $1500.00

=========================================

Wikipedia: Herreshoff (automobile) "The Herreshoff was an automobile built in both Detroit, Michigan and Troy, New York, by the Herreshoff Motor Company from 1909-14."

The New York Times [December 6, 1908]: Houpt to Handle Herreshoff; New 4-Cylinder Car a Light Machine for Town or Country.

New York Public Library Digital Gallery: Herreshoff Advertising Images ("The smart, light cob of motor-cars.")

Library Talk - Electric Trolley Line

"The Albany-Hudson Fast Lines", on May 31, 2009 at 2pm, at the East Greenbush Library [10 Community Way]:

The Greenbush Historical Society will present this free program by railroad enthusiast, Dale Flansburg. The Albany-Hudson Fast Lines, commonly known as trolley lines, ran between the two cities for thirty years from 1898 to approximately 1929. The trolley line was only one of a few in the U.S. that used a 3-rail system: pantographs, single trolley poles, and a third rail. The towns that the trolley passed through required different rail systems for various reasons.

Dale Flansburg has been a railroad enthusiast all his life. His interest inspired miles of travel over many of the countries' railroads and his collection of railroad memorabilia. He started a collection of full-sized railroad gear in 1991 which is exhibited at his private railroad museum. Call the library to reserve your seats. Contact: 518-477-7476

The Albany-Hudson Fast line did run through Greenbush & Rensselaer [Timeline].



Image:
"Albany & Hudson Railroad Fast Line #21 at Rossman, New York" - see the full image at the Joseph A. Smith Collection.





From the history files:

Electric Train Wreck, May 26, 1901 [lots of gory detail in the full story]

Electric cars racing for a switch while running in opposite directions, at the rate of forty miles an hour, cost five lives yesterday afternoon by a terrific collision, in which over forty prominent people were injured, some fatally and others seriously.
...
The scene of the accident was at a point about two miles out of Greenbush, on the line of the Albany & Hudson railway.
...
The cars weigh fifteen tons each and are the largest electric cars built, and so frightful was the crash that both cars were torn almost to splinters. Both cars were filled with Sunday pleasure seekers returning from the new recreation grounds that the railway had just opened.

1854 Railroad Collision at Bath-On-Hudson

155 Years Ago: from the Archives of the New York Times (free registration required to read the full articles, which are quite detailed and interesting):

May 15, 1854, Wednesday. Collision on the Troy and Greenbush Railroad--Car Smashed and Several Persons Injured.

From the Troy Daily Times of Saturday Evening. A collision occurred on the Troy and Greenbush Railroad this morning, by the Hudson River 8 1/2 o'clock express train down, running into the Troy and Albany train at Bath. The latter train had started about five minutes ahead of the Hudson River train, which is in accordance with the time tables. The locomotive of the Hudson River train ran half through the passenger car of the Greenbush train, which was stopping at the time at Bath. There were some thirty passengers in the Greenbush car, all of whom escaped with their lives - none, it is believed, receiving fatal injury.
...
The blame, we should judge, rests with the Hudson River Company - for allowing trains to run in this manner - there being not much more than five minutes difference in the time of starting both trains. Some blame also rests upon the engineer of the "Croton." He was aware of the fact that the Greenbush train was a mile ahead, and should, therefore, have run his locomotive with more caution - instead of which, it is stated, he must have been running at the rate of sixty miles an hour.

May 17, 1854, Wednesday, The Railroad Accident at Troy--Additional Details

To the Editor of the New-York Daily Times: Troy, Saturday, May 13, 1854. This morning at 8 o'clock and 31 minutes, the Troy and Greenbush train left the Union Railroad Depot, followed by the Hudson River train at 8 o'clock and 35 minutes. The former drawn by the very small and inefficient engine "Ariel," consisted of one passenger and one baggage car; and the latter train consisting of two passenger cars and one baggage car, was drawn by the "Croton," a powerful engine compared with the "Ariel." ... After making their usual delay at the Nail Works and at Bath for the accommodation of travelers, and having hardly attained its usual speed after stopping at the latter place, the train was overtaken by the Hudson River train, and without the previous warning of the whistles of either train, was dashed into by the latter, which instantly resulted in the tearing up of the entire flooring and seats, and throwing forward of passengers, seats, splinters, from the rear end of the car, &c. ...

See this model of the Croton, manufactured in 1851 at the Lowell Machine Shops, at the America On The Move site of the Smithsonian Institution.

Lincoln's Ghost Train

At 10:55pm on April 25, 1865, President Lincoln's funeral train pulled into the Greenbush/East Albany station (this was before we became "Rensselaer"). The Great Funeral Cortage passed through 9 states on its way from Washington, DC to Springfield, IL, passing through New York City with great ceremony, and continuing to Greenbush, NY, the northern terminus of the Hudson River Railroad. On this leg of the journey the train was pulled by a locomotive named the Union and a pilot engine named the Constitution.

According to historic register documents, the Dearstyne Inn played a role: "Tradition has it that the body of President Lincoln was housed temporarily in the hotel in 1865 while awaiting ferry transport to the capitol at Albany." (The train went on to Troy to cross the river there.) What was intended to be a simple procession in Albany drew crowds of 50,000 or more.

It's no surprise then that legends sprung up around this momentous event, and a ghostly funeral train is said to travel the rails to Rensselaer. The Assasination of Lincoln quotes the Albany Evening Times as follows:

Regularily in the month of April the air becomes very keen and cutting. On either side of the tracks it is warm and still. ... Soon the pilot engine of Lincoln's funeral train passes with long, black streamers, and with a band of black instruments playing dirges, grinning skeletons sitting all about. ...."

On the site American Folklore, there is a great version of The Lincoln Death Train story, as retold by S. E. Schlosser:

There was a glowing orchestra of skeletons seated in a semi-circle. ...Then the orchestra was gone and another glowing headlight pierced the blackness. ... Another black crepe draped train was approaching. A funeral train, I thought. ... The only thing there was a single black-crepe draped coffin. But swirling in the air around the train were the ghostly figures of soldiers dressed in the blue uniforms worn by the North during the civil war. They lined up before my eyes, saluting the solitary coffin as it passed.

The next morning, all the clocks on the Hudson Division were six minutes behind and all the trains were running six minutes late. When I asked the stationmaster about it, he shook his head and told me not to worry. It was caused by the Lincoln Death Train, which had stopped time as it ran by in the night.

April 24, 1909 - Open Trolley Cars

100 Years Ago: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

OPEN CARS FOR RENSSELAERITES THIS SUMMER

THE UNITED TRACTION CO. WILL SOON BEGIN WORK OF INSTALLING THE CURVES

Necessary to Get Permission of the City to Alter Grade - Permission of the Bridge Company Has Been Obtained as Well

Open cars are practically assured for patrons of the Cohoes Railway Co., cars (that do not operate in Cohoes, but 10 miles away in this city). However the management of the United Traction Company, which has a guiding hand in the affairs of the Cohoes Railway Co., assures The Rensselaer Eagle that the only thing that now stands in the way of open cars is the securing of necessary permission from the management of the Greenbush Bridge Co. and concession on the part of the city by which it will be possible to slightly alter the grade at the eastern end of the bridge.

When this permission is secured it will mean a saving of from three to five minutes on each trip that the Broadway and Third street cars make and during this season of the year it is a most important saving.
...
In these days when the draw of the Greenbush Bridge is opened several times an hour to permit the passage of boats the saving in time that it would be possible to make with the new curves installed will be appreciated, for often the matter of a couple of minutes means that a wait of 15 or 20 minutes may be avoided.
...
The United Traction Co. is having 50 new open cars of an improved type built at the Jones car works in Watervliet. They are to be ready for the summer traffic and it is hoped that Rensselaer will get half a dozen or more of the cars.

---------------------------------
This J. M. Jones' Sons Trolley Advertisement showing open cars (vintage unknown) is from the Joseph A. Smith Collection, a treasure-trove of local rail photos. (Check out this 1865 train vs. open drawbridge picture: Green Island Bridge Train Wreck)

1903 Article: Roundhouse

I never intended this to be a "this day in history" post - it's just a coincidence that the article was published 106 years ago today. I just noticed it while I was typing it up. The link let's you download low res scan of the full article, sized for legal paper - it's about a 1Mb PDF. (I'll try for a higher resolution PDF this weekend, but this one is already a slow load.)

If you like detail, follow the link - you could build your own roundhouse after reading this.

New Roundhouse of the New York Central at Rensselaer, Railroad Gazette, A Journal of Transportation, Engineering and Railroad News, Friday, February 20, 1903

The New York Central has recently built a new passenger engine roundhouse for the Middle Division at Rensselaer, New York. For the present but 30 stalls have been provided, but by the addition of sections B and C, the ultimate capacity can be increased to 60 stalls.

The roundhouse and attendant facilities were completed within the remarkably short time of 60 days. The auxiliary departments include a blacksmith shop, ... machine shop, ... two offices,... rest room, ... store room, ... oil room, ... boiler room, ... coal bin, ... and casting shed... A modern coaling plant is also to be erected. ... At the present time from 100 to 140 engines are handled a day, but it is stated that these figures can be nearly doubled when the new coaling plant is completed...

... A standard 70 ft. turn-table designed for a total load of 200 tons is operated by a Fairbanks & Morse gasolene [sic] motor, and serves all the stalls...

Rail Patents 1890 - 1910

Here’s the last installment in old railroad-related patents by local inventors. This set is from 1800 - 1910, so these inventors were starting to be credited as from "Rensselaer, NY" now.


Joseph Robison, of Greenbush, Assignor to Robert J. Pratt, of. Greenbush Heights, New York.
MACHINE FOR SAWING METAL. Letters Patent No. 423,278, March 11, 1890. Witnesses: John S. Diack, Lewis F. Alrtjtz.

Aaron Fryer, of Bath-on-the-Hudson, New York, Assignor of One- Half to David Wiggins, of same place.
MEANS FOR MULTIPLEX TELEGRAPHING BETWEEN CARS OF RAILWAYS. Letters Patent No. 528,902, November 6,1894. Witnesses: Charles Selkirk, A. Selkirk, Jr.

Aaron Fryer, of Bath-On-Hudson, New York.
CAR-FENDER. Letters Patent No. 552,383, December 31, 1895. Witnesses: Percy T. Griffith, A. M. Cusack.

Willard Spencer, of Bath, New York, Assignor of One-Half to James A. Houck, of Albany, New York.
STREET-CAR FENDER. Letters Patent Mo. 557,161, March 31,1896. Witnesses: Frederick W. Cameron, Mary M. Flanagan.

Edwin Priest, of Bath-On-The-Hudson, New York.
TOOL FOR REDRESSING CRANK-PINS OF LOCOMOTIVE-WHEELS. Letters Patent No. 586,244, dated July 13, 1897. Witnesses: Charles Selkirk, A. Selkirk, Jr.

William A. Buckbee, Of Rensselaer, New York.
LOCOMOTIVE EXHAUST-PIPE. Letters Patent No. 633,566, dated September 26, 1899. Witnesses: Alex. Selkirk, Charles Selkirk.

John A. Kimber, of Rensselaer, New York.
CONTROLLING AND OPERATING MEANS FOR WATER-SCOOPS FOR LOCOMOTIVES. Letters Patent No. 675,223, dated May 28, 1901. Witnesses: E. J. Guilfoil, R. G. Stewart.

Edwin C. Van Nouhuys, of Rensselaer, New York, Assignor of One-Half to Emanuel B. Toedt, of Albany, New York.
COAL-CONVEYER. Letters Patent No. 833,141. Patented Oct. 9, 1906. Witnesses: Walter E. Ward, Lottie Prior.

Robert Burns, Of Rensselaer, New York.
VENTILATOR FOR LOCOMOTIVE-CABS. Letters Patent. No. 867,701. Patented Oct. 8, 1907. Witnesses: J. C. MacCulloch, A. A. Newton.

William E. McPherson, of Rensselaer, New York, Assignor of Seventy One- Hundredths to Himself, Fifteen One-Hundredths to J. M. Rodgers, and Fifteen One-Hundredths to J. Fletcher, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
DUPLEX RAILWAY-HOPPER. Letters Patent 965,400. Patented July 26, 1910. Witnesses: W. D. Walker, J. F. Felton.

Railroad to the Moon

From "A History of Old Kinderhook", quoting the June 27, 1827 Boston Courier:

... the project of a railroad from Boston to Albany is impracticable, as every one knows who knows the simplest rule of arithmetic, and the expenses would be little less than the market value of the whole territory of Massachusetts; and which, if practicable, every one of common sense knows would be as useless as a railroad from Boston to the moon.

This echoed a phrase in "Wedding of the Waters" quoting Erie Canal promoter Elkanah Watson:

The utmost stretch of our views, was to follow the track of Nature's canal [the rivers and lakes] and to remove natural or artificial obstructions; but we never entertained the most distant conception of a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson. We should not have considered it much more extravagant to have suggested the possibility of a canal to the moon.

But it was the success of the Erie Canal that motivated the builders of the Western Railroad. From the Keystone Arches history pages:

So steep and remote it was said to be impossible... Yet not to try meant Boston would lose ever more traffic to New York as they had since the Erie Canal opened in 1823. The canal siphoned traffic down the Hudson River, but a railroad to Albany could recapture that trade... The Western Railroad was the longest (150 miles) the steepest (1458 ft.) and the first mountain climbing railroad in the world... When built, it was so steep no locomotives existed able to climb the grade.

Railroad to the Moon is a short, online documentary of the making of the Western Railroad. It also includes information by the "Friends of the Keystone Arches" about the preservation of the beautiful arched bridges, which were so well engineered that some still carry rail traffic today.

Railfans may want to attend the huge Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show at the Big-E in West Springfield, MA next weekend (January 24th and 25th, 2009, 9am-5pm). It fills four buildings at the fairgrounds, and has about 400 vendors, all rail related. (Friends of the Keystone Arches will be exhibiting.)

1907 Postcard

View of Albany, N.Y. from Rensselaer, N.Y.
Postmarked Aug. 30, 1907 from Albany.


UPDATE: Can anyone comment on the large brick building in the foreground? I wonder if it was the freight warehouse (click to zoom in). The Historical Memoir of the Western Railroad (1863) By George Bliss says that in 1848, "...a large and commodious freight house was erected at Greenbush, - seven hundred and fifty-six feet by one hundred and thirty-three, costing, with land, tracks, bridges &c., $115,000." [This is about $3M in 2009 dollars, computed by the consumer price index.]

Rail Patents 1870-1890

Here’s the second installment in 19th century railroad-related patents by local inventors. This set is from 1870 - 1890, so "Rensselaer, NY" doesn't exist yet.

Richard Greenalch, Of Greenbush, Assignor To Himself And William Buchanan, Of Yonkers, New York.
IMPROVEMENT IN PACKINGS FOR STUFFING-BOXES. Letters Patent No. 167,238, dated August 31, 1875 Attorney: ?; Witnesses: T. B. Mosher, Alex. F. Roberts
[1880 Census: Richard Greenalch, 48]

John Loftus, of East Albany, Assignor of One-Half His Right to Richard Greenalch, of Greenbush, New York.
IMPROVEMENT IN STUFFING-BOXES FOR STEAM-ENGINES; Letters Patent No. 194,696, dated August 28, 1877. Attorney: Gilmore Smith?; Witnesses: Wm. Loftus, Arthur B. Murphy

Charles E. Austin, of Bath-on-the-Hudson, New York.
IMPROVEMENT IN JOURNAL-COOLING ATTACHMENTS FOR RAILWAY-CARS: Letters Patent No. 219,198, dated September 2, 1879 Attorney: Paul Goepel; Witnesses: Paul Gopel, Carl Karp
Charles S. Smith, of Bath-on-the-Hudson, New York:
RAILWAY-CAR; Letters Patent No. 266,322, dated October 24, 1882. Attorney: T?. C?. Brecht?; Witnesses: L. F. Chamberlin, James Van Valkenburg
ADJUSTABLE HOOD FOR CAR-PLATFORMS; Letters Patent No. 266,323, dated October 24, 1882. Attorney: T?. C?. Brecht?; Witnesses: L. F. Chamberlin, James Van Valkenburg

William G. Mink and Eugene N. Alling, of Bath-on-the-Hudson, N. Y.
LANTERN; Letters Patent No. 264,956, dated September 26, 1882. Attorney: William H. Low; Witnesses: William H. Low, C. J. Mattison
[1880 Census: probably William G. Mink, 36, a Clerk, and Eugene Alling, 24, a Dealer in Confectionary]

Thomas B. Purves and Thomas C. Craven, of Greenbush, N.Y.
DRAW-BAR; Letters Patent No. 271,269, dated January 30, 1883. Attorney: Worth? Osgood; Witnesses: Oliver Herbert, Thos. B. Purves, Jr.
[1880 Census: probably Thomas C. Craven, 50, Engineer R. R.]

Thomas C. Craven, of Greenbush, Assignor of One-Half to Abraham Schell, Of Albany, New York.
MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AIR TO THE FURNACES OF LOCOMOTIVE-BOILERS; Letters Patent No. 311,475, dated February 3, 1885.
Attorney: Alex. Selkirk; Witnesses: Charles Selkirk, Alex. Selkirk, Jr.

Robert J. Pratt, of Greenbush Heights, Assignor To The Electric Manufacturing Company, Of Troy, New York.
REFLECTING-GALVANO METER. Letters Patent No. 323,203, dated July 28, 1885. Attorney: John C. Pennie?; Witnesses: J. C. Pennie, J. R. Nottingham
[Robert J. Pratt, Electrician and Manager at the new works in Greenbush, The Electric Manufacturing Company]

Samuel Hyman, of East Albany, Assignor of Three-Fourths to James W. Eaton and Charles Wetherwax, Both of Albany, N. Y.
RAILWAY-TRACK; Letters Patent No. 345,054, dated July 6, 1886. Witnesses: Geo. W. Kirchwey, Kartusoff N. Macfee
[1880 Census: Possibly Samuel Hyman, 34, Machinist, Albany]

William Lowe, of Greenbush, New York.
RAIL-JOINT UNION; Letters Patent No. 394,867, dated December 18, 1888. Attorney: Geo. A. Mosher; Witnesses: Geo. A. Mosher, Chas. L. Alden

Emery Van Decar, Of East Albany, Assignor Of One-Half To Aaron Fryer, Of Bath-On-The-Hudson, New York.
LUBRICATOR FOR JOURNALS OF RAILWAY-WH EEL AXLES. Letters Patent No. 398,556, dated February 26, 1889. Attorney: Alex. Selkirk; Witnesses: Frank E. Selkirk, Charles Selkirk
CAR-AXLE LUBRICATOR. Letters Patent No. 414,129, dated October 29, 1889. Attorney: Alex. Selkirk; Witnesses: Charles Selkirk, J. C. McFarland
[1880 Census: Possibly Emery Vandecar, 23, Works in Mach Shop, Half Moon; Aaron Fryer, 41, Works in Piano Manf.]

John Loftus, of Albany, Assignor of One-Half to John Greenalch, of East Albany, New York.
APPARATUS FOR HEATING RAILWAY-CARS; Letters Patent No. 400,777, dated April 2, 1889. Attorney: William H. Low; Witnesses: Wm. H. Low, John Greenalch

Richard Groark, of Greenbush, New York, Assignor of One-Fourth to William H. Hepinstall, of Same Place.
OSCILLATING PIPE-JOINT. Letters Patent No. 403,883, dated May 21, 1889. Attorney: Frederick W. Cameron; Witnesses: William H. Hepinstall, Frederick W. Cameron
PIPE-COUPLING. Letters Patent No. 403,884, dated May 21, 1889. Attorney: Frederick W. Cameron; Witnesses: William H. Hepinstall, Frederick W. Cameron
[1880 Census, Probably Rich Groark, 26, Wood Turner, Greenbush]

Robert J. Pratt and Joseph Robison, Of Greenbush, N. Y.
VALVE. Letters Patent No. 416,948, dated December 10, 1889. Attorney: John C. Pennie?; Witnesses: Ed. K. Curtis, Benj. F. Allen

If anyone can add to the common knowledge about any of these inventors, please e-mail me at bathonhudson@gmail.com. Where did they work? What did they do there? Why did they file a patent and what did they do with it? I’ll compile the results for the city historian.