LOCAL HISTORY: STOREY, Henry Wilson. HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY PA. Vol. 1 The Lewis Publishing Co., 1907. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Martha Humenik. There is an HTML version of this book, with page images, on the county web site: http://www.camgenpa.com/books/Storey/v1/ Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm _______________________________________________ CHAPTER XVI. OLD AND NEW PORTAGE RAILROADS. In the whole range of the Allegheny mountains, extending from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Alabama, no county has been more generously favored with sublime scenery than Cambria. Lying as it does on the crest and western slope of these mountains, with Johnstown at the western base, nature had given it glorious views to reward the traveler wearied with his journey. It will be observed in all the surveys made by the direction of the Assembly of this commonwealth, that the route from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, to connect the East with the great West by way of Johnstown, was deemed the most available and practicable. This was so determined in 1826, when the commissioners appointed to locate the line, reported that it was feasible and practicable for the state to own a canal from Pittsburg to Philadelphia, so that a boat with its lading could start at the western end and deliver its cargo in bulk on the wharf at Philadelphia. To read the brief report of the commissioners, which did not go into details, it suggests the inquiry: How could the state build a canal across the Allegheny mountains from Johnstown to Hollidaysburg, with Johnstown 1,183 feet above sea level, and Hollidaysburg 953 feet, between which rose the summit of the mountains--2,341 feet? It did not mean a canal water way, but a canal railroad between these points. Notwithstanding the Act of 1826, authorizing the construction of the Pennsylvania public works, there seems to have been some doubt as to the best means of crossing the Allegheny mountains. On the 9th of April, 1827, Governor Shulze approved of a supplement for the extension of the canal system, in which it authorized the canal commissioners to locate and contract for "a canal, locks, and other works necessary thereto, up the Kiskiminetas and the Conemaugh from the western section of the Pennsylvania Canal to a point at or near Blairsville. * * * And the said Board shall proceed to make, or cause to be made, such examinations and surveys from Frankstown, on the Juniata, to Johnstown, on the Conemaugh, across the Allegheny moun- 348 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. tains, as may enable them to determine in what manner and by what kind of works, whether by the construction of a smooth and permanent road of easy graduation, or by railway with locomotive or stationary engines, or otherwise, the portage or space between the said two points may be passed so as to insure the greatest public advantage." By virtue of this authority the plane system was adopted, and the common noun portage was thereafter raised to the proper noun Portage, from whence the road derived its name. The word means "a break in a chain of water communication over which goods, boats, etc., have to be carried, as from one lake, river, or canal to another;" also means "to carry." The planes and levels were the connecting links between the Juniata and the Conemaugh. The Allegheny Portage Railroad, commencing at the "Five Points," at the upper end of the Basin, at Johnstown, and ending at Hollidaysburg, was among the first railroads constructed in this country for public purposes, and was finished, as a single-line road, in the fall of 1833. The canal was completed and in operation in 1832. The old Portage road was not opened for general business in connection with the Canal until the spring of 1834, when the "only great system of rapid transit and an economical method of transportation to connect the East and the West" was open to the people. The extreme length of the Old Portage road from Johnstown to Hollidaysburg was less than thirty-six miles. The Old Portage had ten planes and eleven levels, so called (there was only one which was level), to overcome the rise of 1,138 feet, between Johnstown and the top of the mountains, about two and one- half miles in an easterly direction from Cresson, which was the head of Plane No. 6. There were five planes and six levels or the western side of the mountain and five of each on the eastern, the planes being numbered eastward from Johnstown. The distance to the foot of Plane No. 1, was 3.54 miles, and the plane was 1,700 feet in length. At the head of the plane there was cut through rock the only tunnel on the Old Portage. It was 900 feet long and only a few hundred yards south of bridge No. 6, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and can be observed approaching it from the west. The long level began at the head of Plane No. 1, and extended to the foot of No. 2, a few hundred yards northeast of Portage Station, and was 13.04 miles long. Plane No. 2, 349 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. was also 1,700 feet in length; the level from the head of No. 2 to the foot of No. 3, was 1.47 miles; the length of Plane No. 3 at Benscreek, was 1,500 feet. The level from No. 3 to No. 4, at Lilly, was 1.89 miles, and its length was 2,200 feet. The level from No. 4 to Plane No. 5 was 2.57 miles, and plane No. 5 was 2,300 feet long, being situated near the Summit, and was the longest plane on the western side of the mountains. At this point the road took an easterly course, toward Hollidaysburg, and the last level on that side--from No. 5 to Plane No. 6, at the Lemon homestead--was 1.59 miles; at its head was the highest point on the road, rise from Johnstown being 1,158 feet--twenty feet higher than at the Summit, so-called. The length of Plane No. 6 was 2,716 feet, and the distance from the foot of No. 6 to the head of No. 7 was 800 feet. Plane No. 7 was 2,600 feet long and at the head of it the altitude was 891 feet above Johnstown. Prom the foot of No. 7 to the head of No. 8 was 3,600 feet; and the length of the plane was 3,100 feet. It was the longest, and with a rise of 604 feet, was the highest lift on the system. The distance from the foot of No. 8 to the head of No. 9 was 6,500 feet, with an altitude of 307 feet. Plane No. 9 was 2,600 feet in length. From the foot of No. 9 to the head of No. 10 the distance was 9,500 feet, with difference in altitude of 87 feet. Plane No. 10 the last one, was 2,300 feet long. From the foot of No. 10 to Duncansville Station it was 6,300 feet; from the station to the Duncansville "Y" was 4,700 feet, and it was 6,000 feet from there to Hollidaysburg, where the traffic was reloaded and the section boats dropped into the Juniata and proceeded eastward. Hollidaysburg is 230 feet lower than Johnstown, and about the same altitude as Blairsville. The lifting power of each plane was as follows: No. 1, 149.5 feet; No. 2, 133 feet; No. 3, 133 feet; No. 4, 188 feet; No. 5, 195 feet; No. 6, 267 feet; No. 7, 259.5 feet; No. 8, 306 feet; No. 9, 190 feet, and No. 10, 178 feet. The grades on each level were thus: From Johnstown to the foot of No. 1, it was an average of 29.55 feet per mile; From No. 1 to No. 2, the longest level, it was an average of 13.80 feet per mile; to No. 3, 6.78 feet; to No. 4, 8.93 feet; to No. 5, 12.42 feet; to No. 6, 12.42 feet; to No. 7, on a dead level; to No. 8, 11.1 feet; to No. 9, 8.93 feet; to No. 10, 16.67 feet, and to Hollidaysburg, an average of 44.51 feet per mile. The elevations above the sea level at Sandy Hook were: At Johnstown, 1,183 feet; foot of Plane No. 1, 1,273.5; at the 350 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. head 1,423; at the Viaduct, 3,459; at South Fork, 1,481; at Summerhill (Half-way House), 1,536; at Wilmore, 1,573; foot of No. 2, 1,613; at its head, 1,746; at foot of No. 3, 1,756; at its head, 1,889; at the foot of No. 4, 1,906; at its head, 2,094; at the foot of No. 5, 2,126; at its head, 2,321; on the top, at the head of No. 6, 2,341; at its foot, 2,074; at the head of. No. 7, 2,074; at its foot, 1,814.5: at the head of No. 8, 1,807; at its, foot, 1,501; at the head of No. 9, 1,490; at its foot, 1,300; at the head of No. 10, 1,270; at its foot, 1,092; at Duncansville Station, 1,028, and at Hollidaysburg, 953 feet. When the road was opened for business, in 1834, it was but a single-track railroad, and during that year and part of 1835 all the cars--passenger and freight--were hauled on the levels by horse power, there being four horses to a freight train of five or six short cars, each of which was about eight feet long. These cars were taken up and let down the planes by stationary engines. The driver, starting with a train at Johnstown, would take it through to Hollidaysburg. Some of the section-boat drivers put their mules in the front section and had them hauled over the mountains, while others took them over the Frankstown road to meet the boats at Hollidaysburg. On May 24, 1834, the contracts for the second track were made at Hollidaysburg and the work completed the following year. The rails were something like the T rails of today inverted, but were much lighter in weight. These and the chairs were brought from England. The flat side of the rail being uppermost, the neck was set and wedged in a cast iron chair which rested on a stone block, or tie. Each of these blocks supported one rail, and was about eighteen inches deep with a face two feet square. Probably every six feet there was placed a stone binder, seven feet in length and eighteen inches in width and depth, which supported both rails. Holes drilled in the blocks and binders on each side of the rail were filled with locust pins, to which the cast iron chairs were fastened by means of spikes. The rails did not have fish plate joints, but were joined in the chair, where they were fastened by wedges or keys which had to be tightened every day. The "keydriver" had a daily trip of six to eight miles to drive them to their places. The guage of the tracks was four feet eight and one-half inches, the same as now on all standard roads. 351 HISTORY OP CAMBRIA COUNTY. The iron rails and chairs and stone ties were used only on the levels, but on the planes a primitive track was built of long wooden stringers, about five by eight inches in width and depth, with strap iron spiked on the top. These stringers rested on wooden ties and were in use until the New Portage Road was constructed, when the old style of rails, chairs, and stone blocks was abandoned, and modern rails and ties were used. When the road was contemplated, the great obstacle to [Photo] Head of Plane No. 6. Old Portage Railroad. Geo. W. Storm, Artist. the civil engineers was to get a track around the many sharp curves which would necessarily be required in passing over the mountains. They did not believe a long rail could be used, and actually purchased rails four feet in length for this purpose, but they were never used for making curves (though they were put in service to a limited extent on a straight line), as it was discovered a long rail could be laid around a curve of a practical radius. If this had been known at the time the roadbed was made it is probable there would not have been any planes, but a road of gradual ascent, such as was finally adopted, twelve years afterward. 352 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. A stationary engine was built at the head of each plane to draw up the cars and let them down. The method of doing this was by an endless rope, turning around a shive at the head and the foot of the plane, and it was preferred to have a car go down when it was necessary to take another up, that they might balance each other. The "hitcher," at the foot, wrapped the "stop" chain around the hook on the end of the truck, then tied it to the rope, and away the car started. When it reached the top of the plane, another "hitcher" loosed it. Sometimes the rope broke, the cars would come down as fast as gravity permitted, and in the collision which followed everything within reach was destroyed. When the rope broke, "riggers" were called out to make the splices. Hemp ropes were used until 1843, when one of the first wire ropes made by the inventor-- Roebling--was put in use on Plane No. 1. To prevent these accidents, John Tittle, of Johnstown, invented a safety car, which was adopted by the state. It was a two-wheeled car, with a concave top, and a strip of notched iron on the bottom, which slid along on top of the rail. The safety car was attached to the rear of an ascending truck and in front of a descending one, and, if the rope broke, the truck ran into the concave surface, and thus its own weight, pressing the notched iron on the rail, was sufficient to hold it. The safety car was a success. When the road was opened it was intended to draw the cars on the levels by horses, and this power was used until June, 1835, when the first locomotive was put in service. It was brought from Pittsburg to Johnstown on a flat boat. And what a time there was in this town on that occasion! It was only equaled when the first boat "grounded" for the lack of water in the aqueduct and was pulled through by the enthusiastic citizens. "When the flat containing the locomotive was launched at the warehouse, a great crowd of people were there to see it, and the managers had great difficulty in unloading a cargo so great in bulk and weight. The man in charge announced to the assembly of people that whoever would give the best service in getting the engine from the boat to the track should be the fireman of that particular engine, which was the "Boston." Very many assisted and finally the "Boston" was anchored on the track. It is claimed by some that the fortunate man was Joseph Parks, the father of Joseph Parks, of Tyrone, while many say 353 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. the first fireman on the "Boston" was Barney Collier. But it is generally admitted that Charles Whiting was the first engineer. The "Boston" was built in the city of that name and taken to Pittsburg, where two more engines--the "Allegheny" and the "Delaware"--were built over her pattern, and these three locomotives were put in service the same year--1835. The "Boston" a leviathan in those days, would not now be considered even a dinkey. It had one pair of driving wheels of forty-eight inches diameter, with wooden felloes and spokes and an iron tire, without a flange. These rested behind the boiler, which was supported in front by a four-wheeled truck. The cylinders were eight inches in diameter, with a sixteen-inch stroke. The steam pressure was 125 pounds to the square inch, but as there were no steam gauges, excepting a spring scale something like the old time "balances," it was only a matter of possibilities, especially when the engineer wanted a good supply of steam, and would tie the "stilliards," apparently so that it couldn't go too high. The average speed in the early days was fifteen miles per hour, and in one instance the "Berks" ran from the head of No. 1 to the foot of No. 2--the fourteen-mile level--in forty-five minutes. This was wonderfully fast traveling. In those days an engine like the "Boston" could haul ten short cars, but the larger engines, such as the "Cherokee" or the "Niagara," could haul thirty or forty. The four sections of a boat were considered equal to ten cars, and two boats were a good load for the big engines. The freight cars first introduced were eight feet in length and width, and seven feet in height, and had one truck; but in 1851 larger cars were brought into use, which had two trucks and were from sixteen to twenty feet long. The Taff & 0'Connor barge cars were about eight feet square, and two rows, five in length, were a boat load. They were transferred by the crane. These cars had no springs, and were coupled together with a chain six feet long, thrown over a hook on either end of the truck. The passenger cars were about the size and had the general appearance of our street cars, except that the platform and canopy were not so large, and the wheels were larger, probably twenty-eight inches in diameter. In the very early days of the Old Portage there were no bag- Vol. I-23 354 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. gage cars, and baggage was carried on the tops of passenger cars as in the old coaching days, but later they were introduced. Nor were there any brakeman on the passenger trains. These were only stopped by the engine, unless the captain had time to drop the loose brake such as is now used on wagons, and then sit down on it. Among the very first persons employed as firemen was William Cover, late of this city. The wages paid firemen ran the same as those of other train hands. As the others did not have to polish up the machines after sunset, nor get out of bed before sunrise to get up steam ready to start at the usual time, Mr. Cover resigned his position after a trial of three weeks. The daily wages for employees at the planes, in June, 1840, were: Engineer ................................. $1.75 Assistant engineer ....................... 1.25 Fireman .................................. 1.12½ Hitcher .................................. 1.00 The single pair of driving wheels on locomotives used up to 1851, when the "Juniata" was brought here. She had two pairs of drivers, and was followed by the "Cherokee" and the "Niagara." Every day there was one regular passenger train each way. It was a daylight railroad, never running any kind of trains at night. When sunset appeared the freight trains stopped at the first place until the sun rose again the next morning. The passenger train usually left Johnstown between 6 and 7 o'clock in the morning, on the arrival of the packet from the west, and ran to Plane No. 2, where the favorite hotels were, for breakfast, arriving at Hollidaysburg between 1 and 2 o'clock. The west-bound train left about the same hour and arrived at Johnstown before 2 o 'clock. A passenger train, in the latter days, consisted of a baggage car and two coaches, and hauled sixty people, a comfortable load for a packet. The fare between the above-mentioned points was $1.25. During the forties and fifties the immigrant travel was heavy, but these people were hauled on trains specially run for that class of passengers. They usually carried their food in the cars, and frequently the train would stop along the road at a suitable location for them to cook and eat their meals. Some were carried in section boats, and other kinds of cars, where 355 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. they did their cooking and sleeping while the trains were "running. It is generally supposed that Woodruff was the inventor of the sleeping cars about 1860, and that Pullman brought out the dining cars as we know them in the modern system of railroading, but the original dining and sleeping cars were used on the Old Portage twenty years and more before. The section boats had but one compartment for cooking, eating, sleeping, and storing food, a little den about 8 by 12 feet. The regular passenger trains stopped for meals at the two or three hotels at the foot of No. 2, which was a very important point for the management of the road. William Palmer, afterward the proprietor of the Foster house, in this city, and Gideon Marlett and Richard Trotter kept the railroad hotels, which were good ones, too. It was a popular place for people to go for dinners and parties, and many a frolic took place at the foot of No. 2. Before the double track was finished there were two "turn-outs" between Johnstown and Plane No. 1. The first was located near where Bridge street crosses the Old Portage, in Franklin, and the other at Corktown, near the log house, subsequently known as Rodgers', above the Williams' farm. The schedule was about the same as that of a single-line road now. If a train, hauled by four horses, made one of these "turn-outs" and another train approaching from the opposite direction was not in sight, it would proceed, and if the two should meet, the half-way post decided as to which train would have to go back. The first half-way post east of Johnstown was about where the log house at the old brick yard was situated and where Henry Layton, the father of Joseph Layton, lost his leg, in 1837, while he was a captain of a train. The cars were run by gravity from Plane No. 1 to Johnstown. The stone blocks and iron rails were laid to a point below Hudson street, this city, adjoining the north side of Railroad street, and from there to Clinton, between Railroad street and the Basin, were four tracks for passengers and freight. These tracks consisted of 5 by 8-inch oak stringers, with strap iron spiked thereto, all resting on wooden, ties. All except a few of the transportation lines had two sidings to their docks, one on either side of the warehouse. Cars were taken from the main tracks by a turn table, and it was a neat job to turn a two-truck car on a one-truck table. The track on Portage street, somewhat similar, was owned by individuals. In the early days 356 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. cars were hauled from the warehouses and slips by horses, but later engines were used. The warehouse sidings extended to the end of the dock where the cars were shoved as fast as they were loaded until the work of lading was completed. When President Taylor died in Washington on July 9, 1850, his body was brought over the mountains on the Portage Railroad, and taken from here on the Canal, "Old Whitey," the general's favorite saddle horse that had been with him in his campaign in Mexico, leading the cortege as it came down Railroad street. Wood was the fuel for the locomotives, used until about the time of the abandonment of the Old Portage. The small locomotives could carry a quarter of a cord of wood, which was sufficient for a seven-mile run, but the larger engines afterwards used from five to seven cords of wood in a good day's work. Coal burners were used on the New Portage. The woodyard was on the north side of the road, opposite the old Catholic graveyard, and the foremanship of the wood-yard was a much sought position. The duty of the foreman was to have the cordwood, which was about four feet in length, sawed in halves, and ranked in quarter and half cords. Some of the Old Portage workmen relate queer thing's that occurred about the ranking and sawing of wood, during the political days of that great highway. He was a clever man who could rank a quarter that would have as little wood in it as possible--the larger the holes, the less the quantity of wood; and a piece that had a knot or a bump on it too large to go in the fire-box was a prize for the sawyer. It always remained in the rank, because the fireman would not take it, but he paid for it every time; and sometimes each quarter, or half space, contained two or three or more knotty pieces, which never lost their virtue. It is said that in the heyday of political manipulation the Inspector, whose duty it was to accept wood from certain parties, would start at Johnstown and inspect and take up--that is, accept--all the cordwood ranked on the right- hand side of the road up to the Summit; then the Inspector would return and inspect and accept all the wood ranked on the left-hand side of the road coming down, and make his report accordingly, he thus accepting and the state paying for the same wood twice. It was a case of "heads I win, tails you lose." Sometimes, when a new Inspector would take up the wood on the 357 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. south side of the road and proceed eastward, the parties in interest would carry the wood to the north side of the road and re-rank it before his return, when it would again be accepted. They would thus get a double price for the same fuel. The weighscales where the weight of all freight passing over the road was ascertained were on the south side of the road, just below the graveyard. The cars from the warehousees and the section boats were taken out of the basin to the weigh-scales and then delivered on the main track, where they were hitched to the locomotives to be taken over the mountains. The position of Weighmaster, paying $600 per annum, with house rent free, was looked upon as a choice one by the politicians. The weighmasters at the upper end of the basin like those at the lower end- -came from all parts of the state--and were: Samuel Kennedy, of Indiana, 1834- 36; Jacob Drift, of Johnstown, 1836-39; C. B. Cotter, of Clearfield, 1839-42; Thomas Ford, 1842-45; Robert Philson, of Somerset, 1845-48; James Shannon, of Johnstown, 1848-51. Peter Levergood was one of the Canal Commissioners, by appointment of Governor Ritner, in 1836-38. After the Old Portage had been in operation for Twelve years, and the practicability of running a railroad over the mountains was admitted, the progress of the times required a more expeditious and economical highway for transportation. The system of canals, locks, and planes was out of date, and as the State could neither sell nor give its property away, the Pennsylvania Railroad was organized April 13, 1846, to supply the want. Its road was opened February 15, 1854, for through traffic. As the Old Portage system was being operated at a daily loss, and the state authorities knew it would have to meet the opposition of the Pennsylvania on the new order of business, they determined to build another road between Johnstown and Hollidaysburg that would not have the objectionable planes. In 1852, while the Pennsylvania was building its road, the state commenced the New Portage, which was finished in the fall of 1855, and was only operated in 1856 and to August 1, 1857. During the year 1856, and until it was abandoned, the Pennsylvania and the New Portage ran in competition, but by a traffic agreement, which was advantageous to both roads, 358 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. both used the same tracks a portion of the way, and at other points paralleled each other. The state owned the Viaduct, while the Pennsylvania, had the only practicable route to pass around Plane No. 1, but would have had difficulty in getting over the Little Conemaugh at the Viaduct. So they agreed to use the same track to South Fork bridge. The route of the New Portage from Johnstown was on the roadbed of the Old Portage to Conemaugh, where it crossed the Little Conemaugh below the point where the overhead bridge between Conemaugh and Franklin is now located and used the Pennsylvania tracks up to the western end of the bridge west of South Fork. Here the roads diverged, the Pennsylvania crossing to the south side of the Little Conemaugh river, and the New Portage keeping on the north side, on the bed of the long level of the Old Portage. Beginning a serpentine course it crossed under the Pennsylvania Railroad west of Summerhill, and back again at the long bridge at the little town, again crossing under it at the bridge west of the deep cut east of Summerhill, and recrossing at the other side of this cut, it passed on through Jefferson, now known as Wilmore. About two miles east of Wilmore it left the Old Portage, turning to the south to pass around Plane No. 2, near Portage, and about a half mile west of Ben's Creek, it came back in the roadbed of the Old Portage and practically paralleled the Pennsylvania road to Cassandra, where the New Portage passed around Plane No. 3, at Ben's Creek. At Cassandra, it passed under the Pennsylvania, and from that point, passing through Lilly and Cresson it practically paralleled and was near the grade of the Pennsylvania road, up to and above the high bridge west of Gallitzin. The Old Portage and the New Portage diverged at the foot of Plane No. 3, west of Ben's Creek, and did not touch again until they crossed at or near the foot of Plane No. 8, on the eastern slope of the mountains. East of the high bridge, a mile and a half west of Gallitzin, the New Portage took a southeasterly course and leaving the Pennsylvania, passed through the southerly part of Gallitzin and through the tunnel, which was made before the tunnel on the Pennsylvania road was finished, the two being within a few hundred yards of each other at the east end. After passing through the tunnel the New Portage road lay on the south side of the Allegrippus Gulch, and the Pennsylvania on the other. 359 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. The New Portage skirted the mountains and gulches until it reached Plane No. 8, on the Old Portage, where it crossed it, and again touching the Old Portage roadbed near Duncansville, used it to Hollidaysburg, where the merchandise and section boats were transferred to the Juniata, as during the days of the Old Portage. The distance between Johnstown and Hollidaysburg on the New Portage was forty-one miles, or five miles farther than by the old, but a train could make the trip in four or five hours. It only hauled freight, however; the Pennsylvania then being in operation, passengers always traveled by that route. It is claimed that there never was a passenger injured on the Old Portage- probably true because the trains did not go fast enough to cause an accident. The New Portage was constructed to meet the competition of the Pennsylvania road, and was opened in October, 1855. In order to claim that it was ready for business that month the state authorities sent the locomotive "Pittsburg" from Johnstown to Hollidaysburg, but nothing more was done until the following spring. Mr. Henry E. Hudson, who was probably the oldest practical engineer in active service in this country, and resided at the corner of Railroad and Hudson streets, in this city, was the engineer on the "Pittsburg," and, of course, was the first engineer to use the New Portage road. In 1847 he was employed as a fireman on the "United States," a locomotive whose engineer was John Campbell, also of this place, and four years later was promoted to the position of engineer of the "Berks." In 1858 Mr. Hudson was brought to the Pennsylvania by the late Thomas A. Scott, with whom he was in continual service until his death. While the Old Portage was in operation ten to twelve hours was required to transport a freight train or a section boat to Hollidaysburg, but the New Portage system only required four hours, and a day's work was to run there and return to Johnstown, the round trip being eighty-two miles. There were no regular brakemen and the stops were made by the engineer, with the reverse lever, and by the fireman twisting the tank brake. After dusk the officials were not particular what the employees did with the engine, and frequently they would raise steam and start off to attend a country frolic, and leave the locomotive stand on the main track, without guard or a light, 360 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. as no lamps or torches were provided for night work. On Sunday the engine would be taken out at the pleasure of the crew who would go where they desired. Even on week days, while hauling a train, the engine would stop anywhere to take up a weary traveler-man or woman, boy or girl, or a lot of either-and many a funeral cortege was put on the engine and tank and conveyed to its destination. No charge, and every one was made happy. The importance of the several surveys made to cross the mountains is shown at a point above Ben's Creek, near the head of Plane No. 3, where the Old Portage, the New Portage, the Old Pennsylvania road, and the new route of the Pennsylvania road, are less than one hundred yards apart. The Old Portage is immediately above the Old Pennsylvania road, and the New Portage immediately below it, while the new route of the Pennsylvania crosses all of them within the distance mentioned. The grade of the New Portage on the eastern slope, was not as steep as it is on the Pennsylvania, the highest point being 2,199 feet above the sea level, or 143 feet lower than on the Old Portage, and 1,016 feet above Johnstown. The maximum grade from Gallitzin to Hollidaysburg on the New Portage was 84.58 feet, which on the Pennsylvania road to Altoona it is 100.32 feet. The state authorities were facing the inevitable in their endeavor to compete with a road that was open all the year and an all-rail route. As the New Portage could only be operated in connection with the canal, such a proposition was not practical. The $75,000,000 expended by the people to establish the practicability of constructing a mountain railroad was well spent, but as the road was being operated at a daily loss the Assembly authorized its sale, providing that no bid should be received for less than $7,500,000. It was sold at public sale in Philadelphia, and the deed executed on the 31st day of July, 1857. Mr. S. H. Smith, of this city, was present on that occasion. The auctioneer had been trying to get a bid for some time, but could not, and late in the day J. Edgar Thomson with a wink and a slight nod of his head agreed to take the property at that price. Then the crowd set up a cheer and cried aloud, "We've got a bid," and the New Portage Railroad sold at the figure offered. The only evidence of the Old Portage Railroad in or close 361 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. to Johnstown is a part of the roadbed from the "Five Points" up to a point near Franklin Borough. From there up to Plane No. 1 it was entirely swept away by the flood of 1889. But the most substantial thing to be seen is the bed of Plane No. 1 and the tunnel. The masonry in the openings of the tunnel is a beautiful piece of work, and an object of sufficient interest to still invite the inspection of mechanics. It was constructed sixty-five years ago, and is as strong as when the arched stone blocks were first laid, piece by piece, and the keystone put in place, except at the east end, where they have been taken out for building purposes. Prior to the flood the Old Portage roadway was a fair passage way for carriages, but since that the only way to reach it is by way of the Pennsylvania road to Bridge No. 6. The tunnel was formerly used as a roadway for vehicles, but is now rarely trod. There is a sort of a road over it now. The Viaduct spanning the Little Conemaugh about eight miles from town was a magnificent piece of workmanship and the admiration of engineers and mechanics. It was used by the Pennsylvania Road for its double tracks up to the time of the flood. It was in its day one of the highest single-span arches known, and was as strong the day it was swept away as when constructed in 1833. It was what was termed an eighty-foot arch, that is, eighty feet across at water level, eighty feet from water level to the top of the arch, and eight feet to the tracks. It is said that there was seventy-nine feet of water behind it before it gave way in that, terrible flood, while employes of the Company contend that there were ninety-eight, inasmuch as it held the eighty-eight feet to the level of the duct, and the water ran through the little cut on the easterly side of it to the height of ten feet like a Niagara Falls. Marks which seem to verify this view were there and may be there to this day. In the "American Notes" of his trip in 1842, Charles Dickens writes of Johnstown and the Canal and road as follows: "The canal extends to the foot of the mountain, and there, of course, it stops, the passengers being conveyed across by land carriage and taken on afterward by another canal boat-the counterpart of the first-which awaits them on the other side. There are two canal lines of passage boats; one is called the Express, and one (a cheaper one) the Pioneer. The Pioneer gets first to the mountain and waits for the Express people to 362 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. come up, both sets of passengers being conveyed across it at the same time. "We were the Express company but when we had crossed the mountain, and had come to the second boat (at Johnstown) the proprietors took it into their heads to draft all the Pioneers into it likewise, so that we were five and forty, at least, and the accession of passengers was not at all of that kind which improved the prospect of sleeping at night. Our people grumbled at this, as people do in such cases, but suffered the boat to be towed off with the whole freight aboard, nevertheless. At home, I should have protested lustily, but, being a foreigner here, I held my peace." He refers to a thin-faced passenger who became famous, and continues in this manner: "He cleft a path among the people on deck (we were nearly all on deck), and, without addressing anyone whomsoever, soliloquized as follows: " 'This may suit you, this may; but it don't suit me. This may be all very well with Down-Easters and men of Boston raising, but it won't suit my figure nohow, and no two ways about that; and so I tell you, now! I'm from the brown forests of the Mississippi, I am; and when the sun shines on me, it does shine-a little. It don't glimmer where I live, the sun don't; no, I'm a brown forester, I am; I ain't a Johnny cake. There are no smooth skins where I live; we're rough men there, rather. If Down-Easters and men of Boston a raising like this, I'm glad of it, but I'm none of that raising, nor of that breed, no. This company wants a little fixing, it does; I'm the wrong sort of a man for 'em, I am; they won't like me, they won't. This is piling of it up a little too mountainous, this is.' " "At the end of every one of these short sentences he turned upon his heel and walked the other way, chuckling to himself abruptly when he had finished another short sentence, and turning back again. "It is impossible for me to say what terrific meaning was hidden in the words of this brown forester, but I know the other passengers looked on in a sort of admiring horror, and that presently the boat was put back to the wharf (at Johnstown), and as many of the Pioneers as could be coaxed or bullied into going away were got rid of." In another note Dickens says: "We had left Harrisburg on Friday. On Sunday morning we arrived at the foot of the 363 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. mountain (Hollidaysburg), which is crossed by railroad. * * * Occasionally the rails are laid upon the extreme verge of a giddy precipice; and looking from the carriage window, the traveler gazes sheer down, without a stone or scrap of fence between, into the mountain depths below. * * * It was very pretty traveling like this, at a rapid pace along the heights of the mountain in a keen wind, to look down into a valley full of light and softness; catching glimpses, through the treetops, of scattered cabins; children running to the door; dogs bursting out to bark, whom we could see without hearing; terrified pigs scampering homeward; families sitting out in their rude gardens; cows gazing upward with a stupid indifference; men in their shirt sleeves looking in at their unfinished houses, planning out to-morrow's work; and we riding onward, high above them, like a whirlwind. It was amusing, too, when we had dined, and rattled down a steep pass, having no other moving power than the weight of the carriages themselves, to see the engine released, long after us, come buzzing down alone, like a great insect, its back of green and gold so shining in the sun that if it had spread a pair of wings and soared away no one would have had occasion, as I fancied, for the least surprise. But it stopped short of us in a very business-like manner when we reached the canal (at Johnstown), and before we left the wharf went panting up this hill again, with the passengers who had waited our arrival for the means of traversing the road by which we had come." In those days the journey from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, or vice versa, was one of three and a half days' duration, the cost of which was ten dollars, not including the price of food. At the Columbian Exposition, Chicago, one of the most interesting objects to transportation people, and especially to the residents of Johnstown, was the relief map of the Old Portage Railroad from Johnstown to the tunnel at the head of Plane No. 1, which had been prepared and was exhibited by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in its building. The map, showing the basin, roadway, river, mountains, and gulches, was prepared from actual surveys and measurements, and had diminutive cars to explain how section boats, etc., were taken out of the water and carried over the mountains. The exhibit is now in the possession of that company in its Historical Department, in Philadelphia, where almost everything, from the 364 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. wooden spoke and felloe to its successor now in use, is kept to show the progress made in transportation facilities. The only inland competitor of the Old Portage road for the Western and Southern trade was the National, turnpike, with its Conestoga wagons, traveling from Pittsburg to Cumberland, and a railroad from the latter place on to the East, beside the Bedford & Somerset turnpike, chartered March 13, 1816, and latterly the Stoyestown pike, and the Pittsburg and Hollidaysburg pike. The products of the West and South were brought to Pittsburg on the Ohio river, and at Pittsburg were transferred to one of these routes to the east. The Johnstown route was the most expeditious and economical for nine months in the year, and was the preferable mode of shipment. It seems incredible that less than fifty-seven years ago the situation of the commercial interests of the country and the question of transportation were in the condition depicted in the following letter, written by the man who became one of the greatest railroad men of the world-J. Edgar Thomson-the president of the Pennsylvania railroad. It was written in reply to a request made by William S. Campbell, the superintendent of the Old Portage, to arrange better connections with the Pennsylvania, which was then in partial operation. Being out of the question to make close connections at both places-Hollidaysburg and Columbia, it was his opinion then that the planes would have to be operated until midnight-at least, in the following year-but that event never occurred, as no trains were run over the road after dark: ENGINEER DEPARTMENT P. R. R. Co. } HARRISBURG, Nov. 21st, 1850. } DEAR SIR: I have received yours of the 16th. The difference between our case and yours is- First. That we have a single track and must run one way at least to schedule or we would delay all of the trains on the road, so as to cause indescribable confusion. Secondly. We run between two of the Commonwealth roads, and if we don't break connection with the Portage by waiting, we will with the Columbia road, and at the same time derange all our trains. Of the two horns of the dilemma we have to choose the least. However, the season is now nearly over, and next year it seem to me that you will have to keep your planes going until midnight by two sets of hands. The business over the road, it appears to me, will require this arrangement. Yours truly, J. EDGAR THOMSON, Wm. S. Campbell, Esq., Supt. P. R. Road. 365 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. The State records show that between 1830 and 1859 the receipts for tolls and the expenses of its operations were: Receipts ...............................$32,270,712 Expenses ............................... 30,400,433 __________ Surplus ............................ $1,870,279 This would make an average annual profit of $64,495. In 1835, the first year after the opening of the Canal through to Philadelphia with its two railroads, the following business was transacted: Twenty-five thousand passengers were hauled, 15,437 of whom were westbound and 9,563 eastbound. It carried 52,719 tons of freight of 2,000 pounds to the ton. Of it 29,740 tons were westbound, 15,439 were eastbound, and 7,540 were local shipments. Each car only carried 7,000 pounds, and the regulations would not permit them to run faster than five miles per hour, unless the ears were provided with extra, strong springs. In the early days of trails and paths, to transport a barrel of flour between Pittsburg and Philadelphia it cost $14; in 1835, by the Canal, $1.121, and now about 22 cents. In 1800, to transfer a ton of merchandise by wagon cost from $120 to $220 and took over two weeks in time, the rate depending upon the classification of the goods. In 1835, when the Canal was in operation, these rates were reduced to $14 and $22 per ton, respectively. In 1851 it was further reduced to $9 and $18, and the rates of the same classification would today be from $1.75 to $10 per ton. This decrease in the cost of transportation applies locally as well as upon through carriages; for instance, one of the larger boats, like the Cambria, could carry 300 barrels of flour, for which the cost would be twenty-five cents from Pittsburg to Johnstown; while at the present time a car holding 400 barrels will be carried the same distance for ten cents, or $40 for the service, as against $75 by water. In 1828, after the Northern pike was opened and the Canal in operation between Pittsburg and Blairsville, it cost over $15 per ton to haul metal from the Sligo Iron Works in Huntingdon county to Blairsville, a distance of 53 miles; in 1838, when the Canal and Old Portage were ready for business, the same service could be had for $4, and in 1835, when locomotive's 366 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. were first used on the levels in place of horses, the rate for the same was ninety-six cents per ton. A captain of a boat of the Cambria class received $125 per month, out of which he was required to pay all the labor and their maintenance, leaving $55 to pay for his service and the cost of lines and oil. The railroad employees on the Old Portage and the Pennsylvania Railroad were paid the following rates for a day's wages of twelve hours: 1840. Locomotive engineer $2.00 Locomotive fireman 1.12½ Conductor or Captain 2.00 Flagman .75 Brakeman .75 John Matthews, collector at Johnstown, publishes the result of the first month's operation of the Portage railroad and canal (the Old Portage being first opened for traffic March 18, 1834) as follows: Collected on canal $3,576.09½ Collected on railroad 805.36½ __________ Total $4,381.46 Arrivals on canal 80 Departures on canal 81 Number of cars arrived on railroad 639 Number of cars departed on railroad 751 Tonnage on canal 3,657,447 Tonnage on railroad 3,200,003