Natrona County WY Archives History - Books .....Railroads In Natrona County 1923 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wy/wyfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 5, 2005, 7:02 pm Book Title: History Of Natrona County, Wyoming RAILROADS IN NATRONA COUNTY The first railroad passenger train that came into Natrona county according to schedule arrived in Casper on June 15, 1888. The end of the road at that time was about a mile east from where the present passenger station is located. The "old town," or temporary location of Casper, was a short distance to the northwest from where the railroad track ended. A big celebration was had that day and night by the citizens of Casper and the passengers who remained over. How they celebrated can be imagined from the fact that Casper was then a typical frontier "cow town." A regular passenger tram service was established after a short time, but this service was abandoned in 1892, and after that the passengers reached here on an "accommodation," or combination train. After about ten years, passenger train service was, on May 11, 1903, re- established between Chadron and Casper on the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railway, which is now the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. The train was due to arrive in town at 1 o'clock, and there were gathered at the depot to welcome it the mayor and members of the town council, the president and executive committee of the Chamber of Commerce, the Casper Gun Club (all of whom had their guns with them), and about three hundred citizens. The greater portion of the male population had six-shooters in their belts. The whistle at the electric light plant gave the signal when the passenger train arrived within the town limits and immediately ten anvils were fired, which caused a vibration sufficient to break the windows in several of the business houses of the town. When the train arrived at the depot more than a hundred shots were fired from shot guns, rifles and six-shooters, and one or two of the tenderfoot passengers became frightened and refused to come from the coach until they were assured by the conductor that the citizens would do them no harm, but that this was the manner in which they wished to show their appreciation of the improved train service into a western frontier town at the end of the road. The train consisted of three passenger coaches and a combination baggage and mail car. When it departed from Chadron at 5 o'clock in the morning there were thirty-eight passengers on board and when it arrived in Casper at 1 o'clock in the afternoon there were twelve passengers. In commenting upon the improved train service the local newspaper said: "What a joyful awakening there was in Casper Monday, May 11, 1903, when the toot of the first passenger train was heard. As it flew into the station whistles blew, anvils were fired and the din from hundreds of guns, adding to the noise, must have convinced the incoming passengers that something out of the ordinary was transpiring. The tram was on time too, which was something comparatively new in railroad annals at Casper. The mayor and town council were there, county officials, members of the Chamber of Commerce and citizens of the town and county in general had gathered for the event. The Northwestern could not but be impressed with the welcome accorded the new service. For years the people of Central Wyoming have begged, entreated, argued with, cajoled, threatened, fought, cursed and raved; have leveled shafts of advice, irony, venom and vitriol, at the mis-managers of the road — tons of ink and bushels of gray matter have been used to show the officials the error of their ways, but all to no avail, but at last our dreams and hopes have come true." Many tales have been told concerning the train service before the passenger train was put on, some true and some exaggerated, but it is a fact that the train was often stopped between stations while the train crew went out on the plains and hunted sage chickens, and the passengers, anxious to reach their destination, remained in the coach and slept or cursed, as best suited their fancy. In the winter time when there were heavy snow storms, train service was abandoned sometimes for three and four days, but whenever the train did arrive there were always a great many people at the station to meet and welcome it and the few passengers aboard were always thankful to arrive, even though they were always far behind the schedule. Casper was the terminus of this road until the spring of 1905, when work was commenced in May on the extension to Lander. Many were of the opinion that the building of the road farther west would cripple Casper in a business way and some of the business men followed the road to Shoshoni, Riverton, and some of the other newly-established towns, but it was not long before those who left us realized their error. Casper commenced to grow in a business way and increase in population and has steadily advanced ever since the extension of the railroad to Lander. Construction work on the extension of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway from Casper to Lander was commenced on Monday, May 2, 1905. The end of the track from 1888 until this time was several hundred yards west from where the roundhouse is located. Train service was established to Casper from the west whenever the rails were laid into one of the new stations. Cadoma, 12.1 miles from Casper, was the first station, which was established in August, 1905; this station, which has but few dwelling houses, and no business houses, but has large sheep shearing pens, has the convenience of two railroads, and it is burdened with two names; it is Cadoma on the Northwestern, and Bishop on the Burlington. Rails were laid into Seminole, the name afterwards being changed to Bucknum, 22.4 miles west, on November 13, and on that date a daily passenger train service was established between this point and Casper. Natrona, 32.1 miles from Casper; Powder River, 41.1 miles; Mokoma, afterwards changed to Waltman, 53.2 miles; Wolton, 62.8 miles; Richards, 73.2 miles; Moneta, 82.5 miles; Ocla, 93 miles, and Shoshoni, 103.1 miles west from Casper, required more than a year in the building of the line. Passenger train service between Casper and Shoshoni was established on Monday, July 3, 1906. The train consisted of three passenger coaches, one mail and baggage car, and all the freight cars that were required to haul the freight that was consigned to any of the stations along the route. This train left Casper daily, except Sunday, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and arrived at noon. Passenger tram service was established between Casper and Lander, a distance of 148.1 miles, on Wednesday, October 17, 1906. A great many of the people living at Lander had never seen a train of cars until this train came into the station. Some of the citizens carne into the country before there were any railroads in the central part of the state, and as they had no occasion to make a trip to Casper or Rawlins, which were their nearest railroad points, the distance to each point being about the same, they were content to do their traveling in a buckboard or on horseback. Others were born there and never had occasion to go out of the confines of the county. One old fellow, when he learned that the train was to come into Lander that day, immediately went to the station, and when informed that the train would not arrive for several hours, remarked that he had been waiting sixty-five years to see a train of railroad cars, and he guessed he could wait now with patience for several hours. When the train arrived it was immediately surrounded with a throng of curious, excited men, women and children who looked upon the engine especially with awe and admiration. When the people were the most interested and were listening to an explanation and description of the mechanism of the locomotive, by a man who had seen a railroad train several times before, the engineer put his head out of the cab window and called out: "Stand back, for I am now going to turn this train around." There was immediately a great scattering, and it did not dawn upon them for some time that the train could not be turned around on a single track. In a beautiful description of how the people felt about the railroad invading the confines of Lander, Cora V. Wesley, editor of the Mountaineer, the weekly newspaper of that town, said: "Tears trickled down our cheeks and sadness crept over the household because the rural beauties of the western life were to sink into the great abyss of the past. Real, genuine tears of grief and joy chasing each other in mad confusion, trying to gain the victory." The most disastrous and death-dealing accident that ever occurred on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway system in Wyoming was the wreck that took place on Sunday night, shortly after 9 o'clock, March 19, 1906, about twenty-six miles northwest of Casper, which resulted in the death of ten men and the injury of sixteen. The wrecked train was an extra which left Powder River station about 8 o'clock in the evening, and consisted of a new model heavy engine, two large water cars, a tool car, and two way cars. The twenty-six men who were either killed or injured were in the front way car. The scene of the accident was where the railroad crossed the old channel of Casper creek, where a four-foot culvert had been placed under the track, and this had been washed out in the afternoon of that day, leaving only the rails and ties over a chasm about twelve feet wide and eighteen feet deep. The train was being run at a moderate rate of speed when this point was reached and the engineer could not see that the earth had been washed away. The engine, tender and two water cars passed over the unsupported rails in safety, but the way car in which the workmen were riding broke through, the front end of the car tipping into the channel, and as the car went down the men and everything in the car were thrown in a heap to the front end. The tool car, which was at the rear of the way car, broke in the middle at the edge of the channel, half of the car, with its contents, piling on top of the way car. The engine, after passing over the chasm, broke loose from its tender, straddled the rails and went ahead a short distance, but the two heavy water cars had broken loose and came back on the track and fell in the channel on top of the way car where the men were pinioned. These water cars, as they fell into the channel, broke through the way car and no doubt were the cause of the death and injury of most of the men. The trainmen who were in the rear way car, which did not leave the track, were powerless at first to render assistance to the unfortunate men who were pinned beneath tons of heavy wreckage and were in the midst of the muddy, roaring, rushing stream. The awful cries of the poor unfortunate men caused some of the men who were looking on to faint, while others were so shocked and bewildered that they were speechless and dumb for the first few minutes, and then, to add to the horror of the situation, the wreckage caught fire. The horror-stricken men who were on the bank lighted torches and, assisted by the light of a few lanterns, succeeded in getting down to the edge of the water among the wreckage, and by dipping water in their hats and soaking their coats and throwing them on the flames, in a short time succeeded in extinguishing the blaze. A heavy, wet snow was falling and the weather was intensely cold, and this added to the sufFering of the injured men and the discomfiture of the rescuers. Holes were chopped through the floor of the car in which the men were fastened and the timbers were cleared away as much as possible, but the cold and stormy weather, and the pitch-dark night handicapped the rescuers. Twice more the wreckage caught on fire during the night, but through the heroic efforts of the men the flames were extinguished, and when daylight came all the injured men had been rescued and four of the men who had been killed had been removed from the wreckage. The news of the disaster was received in Casper at about 10 o'clock that night, less than an hour after it occurred, and at 11 o'clock a train was made up with about forty men on board, consisting of all the available doctors in town, railroad officials and workmen, but on account of the weakened condition of the bridge across the Platte river, a mile west from town, the train could not cross. A number of hand cars were then secured and most of the men started for the scene of the wreck by this means of transportation. At 1 o'clock in the morning they had traveled but twelve miles through the heavy, blinding snowstorm, and the hand cars were abandoned and the men started to walk the balance of the distance, sixteen miles, through snow, slush and mud. Many fell by the wayside and others had to be assisted along the route. After traveling all night Father Bryant was the first to arrive at the scene of the wreck at about 7:30 in the morning. He at once baptised the injured men who desired it and he gave words of cheer and comfort to all the sufferers. Superintendent J. P. Cantillon and Drs. Dean and Gillam were not far behind and they dressed and cared for the wounded as best they could, until Dr. Keith and Dr. Morgan and two doctors from Douglas, who came to Casper on a special tram, arrived in a buggy at about 9 o'clock, and they assisted in the care of the injured men. The Platte River bridge was repaired as soon as possible, and at 10 o'clock in the morning a relief train left Casper, but on account of the bad condition of the track very slow time was made and it did not arrive at the scene of the wreck until about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The injured men were taken into this train and placed on cots and the men who had worked all night and half of the day without food or drink were provided with hot coffee, meat and bread. The relief train returned to Casper at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and the bodies of the men were taken to the undertakers' and the injured men were taken to the annex of the Episcopal church were an emergency hospital had been established. Among the killed was Charles Moll, who had been an employee of the railroad company for about ten years. J. W. Price, who was assistant to Mr. Moll, was also killed. D. B. Blue, section foreman at Cadoma, was also among the killed, and the other seven who were killed and all the injured were Servians who had come to Casper a few months before to work on the railroad extension from Casper to Lander. The railroad company paid all the expense of having the injured men cared for and in addition gave each man $100. To the relatives of the Servians $1,000 was given for each man killed, and to the families of Charles Moll, D. B. Blue and J. W. Price $3,500 was given. The burning of a bridge two and one-half miles east from Wolton until there were only a few charred embers remaining of the structure was the cause of another wreck at about 2:15 Sunday afternoon, September 9, 1917, and E. R. Anderson, engineer, and Frank Cross, fireman, were killed. When the train approached the bridge there was no visible indication from the engine cab that the framework of the structure had been destroyed and the engine plunged down a seventeen-foot embankment and the sixty-foot span immediately gave way. Seven freight cars came over the embankment on top of the engine and the chasm was completely covered with wreckage. The trainmen made an effort to rescue the engine men but their efforts were unsuccessful, and one of them walked back to Wolton and had word sent to Casper to have the wrecking and construction crews come out and clear the debris and build a temporary bridge, while the others remained at the scene of the wreck to extinguish a fire of the wreckage should one be started from the coals in the fire box of the engine. The bodies of the engineer and fireman were brought to Casper and the railroad company made every effort to find the parties who caused the fire, but they were never apprehended. It was thought that tramps built a fire under the bridge in order to keep warm, and then went away and left it, and the upright timbers were burned unknown to anyone. Early in October, 1897, Thomas S. Moffat, of Chicago, superintendent of construction of the Wyoming & Northwestern Railroad, wrote a letter to the publisher of the Wyoming Derrick, published at Casper, saying, "I am pleased to tell you that the building of the Wyoming & Northwestern Railroad west from Casper is a fixed fact, and operations will be begun just as soon as the detail of getting material together can be arranged." This was the company which filed articles of incorporation with the county clerk in Casper in the spring of 1897, defining the route from Casper to the western boundary of Natrona county, or, more particularly, to Ervay, at the foot of the Rattlesnake mountains. "It is strange, indeed," commented the local newspaper, "that the Rattlesnake oil basin has not long since been opened to the world, and would have been, had not the financial stringency of the past five years through which the country has been passing hindered. Regarding the Rattlesnake petroleum, and its high standard of value, needs but a reference to Professor Taylor, the celebrated Standard Oil company's chemist; to Professor Aughey, the distinguished Wyoming oil chemist; Wyner and Harland, public assayists, London, England, and scores of other reliable chemists of the United States, Germany, Holland, France, and Canada." The proposed railroad was to have extended sixty miles from Casper, its main purpose being to transport the oil from the Rattlesnake oil fields to Casper. The people of Casper, however, did not become very enthusiastic or excited over the proposed new railroad, and like many of the numerous other railroads, its construction was wholly on paper. For twenty-five years there was but one railroad in Natrona county. The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad company hauled all the freight, mail, express and passengers in and out of Casper from June 15, 1888, until October 20, 1913, then the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railway service was established, and Casper was considered the largest railroad center in Wyoming. A temporary survey was made by the Burlington company for its line through Natrona county in the fall of 1909, but the question of building the road was not definitely settled until December of that year, when the real estate agent for the company bought eighty acres of land in the extreme northern part of the town from W. F. Dunn, Eugene McCarthy and Patrick Sullivan, forty acres northeast of town from J. F. Stanley and twenty acres northeast of town from W. A. Blackmore and John Cosgrove. The land north of town was considered at that time worth $250 per acre, but the land agent of the railroad company declared that he would pay but $100 per acre for it, and if he could not purchase it at that price the railroad company would build its station a mile east from town. The owners of the land finally reduced the price to $150 per acre, and the citizens of the town subscribed enough money so the railroad company got the land for $100 per acre and the owners received $150 per acre. After the agreement for the sale of the land had been made it was announced by the railroad officials that Casper would be a general division station; that the machine shops would be located here, and that "the people of Casper would have no regrets that the Burlington system was going to become a part of the community." This was considered the greatest addition the town had had since the Chicago & Northwestern had been built into Casper, and the people were greatly encouraged^, and it was predicted that the town would increase from a population of less than 3,000 to at least 7,000 inside of one year after the road was in operation; that many new lines of business would be established here and that a second railroad was all we required to make this the great metropolis of Wyoming. There was then scarcely a house on the land purchased by the Burlington company, and now there are more than a thousand dwelling houses on the land north of the track, in addition to the many stores,- shops and buildings of other kinds, among which are two fine school buildings which accommodate more than six hundred pupils. The contract was awarded by the Burlington for the building of its grade from Powder River station to a point sixteen miles east from Casper on February 25, 1910, but construction work was discontinued during the month of December, 1910, when the rails were laid through the canyon east from Thermopolis to a point near the Boysen dam, and work was not resumed until the spring of 1913. A contract was let on February 10, 1913, for the building of 140 miles of track, from Powder River to Orin Junction. After this contract was let the work was pushed as rapidly as possible, and on September 23, 1913, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the first rail within the limits of Casper on this road was spiked to the ties. The laying of this rail in the limits of the town was witnessed by about fifty citizens, and after that most important event they came uptown and celebrated the occasion as such events were usually celebrated in those days. Passenger train service between Billings and Casper was established on October 20, 1913, the first train coming in from the west at 7 o'clock in the evening. The service was tri-weekly, and the train departed from Casper on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 o'clock in the morning and arrived on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 o'clock in the evening. Two boxcars were fitted up and used as a passenger, freight and express depot at that time. The work of laying the rails from Casper to Origin Junction, a distance of sixty-eight miles, was commenced on June 26, 1914, the connection being made the middle of October, and through passenger train service from Billings, Montana, to Denver, Colorado, was established October 19, 1914. By this time a frame building had been erected in Casper which was later used as a freight office, but was then used as a passenger depot. Work was commenced on the excavation for the foundation of the $100,000 passenger depot May 27, 1915, and the building was formally opened on the evening of February 3, 1916. The Casper band furnished the music, refreshments were served and it was estimated that more than four thousand people went through the building during the evening. The hopes and anticipations of the people at that time of Casper becoming the chief city of the state have more than come true and the citizens surely can have "no regrets that the Burlington railway system has become a part of the community." The railroad mileage in Natrona county is 170.18, with the Chicago & Northwestern covering 85.35, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy covering 84.83 miles. Additional Comments: History of NATRONA COUNTY WYOMING 1888-1922 True Portrayal of the Yesterdays of a New County and a Typical Frontier Town of the Middle West. Fortunes and Misfortunes, Tragedies and Comedies, Struggles and Triumphs of the Pioneers and Illustrations BY ALFRED JAMES MOKLER Publisher of the Natrona County Tribune from June 1, 1897, to October 15, 1914 R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY CHICAGO (1923) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wy/natrona/history/1923/historyo/railroad8gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wyfiles/ File size: 24.0 Kb