Linn County, Missouri - Chapter 9, 1912

Chapter 9

Railroads of Linn County - The First Campaign Inspired by Exorbitant Steamboat Rates - Railroad Convention at Chillicothe in 1847 - Linn County's Delegates - First Great Disaster on Hannibal S St. Joe Road - The Bushwhacker - General Grant as a Protector of the Road - W. C. Brown - S. E. Crance - J. W. Mnlhern - Tom Beeler, Pioneer Operator - P. H. Houlahan - 7. N. Wilber on War- Time Railroading - How the Engines Were Named - The Burlington £ Sonthwestern - John McCartney - Thirty Years an Engineer - When Thayer teas the Division Toivn - Bishop Hogan - George H. Davis - The Pony Express - First Officials of the "Joe" - First Run of the "Eli" - Marceline and the Santa Fe - First Double Track in Missouri - General Notes.

In its issue of November 6, 1846, the St. Joseph Gazette sounded the note that announced the dawn of the railroad era in northern Missouri :

"Our country is destined to suffer much, and is now sufifering, from the difficulty of navigation and the extremely high rates the boats now charge. Our farmers may calculate that they will get much less for produce and will be compelled to pay much more for their goods than heretofore, and this will certainly always be the case when the Missouri river shall be as low as it now is. The chances are fearfully against having any considerable work bestowed in improving the river, and until it is improved by artificial means the navigation of it to this point must always be dangerous and very uncertain.

"We suggest the propriety of a railroad from St. Joseph to some point on the Mississippi - either St. Louis, Hannibal or Quincy. For ourselves, we like the idea of a railroad to one of the latter places suggested, for this course would place us nearer to the eastern cities and would make our road thither a direct one ; we like this road, too, because it would so much relieve the intermediate country, which is now sufifering and must always suffer so much for transportation facilities in the absence of such an enterprise."

bore early fruit. Prominent men were interested all the way across the state, and "An Act to Incorporate the Hannibal & St. Joseph Kailroad Company" was passed by the General Assembly and approved by the governor February 16, 1847. The stockholders named were: Joseph Eobidoux, John Corby and Robert J. Boyd, of St. Joseph; Samuel J. Harrison, Zachariah G. Draper and Erasmus M. Moffet, of Hannibal; Alexander McMurty, Shelbj^ county; George A. Shortridge and Thomas Sharp, Macon county; Westley Halliburton, Linn county ; John Graves, Livingston county ; Eobert Wilson, Daviess county, and George W. Smith, Caldwell county.

A railroad convention was held at Chillicothe on June 2, 1847, attended by delegates from all the counties through which the Hannibal & St. Joseph road was to pass. The delegates from Linn country were W. B. Woodruff, Joseph C. Moore, James Lintell, John J. Flora, Jeremiah Phillips and W. Halliburton.

The main subject for discussion was the procurement of means to build the road. A eonunittee consisting of one member from each county was appointed to draft a plan. W. B. Woodruff was the committeeman from Linn county.

"3. That the company procure a subscription to the stock by eastern capitalists, and, should the foregoing means prove inadequate, we recommend that the legislature pass an act authorizing the company to issue bonds, to be indorsed by the governor or secretary of state for the residue; the company to give a mortgage on the whole work to the state for the liquidation of the bonds."

"That whereas this convention has adopted a resolution authorizing a memorial to congress for donation of alternate sections of land to aid in the construction of the contemplated railroad, also authorizing a memorial to the legislature for such aid in the undertaking as can be afforded consistently with the rights of other portions of the state; therefore, we, the delegates, pledge ourselves to support no man for congress who will not pledge hunself to the support of the proposition aforesaid, nor will we support any man for governor, lieutenantgovernor or member of the legislature who will not pledge himself to give such aid in the construction of the said railroad as may be consistent with the rights of other portions of the state as contemplated by the resolution aforesaid."

It appears the convention was not very sanguine of an early operation of the railroad, as the following resolution relative to a stage route, offered by Mr. Sharp of Macon, was adopted:

"Whereas, It is not only extremely important to the agricultural and commercial interests of the immediate country that a good wagon road be opened from St. Joseph to Hannibal, but the United States mail stages cannot be put in motion on said route until said road shall be opened; and

"Whereas, It is of the utmost importance, as well to the whole intermediate country as to the two extremes, that mail facilities be speedily obtained in stages through said country; therefore

"Resolved by the Convention, That it be recommended to each county through which said road may pass, immediately to open, bridge, and put in good repair the said road, in order that mail stages may be immediately started, according to the act of congress establishing said route."

"Also to petition congress that, should any of the alternate sections on the road, or within six miles on either side thereof, be sold at any time subsequent to the sixteenth day of February, 1847, and before the action of congress in relation to these lands, other lands be granted as nearly contiguous as possible in lieu thereof."

There was an energetic campaign in all the counties, and, looking at it from this era, it seems strange that opposition was encountered on the ground that a railroad through this country would be unwise and impractical. It is stated that a certain member of the legislature took the stump against the railroad because it would be an inducement for negro slaves to desert. Others asserted that it would be impossible to make a roadbed that would stand in rainy weather; that ox and mule teams were the surer power, and there was no danger of them blowing up and killing lots of people. Many of the residents in the sections campaigned had never seen a railroad train and could not understand the utility of such a method. What the countrj' needed, they said, was good highways for stages and freight wagons to the river, where the boats would take care of the traffic.

The first aid given to the Hannibal & St. Joe Eailroad, by Linn county, as far as the record shows, was a donation of $200 by the county court, December 17, 1849. This was used towards defraying surveying expenses. A further donation of $500 to the road was made by the Linn county court in the spring of 1851. Later, stock to the amount of $25,000 was subscribed. At that period the purpose was for the road to run by way of Bloomington in Macon county and Linneus in Linn county.

The Linn county court ordered that A. W. Flournoy be appointed as agent for Linn county to confer with the board of directors of the Hannibal &: St. Joseph Eailroad Company concerning the location of the road, and should the location be made through Linneus, then Flournoy was authorized to renew the subscription of $25,000 heretofore made to the road, and to subscribe $30,000 additional, to be paid to the railroad company from the proceeds of the sale of swamp and overflowed lands in Linn county; in the event that the location was not made through Linneus, the board of directors of the road were to be notified of the withdrawal of the entire amount subscribed.

The railroad made application to the county court for right-ofway through Linn county November 5, 1855. This application was granted by the court.

At 7 o'clock on the morning of February 13, 1859, the Hannibal & St. Joseph road was completed, and an unbroken line of steel extended from the Mississippi river to the Missouri river. The final connection was made near Chillicothe. The road is now a main line of the Burlington System, but old-timers refuse to recognize it by any other name than the "Hannibal & St. Joe."

It is strongly suspected that a certain well-known pioneer Missourian, whom "Mark Twain" weighted with the unstable but always optimistic character of "Col. Sellers," was the real originator of the scheme to build a line from the Mississippi river to the Missouri river. Some of the patriarchal inhabitants solemnly assert that Bob Stewart and his associates followed precisely the ox-plow furrow "Col. Sellers" made across the state to show where the road ought to run, and that the test applied by the surveyors and engineers showed that no better ''locating surv^ey" could have been made. They speak of it as "the

In the first year or two of its existence the Hannibal & St. Joe made enough history to fill a big book. The war came on and developed that wild character that became so widely known and dreaded - the "bushwhacker." He looked at the railroad as his legitimate prey, and it was rare that a train journeyed across the state without cariying into the terminal marks of his attention. His work was especially in evidence at the big bridges. The first and worst disaster that ever occurred on the line was caused by bushwhackers in the year 1861. W. C. Brown, who later became president of the New York Central Lines, not long ago, sent to his friend. Judge Spencer, general attorney for the Missouri lines of the Burlington, a copy of the Ne%v York Herald of September 7, 1861, containing an account of the bushwhackers' murderous work at Platte river bridge, near St. Joseph. From 1890 to 1896 Mr. Brown was general manager of the Hannibal & St. Joe and the Kansas City, St. Joe & Council Bluffs lines. He began as a tie chopper, worked up to section foreman, operator, train dispatcher, trainmaster, superintendent and manager.

"Terrible Koad Catastrophe - Diabolical Outrage on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Eailroad - Seventeen Lives Lost and a Large Number Wounded," etc. It recites, through correspondence with St. Louis papers, the wrecking of a passenger train, bound west, September 3. The timber of the Little Platte river bridge, nine miles east of St. Joseph, had been burned nearly through, and the entire train went down. Bushwhackers are blamed for the outrage.

"Abe Hager, baggagemaster of the railroad, furnished a graphic story of the wreck. The passenger cars were completely smashed, and he was the only one to escape unhurt. He came to St. Joe, got an engine, physicians and necessities for the wounded, hurrjdng back to the scene of the wreck. He is quoted as saying : ' The greatest excitement prevails in St. Joseph in regard to this inhuman outrage.'

"An additional account says that the train carried from eightyfive to one hundred passengers. The fire had been extinguished before entirely destroying the bridge, which was a substantial work of 100-foot span, leaving it a mere shell. But three persons - J. W. Parker, superintendent of the United States Express, and Mail Agents Mars and

"Hager walked five miles out of the way back to St. Joseph, making the remainder of the trip on a hand ear. He found a heavjoak tie bound across the track two hundred yards from the bridge, and two miles further on he found the trestlework over a small stream was on fire.

"Though the wreck occurred on September 3, and the story was printed four days later, there is no list of killed or injured. The names of several victims are given, but there seems to have been great difficulty in getting the details of the wreck."

Mr. Brown found this old copy of the Herald while tearing down an old building that was in the way of some improvements being made for the Central's offices in New York.

"As this little incident was undoubtedly participated in by a number of your cousins from Taos, I know you will be interested in it, and you may perhaps value it as a souvenir.

"My dear Brown: I have yours inclosing paper containing account of 'diabolical outrage,' etc. I have always supposed the train was believed to be loaded with soldiers. As far as I have been able to ascertain the facts, it would seem that 'my cousins,' in their unlawful acts, were trying to retaliate on you and your cousins for stealing our negroes and running them into Canada.

"It was the first and greatest wreck on the Hannibal & St. Joe road. The bridge was a Howe truss. The supports were sawed at one end by the bushwhackers. There were five coaches in the train, and all well filled. Everything went into the river but one car. Sixteen people, including the engineer, conductor and one of the brake-

"I organized a relief crew at St. Joseph and we hurried to the scene, which was only nine miles down the road. The outlaws - many of them - were coolly standing around when we arrived. Some of them told me they intended to get me the next time. There were only a few soldiers on the train, and to destroy them the bushwhackers had recklessly proceeded against a trainload of noncombatants. Their object was to stop the transportation of soldiers over the line, but their work resulted in the government building blockhouses at all the big bridges and garrisoning them with a strong body of soldiers."

Several times following attempts were made to burn bridges, but the bushwhackers were driven off with loss. General Grant was stationed at the Salt river bridge in the early days of the war, and he made many friends among the people in the vicinity. Even the strongest Southern sympathizers learned to love the plain, quiet soldier when they became acquainted with him. It was while in this service that General Grant, then Colonel Grant, set out to give battle to Colonel Harris and his somewhat noted body of Confederate rangers. But at the place where they expected the fight there was no opposing soldiery. Colonel Harris had quietly moved away. General Grant afterward said he there learned a great military fact - that the enemy might be as much afraid of him as he was of the enemy.

Mr. Brown is not the only man the Hannibal and St. Joe has schooled for larger duties. Something like twenty-six years ago the Hannibal & St. Joseph lost its old identity by being absorbed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and afterwards becoming a part of the great Burlington Eoute. The "old guard" had to go, and wdth them came the resignation of W. E. Woodard, the picturesque superintendent, as well as J. H. Barnard, at that time general manager. The result was that W. F. Merreli became the new general manager, and S. E. Crance superintendent of the Hannibal & St. Joseph, now, properly speaking, the Brookfield division of the Burlington System. Mr. Crance came to Hannibal from Illinois, where he had been railroading from way back in the days when he was a brakeman. But he decided that the superintendent of the road should be located at Brookfield instead of Hannibal, and in 1885 the office of superintendent was moved to Brookfield, where it has since been. The coming of Crance brought a lot of followers, and for a few years they continued to come from Aurora, from the famous Fox river division ; from Galesburg and from the St. Louis line of the C, B. & Q. For about six years Superintendent

Crance resided in Brookfield and then was promoted to general superintendent of the entire Missouri lines, with headquarters at St. Joseph. Naturally, when coining to Brookfield, Mr. Crance wanted his own trainmaster, and it was twenty-five years ago one pleasant Sunday afternoon that a stately young looking man with rather classic features, stepped off the train pulling in from the east.

That was P. H. Houlahan, who had grown up in railroading over on the "Q" and through the solicitation of Sam Crance was induced to leave the Cotton Belt, where he was trainmaster, and come to Brookfield. In a short time Mr. Houlahan was promoted to assistant superintendent, and when Mr. Crance went to St. Joseph some years later, Mr. Houlahan was made superintendent, and filled the position successfully until 1902, when he resigned to accept general superintendency of the Clover Leaf.

On June 1, Colonel Crance resigned as general superintendent upon Ms own volition, wishing to spend his declining days, after a railway career of forty years, in ease and comfort, which with a competency he was able to do until he died. He acted in an advisory capacity the remainder of that year, after which he returned to Brookfield, on account of kindred ties, and being interested financially here. He died here some six years ago and was buried at Aurora. But his memory lives.

A man who entered into the early history of the Hannibal & St. Joseph is T. S. Beeler. Tom Beeler was a i^ioneer operator and afterward dispatcher. Everybody liked Beeler. He knew his business and was here when Brookfield had less than one thousand people. He was here during several administrations, those of Towne, Mead, AVoodard and Crance, leaving several years ago. During his citizenship in Brookfield, Mr. Beeler had been dispatcher, chief dispatcher and trainmaster, and was succeeded in the latter position by J. W. Mulhern, who came to Brookfield twenty years ago or more. The i)ublic liked Mulhern. He was always affable and courteous.

As trainmaster he gave satisfaction, judging by the fourteen years he filled the position here at Brookfield. Mr. Mulhern is now general superintendent on the Rio Grande Western.

Since the Crance and Houlahan regimes on the Brookfield division there have been several superintendents, to-wit: F. H. Ustick, now general superintendent of the Missouri lines ; J. E. Votaw, W. F. Thiehoff. S. H. Shults, J. Eussell, E. P. Bracken, W. C. Welch, while W. A. Chittenden is the present superintendent, and R. F. Ledford assistant superintendent.

Burlington for many years past lias been R. H. Allen, chief dispatcher, succeeding H. W. Hamm in the latter position eight years ago. Mr. Allen has been -with the Burlington as operator, dispatcher and chief, since 1879, and has been here at Brookfield since 1884. It is Mr. Allen who "gets behind the gun" in the operation of the Brookfield division.

P. H. Houlahan, who began at the very bottom of railroading and became division superintendent of the line, later held the responsible position of manager of the Chicago & Alton, and Clover Leaf, with headquarters at Chicago. Mr. Houlahan gave to the road one of the most vitalizing influences - the application of the personal element of responsibility for the safety of trains. He taught his men that they themselves were the main reliance ; after them came the safety devices, the signals, the automatic brake, the safety switch and all that. Howard Elliott, who became president of the Northern Pacific, was another man who left the impress of his work on the "Joe."

I. N. Wilber, now retired and residing at Brookfield, was in the service of the Hannibal & St. Joseph road fifty years. He was born in Duchess county, New York, February 24, 1836. He came to Missouri December 1, 1857, and began in the service of the road as tie chopper at a point near St. Joseph. He proceeded by successive stages from the chopper to carpenter, night watchman, brakeman, conductor, fireman, engineer, machinist, round house foreman, general foreman, division master mechanic, and, finally, master mechanic of the large electrical shops of the road at Hannibal. Mr. Wilber resigned January 1, 1908, at the completion of his half century of service. On the occasion of his retirement the officials of the road paid Mr. Wilber this complimentary recognition of his long and efficient service.

"The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad receives with regret the resignation of I. N. Wilber and takes this method of expressing its appreciation of his loyal and devoted service through an unbroken period of fifty years, and its sincere hope for his continued happiness and prosperity."

"When I came to Missouri in 1857 the terminus of the Hannil)al & St. Joseph road was fifty miles west of the Mississippi river, at the village of Clarence, so I had to go the balance of the way to St. Joseph in a stage coach. My first work was on the construction of depots, tracks, etc., until connection was made two miles east of Chillicothe, February 13, 1859. I was then promoted to the position of brakeman.

named instead of numbered, and were as well known as the cities and prominent people of that day. The residents along the line would select some particular engine as their favorite and they would discuss the capabilities of that engine in comparison with some other engine in the same way we used to talk about one steamboat being able to beat another. The following is a list of the locomotives identified with the early history of the road and the development of Missouri : Missouri, Albany, E. M. Stewart (named after the first president of the road), Hannibal, St. Joseph, Governor Polk, Marion, Shelby, Macon, Linn, Livingston, Caldwell and Buchanan. Having run short of great men, they named the latter seven engines after the counties through which the road operated. Fifteen more engines were purchased in 1859 and these were named after noted Indian tribes of the "West, i. e., Cherokee, Chippewa, Mohegan, Ottawa, Chickasaw, Oneida, Comanche, Seneca, Miami, Appache, Omaha, Ontario, etc. Later six more locomotives were added to the rolling stock and these were named in honor of the territories of Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Montana and Utah. They were all wood burners with 16-inch cylinders.

"Governor Polk changed to General Lyon - Soon after the battle of Wilson's Creek, in August, 1861, the Governor Polk was changed to the General Lyon, as a tribute to the dead hero, and as a rebuke to Governor Polk for his position on the slavery question. The management of the road was strongly in sympathy with the Federal government.

"A War-Time Engineer - In 186.3 I was given my first engine to run, and continued as an engineman during the balance of the war. Those were trying times for railroad men in Missouri. Many of the locomotives had cabs constructed of boiler steel to protect the enginemeu from the bullets of the ubiquitous bushwhackers.

"Block Houses - In 1864 block houses were erected at Salt Eiver, Chariton and North River to protect the Howe Truss bridges, or rather, the block houses protected the soldiers who were protecting the bridges against the torch of the bushwhacker. These houses, I believe, were built by the government, as the Hannibal and St. Joseph was the line that carried the mail and government supplies and every effort was made to keep it open for traffic.

"Colonel L^. S. Grant at Salt Eiver - I was pulling a west-bound passenger train in the summer of 1861 and on reaching Salt Eiver in Shelby county, we found that a gang of bushwhackers had burned the bridge. There, for the first time, I saw U. S. Grant and his regiment transferring their wagons and munitions of war across the river. Little did we think that in a few years that plain soldier who was there quietly directing those ordinary tasks would become the greatest military chief in the land.

"Soldier and Engineer - During the war we railroad boys performed double service. When we came in off the road at the end of our trip we were placed on guard duty, or drilled by Captain Loomis, our assistant superintendent. Our work as soldiers consisted largely in guarding the company's property. The only active service we had was when we were sent out to Shrinkey to capture Tom Harris and his band, who were terrorizing the community, but after being locked up in the old seminary at Monroe for two days, and coming very near being captured ourselves by the redoubtable Tom we got back to work, and I decided that I would be a more brilliant success as a railroad man than as a soldier.

"Early Day Wages - I was paid for my work from 1857 to 1865 as follows: One dollar a day for chopping ties, $1.25 as brakeman, $1.50 as fireman, and $2.50 as engineer.

"Coal Ticket as a Train Order - In the early 60 's we were on a west-bound train and had an order to meet an east-bound train at Bevier, at midnight. Bevier was then, as it is now, the great coal mining town of the state. On arriving there we found that the other train had not yet reached there. It was a beautiful smnmer night and my fireman and I got out on top of the cab and laid down to take a nap in the moonlight. It appeared the conductor and brakeman were also taking a snooze on top of the way-car or caboose. At day break the conductor woke up and aroused us. When we all got stretched out and thoroughly awake we decided to proceed, but one thing bothered us - had that train gone through ? If it had, not a one of us heard it. Bevier was not a telegraph office then. Some future great railroad man suggested that we walk over to the coal shed and make a search through the coal tickets, and if we found on file there a coal ticket with a number of the engine we had orders to meet we would know that the train had passed us in the night. Sure enough we found the ticket there and it was ample evidence to warrant us in proceeding. We reached the division at Brookfield four hours late. No questions were asked us and we had no statements to give out. I don't suppose the superintendent or the dispatcher ever discovered our little dereliction, if such you might call it, for every fellow worked out his own individual salvation in those days the best he could, and felt his personal responsibility in getting the train over the road safely."

January 22, 1868. Two companies were organized to build a railroad from Linneus to Stanley, a point on the Brunswick and Chillicothe road, then under construction. The companies referred to were known as the Central Railroad and the North Missouri Central road. The plan of the former was to build from Laclede south to a junction with the Brunswick road; the latter was to run from Linneus to Laclede.

The Missouri Central was organized first. The promoters in seeking aid had promised to build to Liimeus, but insisted upon using all the subscription to be paid on that part of the road extending south of Laclede. To this the people of Linneus objected. They very naturally demanded that the work should commence at their town, and used south of it, or at Laclede and used in building the line north. Laclede would not consent to this and so the North Missouri Central Company was organized. This company entered into a contract to commence at Linneus and to prepare the road-bed for the iron to Laclede, and the Missouri Central was to build south of Laclede to the junction with the Brunswick road. When eacli company had performed its part of the contract they were to be consolidated in one company. The two companies went to work and expended all the money they had, and then work was suspended over the entire line. A new contract was made June 9, 1868, but nothing much was done in the way of construction until 1871. B. F. Northcott, president of the North Missouri Central Company, made an effort to revive the work. Negotiations were opened with another road and the North Missouri Central became a branch of the St. Joseph & Iowa Eailroad, with headquarters at St. Joseph. The purpose was to get a northern outlet to reach Burlington and Chicago, and if possible to get some strong northern company to take hold and equip the road. To this end the managers devoted their efforts to construct the road-bed.

The contract which eventually resulted in the establishment of the road which is now operating north and south through Linn county was as follows:

St. Joseph, Missouri, April 12, 1871. At a regular meeting of the Executive Committee appointed by the Board of Directors of said company, and authorized to act in these premises, this day held, there were present John Severance, William M. Albin, James A. Matney and Jefferson Chandler, constituting a quorum of said committee. The following action was had:

"Whereas, The St. Joseph & Iowa company have undertaken the construction of a branch railroad, under the name of the Central North Missouri branch of the St. Joseph and Iowa railroad, therefore,

"Resolved, That B. F. Northcott, Joseph Combs and Marion Cave are hereby authorized to act as agents to receive the donations, and for the procuring and receiving of subscriptions to stock to aid in construction, and to act for said branch until the subscribers to stock in the same shall otherwise instruct, and the form herein underwritten shall be sufficient subscription to such stock, and shall be binding on such company when ratified by said company. AVe, the undersigned, agree to take the number of shares of capital stock set opposite our names, respectively, in the name of the Central North Missouri branch of the St. Joseph & Iowa Railroad, for the lourjiose of aiding in the construction of said branch, and promise to pay to the St. Joseph & Iowa railroad company $100 for each of said shares. Said money to be applied to the construction of said branch, and to be for its exclusive use and benefit. ' '

When the above mentioned agents- were appointed the Bt. Joseph & Iowa Railroad did not own a seal, so Mr. Northcott had one made and presented it to the company. Its chief use was in stamping the above contract. The arrangement with the St. Joseph and Iowa Railroad resulted in a change of the plans by the Missouri Central Company. Tlds company decided to follow the example of the Central North Missouri branch and to cast its fortunes with th^ St. Louis & Iowa Company. On May .31, 1871, it deeded all its rights, privileges and franchises to the Central branch of the St. Joseph and Iowa Railroad, with stipulations for the completion of the road south of Laclede.

Sullivan and Putnam counties subscribed liberally for stock to aid in building the road, but finally the St. Joseph & Iowa people turned over the matter to a company known as the Burlington and Southwestern, which road was eventually constructed from Burlington, Iowa, to Carrollton, Missouri, and is now in successful operation as an artery of the Burlington system.

John McCartney, former councilman and mayor of Brookfield, belongs to the class of early-day engineers on the Hannibal and St. Joe road. Born in New York state August 15, 1833, his long years hang lightly upon his well-knit frame, and he talks most enthusiastically of that happy-go-lucky period when the infant railroad was struggling to live. It was a struggle, a real one. Added to the dangers of soft roadbed, and often-times inexperienced crews, was the ever-present prospect of bushwhackers tearing up the track, burning the bridge or shoot- ing into the train. The engine cab was the target for many of these cowardly attacks, which became so frequent the sides were finally lined with sheet iron.

Mr. McCartney came to Missouri in March, 1859, directly after the road was completed, and entered its service as a fireman. Soon afterwards he was promoted to the right hand side of the engine, holding successfully the position of engineer for 30 years. As a man who is well equipped to give a good idea of pioneer railroading, Mr. McCartney was asked to describe for this histoiy, life's joys and sorrows as seen from the engineer's chair of observation. Mr. McCartney said:

"In the early sixties the engines on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad burned wood and had copper flues. These copper flues were all right for wood, but we had a world of trouble with them when they began to use coal. The sparks were more solid than woodfire sparks, and they would cut through the flues, causing the steam to blow out like the blow-off from the safety valve. Often-times the flue would burst ^yit\l a loud noise.

"The engineers of those days were taught how to repair the break, while out on the run, if the accident was not too serious. We carried iron plugs to drive in the hole. When a flue sprung a leak we had to disconnect the plunger from the cross-head - from the pump - and pump her up by hand. To stop the leak the fire would be drawn out of the firebox, and the engineer would crawl in and hunt around for the hole, or else work from the front end, wherever it might be. Sometimes it was necessary to work the pumps to locate the leak. When the hole was found the plug would be driven in, and the plunger worked by hand to fill the boiler. Of course the engine was hot, and the fixing of a plug was a pretty delicate job. When the engine got in the shops the copper flue was withdrawn and an iron one substituted. It was not long before all the engines were equiped with iron flues.

' ' The pumps in the old time engine were coupled to the cross-head and only run when the engine did. It was always necessary to put the engine in motion to get a supply of water in the boiler. We could tell how the water in the boiler was by the water cocks. There were no water gauges on locomotives then.

"When an engine was sent into the shop for repairs the engineer would look after the job himself. He had to be a good deal of a machinist to keep things in order and to make the frequent repairs necessary.

"The first engines on the 'Joe' were named after the counties along the line, and then after certain Indian tribes. The states and territories were also used, and the names of the governors. The 'Pony

' ' In the early days there were no regular switch engines at Brookfield. Each engineer had to make up his own train, unless it was already made up at St. Joe or Hannibal. They had switch engines at those terminals. The first roundhouse was built at Brookfield in 1859. When I first went to work we laid over between Bucklin and St. Catherine. (Thayer, now a cornfield.) That was the division point. There was a turntable and a little straight engine house that would hold two or three engines and a blacksmith shop. That was about all they had there.

"Among the early-day engineers that I recall are Add Clark, who pulled the 'Pony Express,' I. N. Wilber, who rose to master mechanic, and retired after fifty years' service; George P. Chapin, John McGowan, Tom Davis and Frank Bullard.

"There were wood yards all along the line. The men in charge were called 'fuel agents.' The men who sawed and supplied the wood for locomotives were given tickets by the engineers, and the company cashed these tickets. In some places the company had its own fuel depots, which were supplied by men in its employ.

"I began on the road as engineer in September, 1863. Before that I had been firing. I kept at work as engineer until 1888, the year of the big strike, when I went to Nebraska to take charge of the Kansas City and Omaha shops at Fairfield. My title was division master mechanic. The road mentioned was a part of the Union Pacific.

"In 1864, while running as engineer on the east end, we were flagged east of Clarence. A passenger train was behind us and we were trying to make Shelbina ahead of the passenger. Shelbina was then a meeting point for our train and the west-bound passenger. We were told that Shelbina was on fire ; that the place had been raided by bushwhackers, who were raising the mischief. We backed our train to j\Iacon, and the passenger, which was behind us, also stayed at Macon all night.

"Next day we went through Shelbina. The bushwhackers had burned the depot and freight house and had torn things up generally. The people were very much excited.

"During the war our road was used largely for the transportation of troops and military supplies, and the bushwhackers were constantly making trouble. When a train was started out only the good Lord knew whether any of the crew would get in alive. There were block houses at Chariton, Grand and Platte rivers on the west, and one at Salt Eiver and on the Quincy branch to the east. These were garrisoned by federal soldiers and some of them bore evidences of battle. I believe all these old block houses have now been torn down or destroyed.

"It was very difficult to get good men to run engines during the war. The men in the cab were so constantly exposed to bullets that the cabs were lined with sheet iron. At the beginning of the war engineers were paid $2.25 a day and firemen $1.25 a day. These wages had to be constantly raised to get good men to stay with the job. Finally they got down to a mileage basis. Freight engineers were paid 4 cents a mile and passenger engineers SVo cents a mile. Those were regarded as tip top prices for those days.

"I was firing on the west end the day of the 'Pony Express' run. We were hauling a local freight east, and when we reached Chillicothe we were held there an hour, so cautious were they not to let any train get on the main line too close to the fast express. It never stopped at Chillicothe at all, but whizzed by same as if that thriving city was merely a cross-roads. The only stops made by the 'Pony Express' train that day were to take on wood or water. Fuel agents were notified long ahead of time, so they could make ready to load the tender in an instant. There were two brakemen to the one ear. In the car was the overland mail, which was to be carried to the far west from St. Joseph on W. H. Russell's ponies. The head officers of the road were also in the car. From the way that little mail car rocked over the light 'chair back' rails as it sailed by us I imagined they were getting their money's worth of real thrills. Add Clark was at the lever. He was the King of Engineers at that time, and he got the little train across those wobbly rails and soft roadbed in a good deal less time than the best train on the road is making today. Of course with the modern engine and train they could beat the 'Pony Express' time if they wanted to, but it is rare nowadays that railroad officers will inaug-urate any such spectacular enterprises, except when wealthy men like 'Scotty' are willing to pay just to see what can be done in the way of running.

"The 'Pony Express' engineer had orders to run against time and make a record. He did it, and he did it without mishap. The safety with which Clark got his sawed-off train through is as much to his credit as the rapid time he made. The first consideration with a good engineer is always the safety of his train. Then comes speed.

Clark was not only a brave engineer, but he was a cautious one. As I recollect now he covered the 206 miles between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in close to four hours, or about fifty miles an hour. That was some running over the sort of a roadbed we had then. ' '

Mrs. Kate Tooey, who is yet living in Brookfield and is as young and clear-headed almost as a school girl, remembers many things of interest regarding old Thayer and the early settlement of Brookfield. She is the widow of James Tooey, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in March, 1832. Mr. Tooey came with his father, Augustine Tooey, to the United States in 1839, and settled first in Alleghany county, New York. The family were frequently on the move and before many years James came to Missouri. He was married to Katherine McCormick, at Hannibal, November 26, 1859, the Eev. Father James Murphy officiating. Mr. and Mrs. Tooey have had eight children, three sons and five daughters.

It is not the intention, however, to give a sketch of the Tooey family here, but merely to present some of the interesting recollections of Mrs. Kate Tooey. She said :

"James, my husband, and his brother, Patrick Tooey, came to America when very young men. Their first work was on the Erie Canal, following the towpath. Later on Patrick kept the hotel at Buffalo. Then they went west to Troy, Illinois, and worked on a small railroad there. Their first contract in Missouri was on the grade at Mussel Fork. They had so many miles to do. Thayer was the end of the Hannibal & St. Joseph track then. It was intended to be the division point. Some small shops were established and a few houses put up. Some of the railroad officials told Mr. Tooey that that would be the division place. After he had finished his contract my husband run a store there and bought some lots. Patrick purchased land, quite a large tract. My husband run the only store that was in the place and did quite a good business. There was a saloon over at a place called Center Point, west of Thayer. It was run by some men from Keytesville. An effort was made to establish a town at Center Point. It was laid out in town lots. Soon there were two stores and another saloon. Then there was a little school on the hill to the south. I think that little school is in operation yet.

"In about a couple of years the railroad people made up their minds to not have the division at Thayer. I believe it was because of the rough character of the ground there. The railroad went through a deep cut. Thayer was named after some oflficer of the road. A great many of the streets in Brookfield were named after railroad officers.

"After the division was taken from Thayer my husband had a chance to trade his store and property there for 280 acres of land east of where Marceline is now. Although he had never had any experience in farming he decided that he would like to try his hand at it. His plans were to get a great big farm and work it on a grand scale. In those days Missouri was filling up fast and it looked like the good time was going to come pretty soon.

"Later on my husband came to Brooktield and decided to buy some property and establish a general merchandise store. He had got tired of farming and wanted to get back in town. A lot was purchased on Main street, south of the track. This was a low flat place then and you could swim a boat pretty near everywheres. It was called 'The Scatters.' The water came down from the branch and seemed to scatter out all over the country. There was a great deal of lowland south of the track. The prairie grass in some places grew so tall that it was higher than a pony's back. It was called wild prairie gi-ass and I tell you it looked wild to me.

"During the few years that Thayer was the division point it was quite a lively place. The railroad boys had 'shindigs' every Saturday night. Many of the workmen made headquarters there and men were constantly coming and going.

' ' Brother Patrick had a large, fine house. He was a pleasant, goodnatured fellow, and took well with the people. Whenever the railroad officers came to Thayer, Patrick would entertain them. Mr. Eobert Stewart, the promoter of the road, visited my house several times. That was before the war. I remember him distinctly. My husband, like his brother Patrick, was a great hand to entertain guests. I remember Mr. Stewart was a very good talker. When the road was started my husband was offered the position of paymaster.

"The first store operated in Brookfield was by my husband. It was south of the railroad. He didn't like the south side of the track as well and later on bought a lot on Boston street, back of the hotel, and afterwards moved to Main street. He continued in the merchandise business until he was burned out. When we first came to Brookfield it was a little frontier village, but it grew mighty fast. Most of the houses were but shanties, hurriedly put up for the use of the workmen on the road.

"The great amusement of those days was dances, which were held at the hotel. Everybody took part and they had a famous time. In fact, it was a period of sociability and good nature. Sometimes the railroad boys would have a little falling out, a few heads would be broken and some bloody noses, but they would make up and forget all about it in a day or two.

"Bishop Hogan was our first priest. For quite a while he had charge of a Catholic church here. He would come over from St. Joseph. Now he is bishop in Kansas City. The Catholics then had a larger membership than any other church here. You know, it was the Irishmen who built the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad. They were great, stout, brawny fellows, and they were pretty lively. I remember one big fight they had here on election day. The two voting places in the county were Wyandotte and Linneus. The boys went over to vote and on the way back they became hilarious and had a scrap. Brother Patrick finally made peace with them and stopped the fight.

"There was really nothing at all here at Brookfield when we first came. The only building was the boarding house on the south side. They used a little canoe to go back and forth to it.

' ' There is one thing about Thayer that I can never forget. There was a man there as chief dispatcher whose name was Charlie Davis. He was quite a hand to play practical jokes. Living back in the country a ways was a colored man who imagined that he had been called to preach. Charlie invited him to come to Thayer and talk to the boys. The darky was given a stand on a flat car and the railroaders all gathered around him very solemn and earnest-like. Just as the colored preacher got terribly worked up in his talk some of the boys gave the car a start and sent it kiting down hill. He was the most surj^rised negro you ever saw in your life when the car finally stopped with a bump against some ties that had been thrown across the track.

"Another game that Charles would play was on young fellows who would come in from the country and want a job on the railroad. About every other boy wanted to be a railroader in those days. Charlie would size an applicant up, look at him very solemnly, and then tell him that he would give him a job if he would go out and sweep off the platform. The boy, of course, would do as Charlie told him and then come in to see what was next. But that wouldn't be the end of his trouble. Charlie would go out and look very critically at each plank and if he would see a speck of dirt anywhere he would make the boy go out and sweep the whole platform over again. Most of them would get tired before they had taken the first lesson and would throw down their broom and go back to the farm.

guess you wouldn't have room to print them all. They were good times, and we all lived happily and enjoyed life. It doesn't seem very long when one looks back over it, but when you see the tremendous change that has taken place since then in everything it seems like it might have been almost a century."

Bishop John J. Hogan recently observed his eighty-fourth birthday anniversary and is in the enjoyment of very good health. He takes an active interest in the affairs of his diocese, and while the burden of the work falls on the shoulders of his coadjutor, Eight Rev. Thomas F. Lillis, Bishop Hogan is informed on every matter of interest going on in the diocese.

Bishop Hogan was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1829. He retains the least bit of brogue and his undimmed eyes shine with the humor of the "ould sod." He came to America in 1848 and was ordained a priest in St. Louis by Archbishop Kenrick in 1852. He was appointed the first bishop of the St. Joseph diocese in 1863, and in 1880, when the Kansas City diocese was formed, he was made first bishop of this diocese.

George H. Da^'is, recently retired from the service of the Burlington road, began his career on the construction of the Hannibal & St. Joseph and worked his way upward. At the time of his retirement he held the record for longest continuous service with the road. During the early operation he was roadmaster for the western division and it became his duty to prepare for the run of the Pony Express train in 1860. Mr. Davis related the story of that event as follows :

"The completion of the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad at 7 o'clock on the morning of February 13, 1859, and the trial run of "the pony express across the state, April 3, 1860, were two of the most exciting events that occurred in northern Missouri previous to the Civil War.

' ' The junction of the east and westward construction was made two miles east of Chillicothe, in a small cut in Miunpower's field. The day following several barrels of Mississippi river water were transported over the line from Hannibal and emptied into the Missouri river with imposing ceremonies, the event t\^ifying the union of the two great water courses of the American continent. It was a gala day for St. Joseph, a town formerly known as 'Robidoux Landing.' The tremendous travel to the Occident a decade before had been through that place and the goldseekers had left many dollars there, as it was the last outfitting point this side of the desert.

February 14, attended by all the road officials and prominent citizens of St. Joseph. Gen. Jeff Thompson, who a few years later became a noted Confederate leader, was one of the speakers. It was the birth of a great commercial era in the West and everybody was immensely optimistic.

"But the road had hardly been in operation before the war came on, and it was a mark for predatory bands of bushwhackers, who were constantly burning bridges and shooting into trains. I was roadmaster during the war and these troubles came right up against my department. We began putting steel on the sides of the cabs to protect the engineers and firemen. I saw one of the little locomotives roll into St. Joseph one day after having journeyed through an ambuscade and counted fifty-two bullet marks against the cab and boiler. You might imagine that under such circumstances it would be difficult to secure engineers to take trains out, but it is a curious fact that not an engineer flinched. Like soldiers they were proud of the dangers through which they ran almost daily. Add Clark, the man who made the test run with the Pony Express, was the nerviest engineer I ever saw in my life. If he was ordered to, I believe he would have run his locomotive right up to a battery that was firing at him.

"When the news came that our road was to be selected to carry the fast mail, under certain conditions, I sent orders to all the section foremen to spike down the switches. No trains were to be allowed on the line for an hour ahead of the fast train, which was called the Pony Express. Fuel agents at Macon, at Mooresville and at other places were notified to have a stock of cordwood on hand which could be emptied into the tender in less than no time. The 'Missouri' - all engines in Missouri in those days went by name instead of number - was selected to make the trial run, and Add Clark, one of the best engineers, was at the throttle. The track was carefully examined for days in advance to prevent the failure of the undertaking by accident. I had the thrilling pleasure of journeying with the officials in the single coach that carried the mail across the state on that memorable occasion. The orders given to Engineer Clark were to make a speed record that would stand fifty years. As remarked, a half century has well nigh passed and the record of the Pony Express still stands, in spite of the heavier equipment and more powerful engines.

"Clark was not told to be careful; the only harm that could have happened to him would have been a failure to make time, and he understood it. He also understood the dangerous character of his dirt road-

"The president of the road, Josliua Gentry, Superintendent J. T. K. Hayward, Assistant Superintendent 0. N. Cutler and one or two others were in the car.

"The sawed-off train pulled out of Hannibal amid the waving of hats and the cheering of a mighty crowd. All the way across the state, at every station and cross-road, it was greeted by assemblies of men. women and children, many of whom had arisen in the early morning hours and journeyed a long distance to see the greatest sight of the times. As the Pony Express shot by the station, rocking like a kite in a gale, we could see the agents pushing the crowds back from the platforms and showing their sense of importance in their connection with the mighty event.

"All the way out of town it was like some grand ovation to a conquering army. There was inspiration enough to make Engineer Clark perform miracles with his little wood-burner machine.

"At Brooktield, the division, there was a very brief stop for a bite to eat. Someone brought Engineer Clark a plate of nice cake. The hero, however, had other things on his mind.

"When the train pulled in and stopped amid the waiting thousands at the St. Joseph depot, Engineer Clark, pale, greasy and grand, stepped majestically from his iron horse, which stood panting like a blooded racer. He was the dazzling hero of the hour. He had covered the 206 miles from Hannibal to St. Joseph in a little over four hours, a performance which at the time was little short of miraculous, and which, even at this day, is mighty near the standard of the limited express trains of England.

But there was another hero at St. Joseph on that noted occasion. His name has not come down like that of the gallant engineer, but he deserves mentioning. He was little, insignificant looking and thinfaced. He wore a peaked cap, riding boots, and held daintily in his right hand a small whip. Beside him was standing a bay pony, in front of the United States Express ofiSce. This other hero was the pony rider, waiting for the little pouches the mail train had toiled so hard to deliver. Blood, nerve and muscle took up the race where fire, steam and mechanical skill left off. With desperate haste the carrier rushed across with his mail pouches, the mail for the far West was sorted into little sacks and thrown across the pony. The rider mounted and lusty cheers went up for the little man who was to make the first dash into the great "West. A ferry boat, steam up and ready to cast off, received horse and rider and was soon plowing across the river. Then the rider touched spurs to his horse and galloped out of sight. He formed one link in the chain of horses and riders that was to connect the East and the West and cover a distance of 1,900 miles. It was the birth of the Overland Mail, one of the most picturesque features in the development of the West. Fresh ponies waited the rider every ten miles; the rider's daily journey was sixty miles. His duty was to keep going. He stopped to pass the time of day with no man and if he was chased by Indians or outlaws he was to keep going without asking questions and dodge the best he could. Day and night the chain rolled on, carrying the news from the East to the far West and back home again. It brought to the gold miner tidings of loved ones and made life endurable. The letters were written on the thinnest of paper and the tariff on each was $5.

While Mr. P. H. Houlahan was trainmaster the fast passenger service between Chicago and Kansas City was established. In order to see that the "old" Hannibal & St. Joe division held up its end of the work, Mr. Houlahan went over his jurisdiction from Kansas City to Quincy and back in the engine cabs the night of the first run. As thorough precautions were taken for the success of the initial trip as were employed on the first run of the Pony Express. On the return trip, while rounding a curve near the old town of Carbon, in Macon county, the pilot of the hard-driven engine slid along the outer rail, causing a shower of sparks to fly. Later the curve was straightened and the outer rail lowered. The best engines on the division were put on this fast service, but they were small affairs compared with the mighty machines in use today.

The fast train was first called the "Eli," a name which clung to it for many years. Within recent years it has been officially designated as "The Chicago-Missouri Limited." On the time card it is referred to as 56 (eastbound) and 55 (westbound).

The train consists of from ten to twelve heavy sleeper, chair and express cars. It is hauled by a class S-2 simple engine, superheated; 69-inch drivers; six drivers, four-wheeled truck fonvard, and trailer imder cab, 12 wheels in all ; weight of engine and loaded tender, 396,400 pounds. This type of locomotive can haul ten loaded coaches on the level at from sixty to seventy miles an hour. Its power is sufficient to cover hea\y grades and maintain the schedule with ease.

Train 56, Felix Allison, engineer; engine No. 2938, superheated; number of miles run, 204 (from Brookfield to Galesburg, 111.) ; nmnber of cars, 9 ; number of car miles, 1,836 ; number tons coal taken on run, none ; tender started out with 9 tons ; coal used per car mile, 10 pounds.

Histoey Of Linx Couxty 123

Telephones were installed May 17, 1909, between Brookfield and Hannibal and Quincy for dispatching trains and for the handling of all messages, both railroad and Western Union, and all the telegraph instruments were removed in that territory. The telephones are very much of an improvement over the telegraph, especially in the handling of trains ; more work can be accomplished and they are more satisfactory in every way.

With the advent of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Eailroad, Marceline sprang into existence and soon became one of the important railroad and mining centers of Linn county. The town was founded in 1888. " It is the general division point between Kansas City and Fort Madison, and has the railroad shops, roundhouses and operating headquarters for the division. The discovery of an inexhaustible bed of coal near the city gave the young town an impulse which soon placed it among the front ranks of the live towns of Missouri. The finding of coal was an important thing for the railroad, which takes an immense amount of the output.

Marceline now has a population of over 4,000, with all the conveniences and improvements of a modern city. The Santa Fe Eailroad has lately completed its second track, the first improvement of the sort in the state. When the road was constructed in the latter '80s, the bed and bridges were prepared for the second track. This gives the Santa Fe road splendid facilities for the handling of immense trains going and coming from the great commercial centers.

The construction contracts for the Santa Fe road were let in December, 1886, and the first train was run over the line January 1, 1888. The work was pushed with unusual rapidity, because it was the desire of the managers to get a through line into Chicago as soon as possible.

One of the largest contractors' suits ever before a Missouri court developed out of the construction of the Santa Fe railroad through this section of the state. As the work approached its completion it became evident that the engineers for the railroad and those employed by the contractors, Benezette Williams & Co., of Chicago, would never agree on the amount due on final estimates. The section in dispute started in the Grand Eiver valley, in Chariton county, and continued to a point northeast of Ethel, in Macon county, a distance of forty miles. The contention was as to the character of the earth. It was insisted by the

The method of classifying the material, allowances for hauling and the alleged arbitrary change of grade at the Wabash road, and also the change in the line, were among the points at issue between the contractors and the railroad company. The plaintiffs claimed a balance due them on final estimates of $188,311.74. The railway engineers figured that the payment due the contractors was only $.30,399.06.

The litigation was in court some ten years. It finally reached F. L. Schofield, a distinguished attorney of Hannibal, who was agreed upon as referee. It became his duty to listen to evidence concerning every foot of the road in dispute. It was a prodigious undertaking. The taking of testimony was begun in the United States Court room at Hannibal in February, 1894. This was after all the preliminary sparring in the Circuit Court and the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs were represented by John E. McKeighan, of St. Louis, George A. Mahan, of Hannibal. Gardner Lathrop, of Kansas City, and Ben Eli Guthrie, of Macon, appeared for the railroad company.

The evidence was voluminous. One newspaper account said that the record "filled a freight car." It was hardly that bad, however. The witnesses went over the road on foot and dug down into the earth in order to testify as to its character. At one time there was an adjournment to take the evidence of B. F. Booker, then living in Mexico City, in the Eepublic of Mexico. Booker had been assistant chief engineer for the railroad company during the construction period. At the time Eeferee Schofield 's court adjourned to Mexico to take his deposition, Booker was dying of consumption. Not long afterwards he passed away. The Santa Fe road furnished a special car for the court, lawyers, stenographers and the parties at interest for the entire trip. On another occasion a journey was made to New Orleans to take the deposition of E. E. Earl, who was the division engineer on the west end of the construction. One of the witnesses came all the way from Palestine, the Holy Land, to testify on the part of the plaintiffs.

The evidence all in. Referee Schofield began on his tremendous task of trying to find out what was justice between the railroad company and the contractors. He was aided in this by the attorneys, who argued from their respective view points for two weeks. The referee found that the balance due the contractors over the amount allowed them in the final estimates of the engineers was $83,505.77. The main ]iart of this allowance was for hardpan. Exceptions were filed to the referee's report by the defendant railroad. There was another long argument before Judge Andrew Ellison at Macon. Judge Ellison handed down a written opinion in April, 1896. In this opinion he disallowed every item which the referee had credited to the plaintiffs. He found that the evidence had shown no fraud or misconstruction of contract by the railway engineers.

Judge Ellison held that the claim for hardpan having been called to the attention of the railway engineers during the construction, and they having passed upon the material, had decided that it was not hardpan, and that their decision could not now be set aside "and substituted therefor a shadowy memory and recollection of eight years ago."

The defendant railway 's exceptions to the referee 's report were all sustained by Judge Ellison, except as to the lien and interest, which were overruled and judgment ordered for plaintiffs for $36,785.92. The tender of the railroad in the first place had been $30,399.06.