USA > Missouri > Linn County > Compendium of history and biography of Linn County, Missouri > Part 12
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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. Thie- hoff, S. H. Shults, J. Russell, E. P. Bracken, W. C. Welch, while W. A. Chittenden is the present superintendent, and R. F. Ledford assistant superintendent.
A potent factor in the operation of the Brookfield division of the
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Burlington for many years past has 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."
Here are some of the curious and interesting phases of early day railroading as described by Mr. Wilber :
"When I came to Missouri in 1857 the terminus of the Hannibal & 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.
"The First Locomotive-In the early days the locomotives were
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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, R. 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 manage- ment of the road was strongly in sympathy with the Federal government.
"A War-Time Engineer-In 1863 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 enginemen from the bullets of the ubiquitous bushwhackers.
"Block Houses-In 1864 block houses were erected at Salt River, 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 U. S. Grant at Salt River-I was pulling a west-bound passenger train in the summer of 1861 and on reaching Salt River 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
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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 per- formed 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 cap- tured 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 min- ing town of the state. On arriving there we found that the other train had not yet reached there. It was a beautiful summer 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 sug- gested 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 divi- sion 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."
The Burlington & Southwestern was the name of a road started
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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 Linneus, 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 each company had performed its part of the contract they were to be consolidated in one company. The two com- panies 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 Railroad, 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 con- struct 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 :
OFFICE OF THE ST. JOSEPH & IOWA RAILROAD COMPANY. 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:
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"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 construc- tion, 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 com- pany when ratified by said company. We, 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 purpose of aiding in the construc- tion of said branch, and promise to pay to the St. Joseph & Iowa rail- road 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 St. 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. This company decided to follow the example of the Central North Missouri branch and to cast its fortunes with the 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 South- western, 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, be- longs 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 road- bed, and often-times inexperienced crews, was the ever-present pros- pect, of bushwhackers tearing up the track, burning the bridge or shoot-
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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 after- wards 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. McCart- ney was asked to describe for this history, 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 with 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 machin- ist 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
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Express' engine was named after Missouri. One of the engines was called 'R. M. Stewart,' after the original promoter of the road.
"In the early days there were no regular switch engines at Brook- field. 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 Macon, 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.
"The bridge over Salt river and the water tank there were also burned.
"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
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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 River and on the Quincy branch to the east. These were garri- soned 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 engi- neers 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 31% 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 noti- fied long ahead of time, so they could make ready to load the tender in an instant. There were two brakemen to the one car. 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 inaugurate 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.
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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 Rev. 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 officer of the road. A great many of the streets in Brookfield were named after railroad officers.
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"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 experi- ence 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 Brookfield 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 grass and I tell you it looked wild to me.
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