...we always need a better train set
Historians Podcast tomorrow, Friday, July 30, 2021-Todd Langworthy on the Town of Pomfret in western New York. Lily Dale in the Town of Pomfret is a center for spiritualism. Pomfret also was where the Women’s Christian Temperance Union began and where the first farmers’ Grange was founded.
Talk to the Dead
Thursday Podcast "8 Minutes"
Refrigerated car train wreck
By Bob Cudmore
Scavengers and other curiosity seekers were a problem for State Police when 33 cars of a New York Central freight train derailed two miles east of Fonda at 4 a.m. on Sunday, August 14, 1960. Police said thousands of people curiously viewed the wreck.
The control tower operator over the passenger station in Fonda that early morning was Fort Plain native Charles Gehring. Gehring left railroading some time ago and today is director of the New Netherland Research Center sponsored by the New York State Library in Albany and the coeditor of numerous collections of original documents from Dutch New Netherland.
Gehring wrote, “It was a major accident. I had just switched an east-bound freight to the jump over for the Selkirk yards when a wheel sheared off of one of the refrigerator cars. The switching complex was several miles east of me so I couldn't see what happened but suddenly all of my lights went red on the panel. The engineer came on the intercom, asking me why I had stopped the train. I told him I hadn't. He thought that I had signaled the caboose (there were still cabooses back then) to stop. Shortly after that the brakeman in the caboose asked me the same thing. I suggested that they check the train.”
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Some refrigerator cars carrying boxes of frozen meat broke open close enough to Route 5 to attract scavengers. My father, Clarence Cudmore, once was early on at the scene of a train wreck—maybe this one--and took something small. My recollection is he took a comb. When he went to work at Mohawk Carpets lower mill he was ashamed of what he had done--he was a former Sunday School superintendent--and mentioned his transgression to a few people. He found out some of his coworkers had stolen lots of items from the wreck, much more than he had taken. Then he felt better.
All four tracks were blocked, so the railroad used the West Shore line which existed at that time on the south side of the river to reroute trains. No injuries were reported. The train had a crew of six including engineer John Kuder of Schenectady and conductor William Maynard of Albany
Gehring said, “Passenger trains were lined up for Chicago and New York City. I had freight with a load of pigs stopped just west of Nelliston. He kept coming on the intercom complaining about the lack of food. I told him that if he walked north a short distance he would find the Ideal Restaurant on Route 5 but he refused to leave his train. I suggested that he did have a lot of pork behind him if he was so inclined but not to bother me anymore.
“The first few days were very quiet because nothing was moving; however, I did have a lot of company in the tower with work crews looking for a place to eat their lunches.
“After about a day and half one track was opened which meant we had to single track. In order to do this I had to put an order from the dispatcher in Utica on the engine to allow him in the block. The order had to be hand written, rolled up, tied between the ends of a Y-shaped pole. I then had to run down to the tracks and hold it up for the engineer to grab. This went on for days.
“The prognosis was that a journal box on one of the freights had burned out all the grease as it passed the tower so that nothing was visible to the naked eye.”
Saturday and Sunday, August 7 and 8, 2021
Fort Plain Museum
Bob Cudmore will introduce the speakers at the American Revolution Conference Saturday and Sunday, August 7 and 8, 2021 at Fulton-Montgomery Community College theater in the visual arts and communications building. More information here: https://fortplainmuseum.org/content/2021%20RW%20Conference%20Schedule.pdf
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, July 29, 2021
A slight chance of showers before noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between noon and 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tonight Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 4am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Friday A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10am, then a slight chance of showers between 10am and 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Northwest wind 10 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Historians Radio Schedule Hear Historians Podcast on the radio. Saturday at 12:38 p.m. on WCSS 1490 AM/106.9 FM in Amsterdam and WKAJ 1120 AM/97.9 FM in St. Johnsville; Sunday at 9:05 a.m. on WIZR 930 AM/102.9 FM in Johnstown and 4:30 p.m. Sunday on WBDY 99.5 FM in Binghamton. RISE, WMHT’s radio service for the blind in Albany and the Hudson Valley, airs Historians Podcast Monday at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.
Daily Gazette
Thursday, July 29, 2021
https://dailygazette.com/ ALBANY — With COVID infections on the upswing in much of New York, all state employees will be mandated to… JOHNSTOWN – The Common Council Wednesday night voted unanimously to authorize City Treasurer Mike Gifford to go to the municipal bond market… Bill Buell’s Electric City Archives: Five top historical summer destinations around the Capital Region
Growing up in the Capital Region always offered a number of fascinating road trips, and my love for and fascination… Thursday, July 29 in Saratoga Pick of the day MEET AND GREET WITH VIRAL TIKTOKER IRIS ROGERS 5 to 7…
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