Untitled - Clpdigital.org

THE STORY OF ERIE 135
liens upon the railroad and franchises of the old originally put on the road." Disastrous floods in
corporation, principal and interest of which were:
September, [86l, on the Western Division, and in
November, 1861, on the Eastern Division, had in-
First mortgage, 1868 $3,000,000 . ., _. , . ., . ,
Second mortgage, 1859. extended to 1880 4.000,000 crcascd the expenses. The work of effecting the
Third mortgage, 1883 6,000,000 change from the Cascade Bridge, east of Susque-
Fourth mortgage, 1880 4.900,000 hafma> to so]id roadbed, which was begun in 1855,
Fifth mortgage, 1888 1,792,000
was completed. A very considerable portion of the
Total mortgage lien $19,692,000 track, particularly on the Delaware Division, had
never been ballasted, mainly on account of the want
The purchasers, who were the unsecured bond- of proper material. During the receivership much
holders of the old Company (to become preference
of the unfinished portions of the track on that divishareholders
in the new one), and the common share-
holders of the old Company assenting within six
" Any doubts that may have existed as to the wismonths
to the arrangement for reorganization, took
the property subject to that lien, and to $796,400
(including the $220,000 bid at the sale) overdue and
unpaid interest on the fourth and fifth mortgages,
sion was ballasted with broken stone and gravel.
dom of the purchase of the Long Dock property,"
said the Receiver, " and as to the expediency of the
large expenditure required to bring it into use, the
experience of the last few months has completely
They had until December 31, 1861, to make payment dispelled. In May last the works had so far proof
the overdue interest, or such part of it as might
then remain unpaid from the earnings of the railroad,
The further privilege inured to the new corporation
of paying the arrears of interest, and otherwise com-
pleting their obligations to the mortgage bondhold-
ers in advance of the time named, and to take the
railroad out of the hands of the Receiver. How this
sent there was increased till, about the last of Decemwas
consummated is told in the above statement of
the Trustees.
According to the report of the Receiver, made in
March, 1862, the expenditures for repairs of the road
" The charter of the Long Dock Company authorand
machinery had been large, though somewhat less
gressed that some of the passenger trains were run
through the tunnel to the new ferry, and in October
all the passenger trains commenced running there.
A portion of the freight which had heretofore gone
to Jersey City was transferred to the Long Dock,
and as facilities were furnished, the quantity of freight
ber, the whole business, freight and passenger, was
concentrated there, and no trains, except a local pas-
senger train, have since been run to Piermont.
ized, so far as the laws of New Jersey could do so,
than the average of the three years preceding. Dur- the establishment of a ferry from their property to
ing the term of the Receivership, 23,514 tons of new
rails, equal to more than 230 miles, were laid, and
New York, and a lease having been procured from
the City of New York, the Receiver established,
956,000 new cross-ties placed in the track. The ma- about the firstof May last, a regular ferry between
chinery and cars had been fully kept up. The effi- the Long Dock property, at the foot of Pavonia
ciency of the motive power was considerably increased
by the rebuilding of the older locomotives, and ex-
Avenue, and the Erie Railway Depot in New York,
at the foot of Chambers Street, immediately opposite
tensively repairing others. Twenty were adapted to the General Offices of the Company. At firstthe
coal burning, with a large saving in the cost of fuel,
(This was the beginning of the change in locomo-
tive fuel from wood to coal, although several years
elapsed before it was completed, that result not fifteen minutes.
having been attained until the time of Jay Gould,
service was performed by one boat, making trips
each half hour, but soon after another boat was
added, and the trips are now made regularly every
The expenses of the ferry have
been comparatively large, on account of the service
1868-72.— Author.) Four new locomotives were being performed for the firstfour months by charadded
to the equipment. Nearly 700 freight cars tered boats. Two boats have since been purchased,
were rebuilt, " and are now worth more than when
and a new and very superior boat has been built, and