Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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I .-----— r» --- f |U ItU. ... , 1 THE SPECTATOR •Ulcghmy Portage St ail Road ' The Commonwe th of Pennsylvania TO £ fo2 r. JDK 1889. ✓ r For «Service»] rcnd cd ns fmmStf . aZjtlr bt-C to J tsSO, (bolli (lays inclusive)— 2 days at 8 per diem. | o2S l. Dolls. Cents. 0-- • V C ; ’ Received, yA— 1S39, from JOHN SJfCDGs ASS Superintendent ot Motive Power on :lic Allegheny and Portage rail vtny,©£ -«r et - c e ' ° ars cents, in full of the above bill. A Bill For Services Rendered the 1‘orthRe Rnilroad by John V. Geary, afterwards «inertior of Pennsylvania In the early years of the canal the locks were in the care of keepers. These keepers usually had lodges by the locks. These lodges became the meeting places of the people of the surrounding community, and were often the scenes of corn husking and apple butter making. The lodge was a good place of refuge from storms. A stranger was always welcome, for to the keepers, strangers meant new tales and in- teresting adventures. But soon after the Pennsylvania Railroad Company bought the canal the lock keepers were removed. As the canal ceased to be profitable, the railroad drew more and more of the business and the canal was discontinued about 1863. During the time the canal was in operation, Johnstown, because of its position at the beginning of the portage, was the scene of great activity. Besides the transfer of goods from canal to railroad, or vice versa, the boats carried pig iron, coal and some manufactured goods from the growing city westward, and brought back mer- chandise and building materials. The wharf was the meeting place of passengers and townspeople awaiting the incoming and outgoing boats and trains. There were often from twenty to forty boats in the basin at one time. Today all traces of the route of the canal through the city have disappeared and the great basin where the [20]

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— A, - - Jfc I A. • r % THE SPECTATOR :. Efw-' JB The Viaduct This high single spau eighty-foot arch over the Little Conemuugh about eight miles above .Johns- town was built iu 1.833. Later it was used bv the Pennsylvania Railroad for its double tracks. It was destroyed by the Flood in 1889 on Sunday and often tie-ups to allow the crew to go to country dances or other merry making along the route. Seven days were a quick trip for a passenger between Pitts- burgh and Philadelphia. It is interesting to know that in operating the canal boats, each crew consisted of five men: the captain, boatswain, pilot, and two drivers. From the drivers to the captain, each had his special work. Each driver tried to train his mules better than the mules of another driver, and tried to make the longest trips in the shortest time. The drivers had two or more mules or horses, which they worked in relays, the average time for the relay being six hours. The horses or mules not on duty were carried in the bow of the boat. Each driver knew the different traits of his mules and often sang to them the songs of the time. The captain took pride in the appearance of his boat, the courtesy of his crew, and the speed and regularity of the trips. The packet boats usually had some sort of amusement. Sometimes one of the crew could play an instrument or perform tricks; and many times the passengers amused themselves with cards, stories, or dancing on the roof of the cabin. Younger couples often sat on the benches watching the moon or listening to the crooning voice of the driver as he sang to his long-eared charges; and there are tales to the effect that many a romance started on these boats. [19]

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lW THE SPECTATOR The Head Ok Plane No. 6, Old Portage Railroad Tho hoad of this plane was at the top of the mountain east of Cresson. From Johnstown on the west to the top of the mountain there were live planes and six levels: from the top of the mountain to Hollldaysburjr there were five planes and five levels boats were moored and freight was transferred is the site of buildings of the Gautier Department of Bethlehem Steel Company. We think of transportation in the terms of the railroad and the automobile. It is true that the railroad offers speed, efficiency and luxury, but it does not inspire the traveler with a spirit of comradeship. The passengers on the train have neither the time nor the opportunity to mingle in the leisurely fashion that was part of the charm of travel on the canal described as, “A placid, even stream whose traffic ran quietly, softly, lazily.” [21]