The Rochester Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad (old Buffalo,
New York & Philadelphia
Railroad) was built on the towpath of the
Genesee Valley Canal wherever
possible. Much of the ballast taken
from the gravel pit on the old
Doherty farm at the west end of the
Erie Railroad's bridge north of
Belfast and stone for culverts and
bridges was obtained from the old
canal locks; the canal was
abandoned in 1878.
Main track was built
through Belfast in the summer of 1882.
First locomotive to reach Belfast
was on the construction train No.
46, with diamond smokestack, red
stripes on the drivers and shiny
brass bands around the boiler -
she sure was a beauty. Engineer had a
large St. Bernard dog that used
to carry a big dinner pail to and
from the job, for his master,
passed where I lived, and the dog rode
in the engine cab most of the
time.
The steam shovel in the
Doherty gravel pit was operated by John
Fitzgibbons. his regular job was
freight conductor on the River
Division, Olean to Oil City.
Division offices were at
Olean and the following are the names
of some of the old-timers
-pioneers on the Rochester Branch:
J.W. Watson, Division
Superintendent.
Frank J. Martin, chief
dispatcher and trainmaster
A.D. Peck, chief
dispatcher and trainmaster
M.A. Miller, dispatcher
George P. Jackson,
dispatcher
J.F. Grant, dispatcher
W. A. Gessee, extra
dispatcher
E. A. Fisher, division
engineer, Rochester
Charles Ellis, master
carpenter, Rochester
Robert Wright,
yardmaster, Rochester
Bill Passmore, lineman,
Olean
Matt Hart, yardmaster,
Olean
Cooney Derx, fence gang
foreman, Olean
Jim Lang, mason foreman,
Belfast
Rob Lang, mason foreman,
Belfast
Pat Bracker, division
superintendent, Cuba
Passenger conductors -
William Byers, - VanSickle, Pete Keefe,
William Godfrey
Passenger engineers -
John Hamilton, Ed Clark, Al Goold.
Freight conductors - Dan
Shafer, Pat Savage, Pat Devitt, Tom Devitt,
Mike McGannon, Bill Troan,
*Frank Ingram, Pete Hotchkiss, Jack
Kingman, Charle
Coilegrove, L.M. "Lett" Forrest, Big Joh Andrews,
and"Moxie" Mauch.
Firemen- Archie Battles,
Gus Marth*, Bill Collopy.
Sectionforemen - John
McGraw, Cuba; Tom McCarthy, Black Creek; Jack
Williams, Belfast;
Martin McMahon, Belfast; Bill Sherman, Caneadea;
John Burgie, Fillmore;
Tom McNulty, floating gang; John O'Leary, Mt.
Morris.
Freight engineers - *Jim
Warner, *W.D. Penny, Ed Simmons,
JohnStimlinger, Fred
Battles, Billy Breckle, *Johnnie Stout, Pat
O'Brien, Charlie
Anderson, Charlie Miller, Charlie Quinlan, *Lee
Ingram, Frank "Pie"
Steels, Gus Frey, Billy Gannon, Bill Jacquett.
*Mr. Fisher was
made division superintendent at Oil City in
1892, and about two years
later returned to Rochester and was city
engineer there until he
died a few years ago at the age of 100 years.
Passenger brakemen-
Bernie May, Fred Dempsey
Freight brakemen - Ed
Lapp, Billy Weldy, bob Milliken, Tom Milliken
Jr., *John Murphy, *Pete
Murphy, John Loftus, Clarence Gilman and
Frank Burleson.
Station Agents
W. A. Rapp, Olean
W.G. Conschafter,
Hinsdale
P.N. Mallison, Cuba
W.A. Gere, Black Creek
C.M. Stedwell, Belfast
T. F. "Tom" Downs,
Belfast
Mort Brooks, Oramel,
Mont Bartlett, Caneadea
Flatch Thompson, Houghton
Jim Waldorf, Fillmore
Charley Keenan,
Portageville
L.P. Higgins, West Nunda
W. A. Gessee, Scottsville
W. B. Tracey, Genesee
Junction
Telegraph Operators
*R,E. Wright, Olean
Shorty Prior, Olean
Pete Small, Olean
Billy Bowen, Hinsdale
John M. Lynch, Hinsdale
Mike Conners, Cuba
"Kern" Conners, L&P Jct.
Tom O'Neil, L&P Jct.
"Yank" Stewart, L&PJct.
'Sandy" Bremer, Belfast
Wesley Hauenstein,
Balfast
Will Murphy, Belfast
Dell Dye, Belfast
Martin Dwyer, Belfast
Jim Lane, Belfast
Pat O'Gorman, Genesee
Jct.
Bill Metcalf, Terminal
Jay Eastland, Rochester
freighthouse
*Charles N. Poulson,
Rossburg
Notes
*Charles "Pickey" Poulson became
nationally known as a cornet player
and in the early 1900s he played
both the 65th and 74th Regiment
bands in Buffalo at their summer
concerts as soloist.
*Operator R. E. Enright became
police commissioner in New York City.
*Brakeman John Murphy was killed
in a wreck at Scottsville in 1887,
and his brother Pete was killed
in Belfast, switching cars on the local freight in 1894. William, who worked as operator at Belfast for a short time, was killed in 18th Street yard in Pittsburgh in February,
1889 while dropping cars.
*L & P Junction was located one
mile south of Belfast; rails taken
up for scrap about 1891.
*Engineer Jim Warner often gave
me a lecture about the use of
tobacco and its evil effects, one
of which was:
"Tobacco is a filthy weed,
And from the devil it doth proceed.
It lightens your pocketbook,
burdens your clothes,
And makes a chimney
out of your nose."
However I failed to heed
his good advice, for I still smoke and
fear I will - hereafter.
*Hogeye W. D. Penney (on
local freight) southbound, chased a
bunch of Jim Fox's horses up the
track from Oramel one day, trying to get by them, but he caught them all at the bottleneck on the town line crossing killing four of the five.
Penney layed off about 60
days - afraid to go through Oramel.
Fox was looking for him with a
gun.
*Johnnie Stout and Fireman
Gun Marth were killed in a
derailment at Tuscarora.
* Conductor Frank Ingram, a
brother Engineer Lee Ingram, was
killed in a rear-end collision
here, just about in front of the present steel mill office.
The first section of No.
288 had stopped to take water at
the tank across the canal from
the Chet Greene bungalow. The
flagman failed in his duty and
Engineer Pat O'Brien of the second
section said he "saw him jump
off, wade the canal, and take to the
tall timbers just before he hit
the rear end." He never was heard
from since. Probably he joined
up with the BR&P under another name.
