The Story of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg RailroadHungerford, Edward
History
The Story of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg Railroad
Hungerford, Edward
Railroads -- New York (State) -- History; Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company
He was a conspicuous figure upon the property, coming as the successor to
a number of superintendents, each of whom had served a comparatively short
time in office--Robert B. Doxtater, Job Collamer and Carlos Dutton, were
Addison Day's predecessors as Superintendents upon the property. These men
had been local in their opportunity. To Day was given a real job; that of
successfully operating 189 miles of a pretty well-built and essential
railroad. Yet his annual salary was fixed at but $2500, as compared with
the $4000 paid to Dutton. Later however Day was raised to $3000 a year.
The main shops of the company, as I have just said, were then situated in
Rome. They were well equipped for that day and employed about one hundred
men, under William H. Griggs, the road's first Master Mechanic. A smaller
shop, of approximately one-half the capacity and used chiefly for
engine repairs and freight-car construction, was located at Watertown,
just back of the old engine house on Coffeen Street.
[Illustration: WATERTOWN IN 1865 Showing the First Passenger Station of
the Potsdam & Watertown. Taken from the Woodruff House Tower.]
But Watertown's chief comfort was in its passenger station, which stood in
the rear of the well-famed Woodruff House. Norris M. Woodruff had
completed his hotel at about the same time that the railroad first reached
Watertown. It was a huge structure--reputed to be at that time the largest
hotel in the United States west of New York City; and even the far-famed
Astor House of that metropolis, had no dining-salon which in height and
beauty quite equalled the dining-room of the Woodruff House. Mr. Woodruff
had given the railroad the site for its passenger station in the rear of
his hotel, on condition that the chief passenger terminal of the company
should forever be maintained there, which has been done ever since. Yet
the chief passenger station of the R. W. & O. of 1861 was a simple affair
indeed. Builded in brick it afterwards became the wing of the larger
station that was torn down to be replaced by the present station a decade
ago. It was not until 1870 that the three story "addition" to the original
station was built and the first station restaurant at Watertown opened, in
charge of Col. A. T. Dunton, from Bellows Falls, Vt. After the fashion of
the time, its opening was signalized by a banquet.
* * * * *
In front of me there lies a very early time-table of the Rome, Watertown &
Ogdensburgh Railroad. It bears the date, April 20, 1863, and apparently is
the twelfth to be issued in the history of the road. It is signed by
Addison Day, as Superintendent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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