THE STOREROOM

 

     Originally the Storeroom was a part of the Finishing Department and in the late seventies was in charge of John Aman, who was then Foreman of the Finishing Shop, with a boy, the son of Reuben Sorber, in the Storeroom.  About 1883 the Storeroom was made a separate department for the Finishing Shop and the first Storekeeper was Chester E. Baker, who took charge in September, 1883, which position he held until January, 1887, when he was succeeded by John G. Linkert, who held the position until June 15th, 1907, when he was succeeded by Martin W. Erbaugh, who now holds the position of Storekeeper.

     Mr. Erbaugh entered the employ of the company September 18th, 1883, and was employed continuously in the Finishing Department until his appointment to the position of Storekeeper.

 

THE TRUCK DEPARTMENT

 

     In the early history of the company all trucks, both passenger and freight, were built under the direct charge of Mr. Childs.  Early in the sixties Mr. Henry Freshmeier was the passenger truck builder and Mr. Angelus Wetzel the freight truck builder.  Mr. Wetzel also did the platform work on passenger cars.  For a time during the absence of Mr. Wetzel on account of Mr. Wetzel’s long illness, George Fischer was the freight truck builder.  Mr. Fischer entered the employ of the company in 1867, and is now connected with the Lumber Department.  When Mr. Fischer was transferred to the Lumber Department in 1880, he was succeeded in the Freight Truck Shop by Lewis M. Hildt, who entered the employ of the company September 19th, 1868.

     Mr. Wetzel returned after his illness and was given charge of the platform and draft rigging on passenger cars and mounting passenger car bodies on trucks, and continued in this until his death, which occurred in March, 1897.

     When, in the early eighties Henry Freshmeier died, the position of passenger truck builder was given to William Kramer, who entered the service in 1866, forty-five years ago, and who now holds the position.

     On January 1st, 1898, Mr. John Hahn was made Foreman of the Passenger and Freight Truck and Platform Department and remained in this position until he was made Foreman of the Machine Shop August 1st, 1902, when he was succeeded in the Truck Shop and Platform Department by Martin Kalbfleisch, who held the position until October 1st, 1906, when he was appointed Foreman of the Body Shop and was succeeded on that date by John Zahn, who now holds the position of Foreman of the Passenger Truck and Platform Departments, the Freight Truck Department in the meantime having been removed to the new Steel Plant and being under the control of that department.

     John Zahn entered the service of the company in October 1892, in the Passenger Truck and Platform Department and has been in continuous service for nineteen years.

 

THE IRONTRUCKERS

 

     The story of the Iron truckers, while covering a long period of time, is a short one and soon told.

     William Emonin entered the employ of the company October 28th, 1865, and was placed in charge of the Iron truckers November 2nd, 1868, and has held that position up to the present time-practically forty-three years in one position.

    

THE ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

 

     The Electrical Department was established February 20th, 1897, under the charge of Mr. P. W. Klinger, who later was made Foreman of the machine Shop, and later was made Superintendent of the Freight Car Department.

     On March 16th, 1900, Mr. D. D. Tate who had entered the employ of the company February 24th, 1900, was made Foreman of the Electrical Department, which position he occupied until January 24th, 1910, at which time he retired from the service of the company and on March 14th, 1910, Mr. H. J. Barienbrock was appointed to succeed him as Foreman of the Electrical Department and which position Mr. Barienbrock now holds.

 

THE YARD AND LUMBER DEPARTMENTS

 

     From the earliest times, the Yard Department has been one of the largest and employing one of the greatest number of men about the institution.  In the early days Mr. E. E. Barney gave his personal supervision to the Yard and it was not until after the year 1863, when Mr. J. H. Stevens entered the service of the company, that this department was handled separately, and at this time Mr. Stevens took charge of the Yard as well as the Lumber Department and retained control of the Lumber Department as Lumber Buyer until April 1st, 1908, when after forty-five years of continuous service, he requested that he be retired and was succeeded by his son, Arthur J. Stevens, with the title of Manager of the Lumber Department.

     In May, 1884, owing to the largely increased business, requiring Mr. Stevens to give his entire attention to Lumber purchasing, the Yard Department was placed in charge of Fred Goehl, who was succeeded in September, 1887, by Newton Snyder, who was succeeded in January, 1893, by E. J. Sutton, who held the position until he met his death in an accident on the Fifth Street Division of the City Railway Company in August, 1900, when he was succeeded James H. Miller, who now holds the position of Foreman of the Yard Department.

     Mr. Miller entered the service of the company in the Lumber Department December 26th, 1897, and has been in continuous service fourteen years.

 

THE MILLWRIGHT DEPARTMENT

 

     It was not until 1872 that a separate Millwright’s Department was organized.  In the early days the Millwright work was done by various carpenters, and in 1865 this work was being done by a man named J. Hess.  When the present Blacksmith Shop was being built in 1868, Hess was given the job of framing the roof timbers, but bungled the job so badly that one morning he failed to appear and Henry Hueffelman was put in charge of the work and with considerable difficulty got the work straightened out.  After this the Millwright work was in charge of a man by the name of A. Francis who was succeeded by James Finch who was succeeded by James McIntee.

     The Millwright Department organized separately about 1872 with Henry Corse in charge, who remained until about 1878, when he was succeeded by Phil Rudy, who was succeeded in 1879 by Reuben Sorber, who was succeeded in May, 1884, by Al Downer, who entered the employ of the company April 10th, 1878, and who now holds the position of Foreman of the Millwright Department, a continuous service of thirty-three years.

 

GENERAL INSPECTOR

 

     Previous to the year 1897, no general inspection of the various shops about the plant was made at regular intervals and no detailed inspection of passenger cars before being shipped.

     In March, 1897, the position of General Inspector was created and John A. Meier was appointed to the position.  He duties were to make a regular and systematic inspection at least once a week, of all the shops and yards about the premises in addition to which his duties required him to make a detailed and systematic inspection of every passenger car before it left the works.  This position he held until he was appointed Foreman of the Body Shop in September, 1902, when he was succeeded by John W. Barnhart.

     John A. Meier entered the employ of the company in 1877 and has remained to this time, a continuous service of thirty-four years.

     John W. Barnhart entered the employ of the company March 28th, 1890.

     When Mr. Barnhart was appointed Foreman of the Finishing Department, he was succeeded on October 15th, 1909, by Louis C. Kesselring, who had been employed in the Finishing Shop as an inside finisher.  Mr. Kesselring occupied the position of General Inspector until June 15th, 1910, when he returned to the Finishing Shop as an inside finisher and was succeeded by John W. Barnhart who had previously held that position and who now holds the same position as General Inspector.

 

THE FREIGHT ERECTING SHOP

 

     Originally all freight cars were built under the super-vision of Mr. Woodsum, and later, after Mr. Childs came, they were under his direct charge.  In the early sixties the foremen of this department were S. A. McKinsie, who was succeeded about 1869 by Henry Huefelman, who retained this position until he took charge of the Freight Mill in October, 1889, when he was succeeded in the Freight Shop by Stephen Zahn, who retained the position the new Steel Plant was erected and the Freight Erecting Shop transferred from the Main Plant to the new East End Plant, when his son, William E. Zahn, was appointed Foreman March 24th, 1906.  William E. Zahn entered the service of the company December 15th, 1891, and was made Assistant Foreman of the Freight Shop September 1st, 1902, in which position he served until appointed Foreman of the new Wood Freight Erecting Shop, which position he held until December 1st, 1908, when he was appointed Assistant Shop Superintendent of the East Plant, which position he now holds.

     Stephen Zahn entered the service of the Company in 1871, and in October, 1889, was made Foreman of the Freight Shop, which position he held until the shop was transferred to the new Steel Plant in the latter part of 1905.  M. Zahn at this time, being in poor health, retired for six months, at the expiration of which time, having regained his health, he re-entered the employ of the company as General Assistant in the Body Erecting Shop, which position he now holds.  Mr. Zahn has been in the service of the Company forty years.

 

THE STEEL PLANT

 

     The new freight car plant for the construction of all kinds of steel, composite and wood freight cars, was erected in 1905 and on August 10th, 1905, Mr. C. Flinn was secured to take charge of this plant.  Mr. Flinn remained until January 31st, 1906, when he resigned and retired from the service of the company.

     On March 1st, 1906, MR. R. M. Mitchell, who had had, previously to coming here, a large experience in the construction of steel cars, was secured to take charge of this plant and is now in charge of same.

     On January 3rd, 1911, Mr. Mitchell was put in charge of all steel passenger car work, including the exterior and interior steel finish as well as the steel construction work.  In addition to which Mr. Mitchell continues in charge of the East Plant and all freight construction.

 

THE WATER SUPPLY

 

     The matter of furnishing the workmen in the shops with pure drinking water at all seasons of the year is one of great importance.  For many years the city supply of holly water was drawn on for this purpose, but it was thought it would be a more satisfactory arrangement if the company had its own water supply.  Accordingly during the latter part of 1899, three wells were driven near the eastern extremity of the main works at a point opposite the Bimm Ice House, and later on three more wells were added, making a total of six wells, and it was found that our supply came from the same clear cold channel that flows under that portion of the city and from which the city draws its entire supply.  A brick pump house was built immediately East of the Upholstery Shop, building M-12, and a pump of 500 gallons capacity per minute, was installed.  At first this pump was operated by a gas engine, which proved unsatisfactory and was later supplanted by an electric motor by which the pump is now driven.  The drinking water supply for the East Plant is procured from three additional wells similar to the six above mentioned, but located near the East Plant Power House.

 

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