By mid-October 1911 construction of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad was supposed to be completed to Gratz in time for the Gratz Fair. Construction began in earnest in the area around bin January, but was considerably delayed by the difficulty of cutting through rock in the area purchased from the Cummings family in Upper Paxton Township. Although it was reported that a considerable amount of supplies and some rolling stock were purchased and moved to the railroad sites, the Pinkerton Construction Company of Philadelphia was released from its contract at the end of the summer because it had failed to meet its contracted obligations. This action delayed construction and although the railroad continued to insist that new contracts would be issued, no new contracts were made.
There was also the matter of labor troubles. While some blamed the foreign workers for striking to seek more money others insisted that the railroad company had run out of money and would not be able to make its payroll.
While the following set of news articles is far from complete, many of the problems facing the construction were noted. All-the-while, railroad officials were optimistic that the railroad would be completed and continued to hype the project.
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From the Mount Carmel Item, 5 January 1911:
NEW WORD WORK IS PROGRESSING
Although the weather has been very bad during the past few weeks for construction work, the building of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad between Millersburg and Ashland, is progressing nicely. The preliminary surveys have been made as far as Gordon, while about 30 men and a number of teams are engaged on the grade east of Killinger.
A big steam shovel has been taken to Millersburg and as soon as the weather is suitable work will be started on the big thirty foot cut just west of that town, Early in spring construction gangs will be put to work at various points along the line and during the summer months it is expected that about 1,000 men will be employed.
It will require about a year and a half to build the road, which is 44 miles long. The biggest part of it, however, will be completed by next fall.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 3 February, 1911, in a news column on Artz, Schuylkill County:
Work is still going on at the new railroad, both at Killinger and Millersburg.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 16 March 1911, as part of an article on what the construction of the railroad would mean to the Lykens Valley:
Since the time the work was started on the railroad there has been considerable progress made. For a distance of about six miles the road is graded. At Millersburg at the present time a large steam shovel is being used in making the excavations. On the roadbed for the entire distance there will be a grade of only 1.2 percent to the mile. The road is laid out in the more level parts of the valley and in only a few places will there be any trouble experienced in getting the line through. With the aid of a steam shovel, however, the work will be made comparatively easy.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 31 March 1911:
Officials Make Inspection
William McClean, chief engineer of the Midland Railroad Company, and W. W. Pinkerton, president of the Pinkerton Construction Company, both of Philadelphia, were in Millersburg this week, noting the progress being made on the construction work of the new road. The cement arch bridge over Shippen Run at North Market Street is nearly half finished. The bridge will require ten carloads of stone, three cars of cement, and seven cars of sand.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 27 April 1911:
Steam Shovel Works at Millersburg
Special to the Telegraph
Millersburg, Pennsylvania, 27 April — Many people are attracted to the line of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad to see the steam shovel at work. The excavated ground is being used as a top covering on the recently constructed concrete bridge crossing Shippen Run.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 8 May 1911:
75 FOREIGNERS ON NEW RAILROAD
Arrive at Millersburg For Midland Pennsylvania Construction Work
Millersburg, Pennsylvania, 7 May — To hurry along the grading for the new Midland Pennsylvania Railroad between here and Ashland upwards of seventy-five foreigners arrive here yesterday and today to work on the new line. They will be quartered in company shacks near Shippen Dam and will be distributed along the right of way.
Work at this end of the new railroad is centered on the cut being made through the Cummings farm, at the northern end of town. A steam shovel and a score of teams are scooping out the hill, which is the highest, it is said, on the thirty-five mile….
Construction work at this end of the line has put several problems before the borough council, including the widening of Market Streets, its elevation along Oak Hill Cemetery and the extension of the stone culvert over Shippen Run. In this work the Midland Pennsylvania has decided to cooperate to the extent of furnishing the fill and lending its teams for the work.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 11 May 1911:
After the completion of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad from Millersburg to Ashland it is expected the road will cross the Susquehanna at Millersburg and open up new territory westward.
Note: This report of a possible extension of the railroad, after completion, across the Susquehanna River and westward, was speculative, but was later picked up by others as actually happening.
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From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 20 May 1911, a report that bore no relation to reality. There was no known work on an extension of the railroad across the Susquehanna River, although it was discussed as a future possibility.
Work is Being Rushed
Following a recent trip of inspection by the directors of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, orders have been issued to rush the construction work as much as possible. The work is now in progress in extending the line across the Susquehanna River at Millersburg, Pennsylvania, to invade new territory, Grading forces are working to meet each other from both ends of the proposed line. Grading forces are working to meet each other from both ends of the proposed line.
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From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 28 May 1911:
Rapid Progress on Railroad
The work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad is to be rushed to completion. The construction company has ordered three cars of mules. A large number of laborers will be carried to the camp this week. The principal construction is between Millersburg and Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, and the contractors expect to have that portion of the line in operation before the end of the summer.
The company’s right of way is clear the whole extent of the line. Steam shovels are at work and the greater part of the grading has been completed. The work of distributing the cross ties was commenced yesterday. Eighty-pound rail will be laid.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 2 June 1911:
The Midland Railroad workers started in Jacob Hartman’s field on Saturday morning but could not proceed with the work on account of some mistake in the surveying.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 22 June 1911:
More Teams For Railroad Work
Special to the Telegraph
Millersburg, Pennsylvania, 2 June — The Pinkerton Construction Company received about forty head of mules and the supplies this week for work on the new Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, more men are being added to the force all along the line. The big cut north of town is being rapidly dug out.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 23 June 1911:
Three at Hospital Hurt by Blast
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 23 June 1911:
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 1 July 1911:
Railroad Progress
Dinky engines, mud cars and steam drills are rushing the work on the railroad, cutting out the side of the hills outside of Millersburg. The overhead concrete bridge across the new road at Hoy’s Run is about completed, and from now on the grade between here and Millersburg will move along very rapidly and will soon be ready to lay permanent track…
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 7 July 1911:
BANKERS TOUR LYKENS VALLEY IN AUTOMOBILES
Greatly Surprised at Remarkable Progress….
Lewis J. Grubb, of Philadelphia, and C. G. Fencil, of 11 South Eighteenth Street, representing the Underwriters’ Syndicate of the securities of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, pilorted a party yesterday through the Lykens Valley on a tour of the inspection of the construction operations now under way for the forty-four mile stretch of railroad from Millersburg to Ashland.
In addition to the above-named gentlemen the party included Abram Fortenbaugh, a director of the Harrisburg Trust Company; J. O. S. Poorman, secretary and treasure of the Security Trust Company, and Francis R. Fencil, of New Cumberland Other well-known bank people had expected to go, but were deterred by the excessive heat and will make the trip later.
The party went to Millersburg by train, where automobiles were waiting. The work at the Millersburg terminal yards and the forty-six foot cut involving 120,000 cubic yards of excavation, which a titanic steam shovel is rapidly completing, were first visited. The party then followed the grading along the right of way to Berrysburg. The tour was continued up the valley, passing through Gratz, stopping at the demonstration farm being conducted by the promoters of the new road near Springville, Sacramento, Valley View, and Hegins, where the tourist stopped for dinner. After dinner the trip was extended to Mabel, thirty-four miles from Millersburg. From there the party returned to Little Mountain, where a magnificent panoramic view of the valley was enjoyed, looking west, about twenty-eight miles toward Millersburg, which can be easily seen on a clear day. From Little Mountain the run was made direct to Elizabethville, where the party took the train for home.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 9 July 1911:
More men and teams are arriving weekly to aid in construction of the Midland Railroad.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 19 July 1911:
Gratz, 18 July — It is hoped by the residents of the valley that the line of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad now under construction between Millersburg and Ashland, will be completed as far as this point by fair time [Gratz Fair]. The road is practically ready for the rails as far as Berrysburg, and once the grading is completed the work will move along rapidly.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 27 July 1911:
The Midland Pennsylvania Railroad has piles and piles of rails at Millersburg ready to begin laying track as soon as the grading is finished to Berrysburg. Hundreds of people visit Millersburg every Sunday to see what progress has been made. One auto from Valley View carried 27 persons.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 28 July 1911, in a column on news from Hegins:
Touring Lykens and Williams Valley is the latest attraction here. Steve Haas in his large automobile takes out parties from here down through Lykens Valley to Millersburg and up through Williams Valley. This is a very pleasant ride affording the passengers to see the progress of the Midland Railroad as well as all the other scenery through the two valleys.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 7 August 1911, in an article describing a picnic held at Scheib’s Grove by the Lykens Valley Board of Trade, a short distance east of Gratz, Dauphin County, at which 5000 persons attended:
RAILROAD PROGRESS
Many of the visitors to this section inspected the scene of the railroad operations which have just been started at Gratz, with a view of extending the grading to Berrysburg and getting the road ready for the rails. It is the intention to have the line between Millersburg and Gratz ready by the middle of October, when the Gratz Fair will be held. Owing to the fact that the grading at this point is not heavy, the roadbed will be ready for the rails within a short time.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 9 August 1911:
Injured by Rail
Special to The Telegraph
Millersburg, Pennsylvania, 9 August — Frank Klose, employed at the steam shovel on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, was painfully bruised about the chest yesterday, having been struck by a rail that was being used as a lever.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 11 August 1911, in a column on news from Hegins:
It is said that work at grading in this section will soon start, that some our men will be given employment. It will be a good thing for our town.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 11 August 1911:
WANTED AT ONCE
400 men to work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad. Apply to Edgar D. Rank, Williamstown, Pennsylvania.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 12 August 1911:
On Tuesday afternoon Frank Close, while at work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, assisting in moving the steam shovel, one of the rails struck him in the chest and he was rendered unconscious. He was removed to his home nearby and Dr. Hottenstein was summoned.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 15 August 1911:
Negro Tramp Ties Italian to Tree
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 16 August 1911:
Miners Take Jobs on Railroad Beds
Special to The Telegraph
Williamstown, Pennsylvania, 14 August — The colliery will work but one or two days this week owing to slack orders. A number of the outside laboring men have gone to different sections in search of employment.
Joseph Darby, who is employed on the Midland Pennsylvania railroad, took a number of foreign laborers to the Lykens Valley where they will be employed during the slack time.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 18 August 1911:
Isaac Otto, was compelled to quit his work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad owing to illness due to the difference in drinking water. He expects to go to work again.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 24 August 1911:
Two car loads of bridge iron and several loads of cement were unloaded at this station the latter part of the week. This material was taken to Berrysburg for the erection of a bridge where the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad crosses the highway a short distance east of that borough.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 25 August 1911:
WANTED AT ONCE
400 men to work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad. Apply to Edgar D. Rank, Williamstown, Pennsylvania.
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From the West Schuylkill Herald, 25 August 1911, in a news column on Hegins:
Isaac Otto had returned again to Gratz where he is employed by and working on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 2 September 1911:
Rushing Work on Midland Pennsylvania Railroad
Company Hopes to Have System Completed by Gratz by October 15
The Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company is making special efforts to set the road completed to Gratz until October 15, the time for the big fair. They added over a hundred laborers, and quite a number of teams this week. James McGinn, and W. W. Pinkerton, of Philadelphia, heads of the construction company are here for several days looking after the work.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 5 September 1911, in an article about a picnic held at Hegins Grove, Hegins, Schuylkill County,by the Lykens Valley Board of Trade:
The people of the valley are now beginning to become interested in the construction of the railroad, which, it was said here today, will be ready by the latter part of next month between Gratz and Millersburg. Quite a number of additional men have been put to work during the past three weeks, and the building of the road between those two points is being rushed to completion.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 5 September 1911:, in an article describing a Lykens Valley Board of Trade meeting in Hegins, Schuiylkill County:
Robert H. Sexton, general manager of the new Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company, whose road will traverse the valley, was here during the day and talked at both the afternoon and evening meetings. Mr. Sexton, in an interview, said that the work is being pushed along between Millersburg and Gratz, so that is it is at all possible, residents of the lower end of the valley will be able to ride on trains to the Gratz Fair next month. All of the rights of way between Gratz and Millersburg have been produced and the grading is nearing completion. However, much trouble is being experienced at Millersburg because the cut at that place is through solid rock and the work goes slowly there.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 7 September 1911:
F. K. Lenker of Millersburg carried the paymaster of the construction company along the line of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad on his auto last Saturday. The funds for paying the men were drawn at the Lykens Valley Bank at this place.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 16 September 1911:
Italian Injured on New Railroad
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 18 September 1911:
BY RAIL THRO’ LYKENS VALLEY
Working Night and Day to Connect Millersburg and Gratz
Millersburg and Gratz will soon be connected by bands of steel. Fifteen miles of the Midland Pennsylvania railroad have almost been completed and by 15 October communication by rail will be established between these two upcounty towns, according to Squire Morris Daniels of Berrysburg, president of the Lykens Valley Board of Trade, who was in Harrisburg today.
“Just a short stretch of rail needs to be laid to connect the towns,” said Mr. Daniels, “and then traffic will be once be begun between them. It’ll be a great thing for Lykens Valley, I can tell you. The company will not wait until it completes the entire line before putting its engines to work. It is the intention to have the line opened between Gratz and Millersburg next month.”
The Midland Pennsylvania Railroad is a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad and it covers a forty-three mile stretch, crossing Dauphin County and entering into Schuylkill County.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot‘s “Evening Chat” column of 19 September 1911:
“The fifteen-mile stretch of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, extending from Millersburg to Gratz will be finished by 15 October, it is expected and the gangs of men are working day and night with that idea in mind.”
Morris Daniels, of Berrysburg, one of the men of the Lykens Valley foremost in the organization of the Board of Trade of Lykens Valley and the improvement of that valley, thus expressed himself as the progress that is being made on the new railroad.
The whole road will extend about forty-three miles, from Millersburg to Ashland, Schuylkil County. It is hoped to have the entire road completed and in operation before next spring.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 23 September 1911:
LABOR TROUBLES
Midland Pennsylvania Has First Taste of Industrial Mixup
Work on the construction of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad between Millersburg and Gratz was somewhat delayed this week by labor troubles that started about Wednesday. A demand for more wages by some of the men was made, and upon being refused, would not work. They were afterward dismissed from the service.
The strike was in the hands of the Pinkerton Construction Company, who have the contract for the building of the road. General Superintendent Cooper, of the railroad company, said yesterday that no further trouble is expected and that work will go ahead next week as usual.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 25 September 1911:
END OF MIDLAND STRIKE EXPECTED
New Railroad Official Says Work Will be Normal in Few Days
Special Dispatch to the Patriot.
Millersburg, Pennsylvania, 24 September — Labor troubles that delayed work on the construction of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad through the Lykens Valley from here to Ashland, last week, are expected to be brought to an end within the next few days and a full force of men will again be rushing the line through to Gratz. When this point is reached the company expects to put the trains into operation.
Because they wanted their wages increased from $1.50 a day to $1.65, seventy-five foreigners employed on the construction work laid down their tools and made efforts to enlist a number of other men in their ranks. Several more joined the strikers, and later all of the men who quit work were dismissed from work by the Pinkerton Construction Company, which holds the contract for building the road.
The contractors expect to replace the men dismissed during the week, and the work, they say, will be going on as usual during the next few days.
Joseph F. Romberger, of Berrysburg, second vice president of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad, and a big factor in the Lykens Valley scheme of development, said yesterday that the strike would not delay the building of the road to any great extent.
“The men are working today,” he said, “and as far as the strike is concerned, it will not amount to very much.”
“How about the stories of financial difficulties?” he was asked.
“There are no financial difficulties,” he said. “The labor troubles are up to the contractors, and has nothing to do with the railroad company.”
Although the contractors have been working night and day on the line between here and Gratz during the past six weeks, it is doubtful whether the line between these two points will be ready by the third week of October, the week of the Gratz Fair. The distance between the two points is fifteen miles, and much of the roadbed must yet be constructed before any rails are laid. The rails and crossties are here waiting to be used.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 26 September 1911:
Many Foreigners Leave
Special to the Telegraph
Millersburg, Pennsylvania, 26 September — There was a great exodus of foreign laborers from Millersburg, Monday evening and today when their differences with the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad were adjusted by the arrival of the paymaster. The men, scattered to all sections of the county, are those who were discharged last week on account of a reduction of the force, the company now being able to do the work of many laborers with a dinkey engine and dump cars.
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From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 September 1911:
ARMED MEN GUARDING STRIKE-RIDDEN TOWN
Millersburg Citizens Thrown in a Panic When Foreigners Threaten to Do Harm
Special to the Inquirer
SELINSGROVE, Pennsylvania, 25 September– Because they wanted their wages increased from $1.50 to $1.65 per day, more than 75 foreigners employed on the construction work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad through Lykens Valley, from Millersburg to Ashland, kept the former borough in a state of tense excitement all last night and today by laying down their tools and inducing other men to join their ranks.
A number joined the strikers and later all the men who quit were discharged by the Pinkerton Construction Company, which holds the contract for building the road.
Some of the discharged men who experienced trouble in getting their money last night are alleged to have threatened to burn down the buildings of the construction company on the outskirts of Millersburg.
Extra guards were put on the watch and the residents of Millersburg held an indignation meeting to formulate plans to protect the town. Late last night a general alarm of fire was sounded to call the people together and to see that everything was in good working order in case the department was needed. Armed men patrolled the town until daybreak this morning and others were on guard today, but the strikers quieted down and there was no further trouble.
The contractors expect to replace the men dismissed during the week and the work, they say, will be going on as usual during the next few days.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 28 September 1911:
WILL SUBLET WORK ON MIDLAND ROAD
President Harrington Announces Present Contractors May Submit Bids
W. E. Harrington, president of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was in Harrisburg a short time last evening en route to his home in Philadelphia after spending the past two days in the Lykens Valley endeavoring to straighten out the difficulties encountered in the building of the road between Millersburg and Ashland.
Mr. Harrington was accompanied by G. Genge Browning, of Camden, New Jersey, who has a big interest in the Lykens Valley development scheme, and the railroad’s consulting engineers, Dodge Day and Zimmerman, also of Philadelphia.
“We have gone over every foot of the ground,” he said last evening, “to get definite data as to just where we stand with the Pinkerton Construction Company, and we are going ahead with plans to sublet the building of the remainder of the road to other contractors.”
Mr. Harrington said that bids will be asked from other contractors to complete the line. Nothing will prevent, he stated, the Pinkerton people from being a bidder, and if their bid is lower than the others they will get a certain portion of the work.
Many Sub-Contracts
“The Pinkerton Construction Company has agreed that the work can be sub-let, and we can have as many contractors building the road as we see fit. We find that it will be cheaper, and no doubt there will be much better headway,” he said. Mr. Harrington intimated that it is the intention of the company to have a number of contractors at work on the road at the same time.
He agreed that it was a big setback in the completion of the road to Gratz, and would not say even when he thought it could not be completed to that point. He said the contractors promised to have it ready for operation between Millersburg and Berrysburg by the Fourth of July last, and then to have it completed to Gratz by the middle of September. This was again postponed, he said, until the middle of next month, before the trouble of last week.
The Lykens Valley Construction Company which has the contract for the building of the road, and afterward sub-let it to the Pinkerton Construction Company, paid off all the men lst Saturday. Mr. Harrington who is also interested in the Lykens Valley Construction Company, said it was not known until last Saturday what the conditions were.
It is said that a number of men have gone back to work, but the force is not so great as it had been. Men were at work at a number of places yesterday between Millersburg and Gratz.
The Cummings cut at Millersburg will be finished within the next few days, and the new steel bridge near Berrysburg was completed on Monday.
Railroad Company Hustling
The plans of the railroad company are far in advance of the work done by the construction company.
“The cross ties and steel rails are all ready for the road,” said Mr. Harrington last evening. Half of the rails are stored at Millersburg and the remainder of them at the plant of the Pennsylvania Steel Company at Sparrows Point; and they are all paid for.”
He also said that a number of flat cars were in storage at Millersburg, and at Berwick there were a number of box cars, all of them waiting to be put into service.
The latest delay in the building of the road was caused by the men refusing to work last week, after their pay had failed to reach them. Quite a number of the foreigners made threats of causing considerable damage to the property about Millersburg. It was rumored that they had planned to blow up the dynamite house and set fire to the cross ties that are stored there.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 28 September 1911:
Sublet Work on Midland Valley
In order to assure the completion of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad between Millersburg and Ashland at an early date, the contractors now in charge will sub-let other portions of the road to other contractors.
The Cummings cut, at Millersburg, will be finished within the next few days, and the new steel bridge near Berrysburg was completed Monday.
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From Elizabethville, as reported in the Harrisburg Telegraph, 30 September 1911:
On account of a sudden halt in work on the Midland Railroad, many foreigners are leaving here.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 7 October 1911:
Engineering Firm Changes
The firm of Dodge, Day and Zimmerman consulting engineers of Philadelphia, will make several changes in the near future. The firm is one of the largest of its kind in the country and is composed of Kern Dodge, Charles Day and John E. Zimmerman, and the firm in the future will be known as Day and Zimmerman. They are the consulting engineers for the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company, building the line through Lykens Valley.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 10 October 1911, in an article describing a meeting of the Lykens Valley Board of Trade held at Valley View:
Reports were also made concerning the recent labor troubles on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad which are causing considerable display in the completion of the line to Gratz. It was said, however, that additional contractors will be put at work on the line, so that it will be ready for operation through to Ashland from Millersburg in the spring…
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 14 October 1911:
Cars For Midland Road
Several new box cars for use on the Mildand Pennsylvania Road, now under construction, between Millersburg and Ashland, have just been received at the former place from the car shops at Berwick. This will add to the equipment of several flat cars that are also stored at Millersburg waiting the completion of the line through to Gratz.
The work on Cummings’ Cut at Millersburg, the biggest piece of Construction work along the line, will be completed next week if the weather is good. It is expected that the line will be completed next week if the weather is good. It is expected that the line will be completed to Gratz by the first of the year.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 16 October 1911, in a article stating that the surveyors for the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad have complete their work:
The line from Millersburg to Gratz is well under way and now preparations are being made to start actual construction work on the second stretch of the road, which will extend eastward as far as Ashland, Schuylkill County….
A cut of about nine feet will be necessary at Sacramento and just east of that will be a fill of about twenty-one feet. Other than this there will be little change of grade….
The construction of the line from Millersburg to Gratz is going ahead nicely, although no additional contracts have yet been awarded. The Pinkerton Construction Company, of Philadelphia, is making good progress since the labor troubles of five weeks ago. The stretch of line, it is expected, will be ready for operation about the time the second is ready for construction.
With the completion of the line between Millersburg and Gratz the old stage now running between Elizabethville and Gratz will be discontinued and all the mail and express, now being sent through the valley by way of Elizabethville, will go by way of Millersburg.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 27 October 1911:
WORK STOPS ON NEW RAILROAD
Pinkerton Company Is Given Its Release, Say Officials
PACK UP EQUIPMENTS
Lykens Valley Job Will Again Be Started in Ten Days
Special to the Telegraph
Killinger, Pennsylvania, 27 October – Work on the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad is shut down all along the line for a week or ten days, when it is expected another contractor will take hold of the job. The Pinkerton Construction Company, of Philadelphia, had the contract, but was not able to come up to time. The company was given an extension of time, but did not make good. The Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company on this account, it is said, ordered the contractors to leave the job, so all the grading is at a standstill. The construction company is paying off its men and getting their equipments in shape to ship away. As yet it is not announced who the next contractor will be, but the officials of the railroad company stated today, that they would have one on the job inside of ten days.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 27 October 1911:
GIVE CONTRACTS FIRST OF MONTH
Expect Midland to Reach Gratz On First of Year
Contracts for work on the completion of the construction of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad line through the Lykens Valley from Millersburg east to Gratz will be awarded on the first of the month.
The Pinkerton Construction Company, Philadelphia, who more than a year ago was given the contract to build the entire line, has not been able to complete it in time and it is the intention of the company to put additional contractors on the work so that it can be rushed through.
“At the next meeting of the Lykens Valley Board of Trade announcements will be made of the successful bidders, and we expect to have the line competed through to Gratz by [the first of] January,” said Joseph F. Romberger, of Berrysburg, second vice-president of the railroad, this morning.
Mr. Romberger stated that just as soon as the line to Gratz is competed work will be started on the section east of that point and rushed through to Ashland, the eastern terminal, where connections will be made with the Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia and Reading Roads.
“There are quite a number of bidders,” he said, “among them being several contracting firms from Harrisburg….”
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 28 October 1911:
Many Visitors at Killinger This Week
W. E. Harrington, of Philadelphia, president of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was here on Wednesday….
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From the “Berrysburg News” in the Harrisburg Telegraph, 4 November 1911, the departure of one of the last of the Pinkerton employees was announced:
Frank Haverstick left for his home in Philadelphia on Wednesday. He was walking boss for the Pemberton [sic] Construction Company in the making of the Midland Road.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 10 November 1911:
Shipped to Paoli
The Pinkerton Construction Company, which had the contract to build the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad through the Lykens Valley from Millersburg to Ashland, will this week compete the work of shipping their material to Paoli, where some work will be started. The construction company was released from building the road because it failed in its contract.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 27 October 1911, in an article on problems with the funding of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad that seemed to be related to the discharge of the Pinkerton Construction Company:
It was reported in this city this morning that a New York bond house has undertaken to finance the construction of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad… following the failure of the Pinkerton Construction Company to meet its contract. Upon this matter, it was further said, the Philadelphia underwriters have refused to finance the remainder of the construction work or a part of it.
The board of directors of the Midland Railroad company has called a meeting in Philadelphia next Thursday, where some action will be taken toward getting the work started again and completing the line.
The company has received quite a numb er of bids for the construction of that stretch from Berrysburg through to Ashland, and it is expected that at the meeting of the board this week the contracts will be awarded.
“Matters are progressing slowly at the present time,” said Joseph F. Romberger, second the president of the railroad company, this morning, “but at the meeting on Thursday I expect we will have some announcement to give the public. The line is sure to go through, however.”
Among the contractors who have put in their bids for the construction of the road are several from Harrisburg, but just who they are is not known….
It is not expected that the line to Gratz will be completed until next February. when the Pinkerton Construction Company failed to meet its contract the work stopped at Berrysburg, the distance from there to Gratz being five miles. When that point is reached the road will be half completed, the contract calling for operations of trains through the valley clear to Ashland by the first of the year.
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From the Altoona Tribune, 15 November 1911:
RAILROAD RUMBLINGS
Information of Interest to Both Employer and Employee
A report is in circulation in the east that a New York bond house had offered to finance the construction of the Midland Pennsylvania railroad line which had been started from Millersburg to Ashland. Work has been idle on the road for several weeks following the withdrawal of the Pinkerton Construction Company. A meeting of the board of directors of the Midland company has been called for Thursday in Philadelphia, and it is thought that action will be taken on the subject at that time.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 23 November 1911, in an column on news from Killinger:
Nothing definite has yet been announced concerning the construction of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad since the meeting of the directors at Philadelphia last Thursday. It is not likely that anything will be done till next spring.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 8 December 1911:
Cars Arrive for Midland Pennsylvania Railroad
Work Left by Pinkerton Construction Company Will Be Finished by Other Contractors
Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, 8 December — Joseph F. Romberger, vice-president of the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was called to Philadelphia this week where he attended a meeting of the members of the company. The plans for the finishing of the new road between Millersburg and Ashland were discussed and communications from the contractors who want to finish the work left by the Pinkerton Construction Company were read. It was decided to let a contract as soon as possible and get the job completed between Millersburg and Gratz at once, and then push the work east of Gratz vigorously. When the work is again started there will be plenty to do for every unemployed man in the section, as it is the intention of the company to allow the residents of the valley to do the job instead of going outside and getting foreign labor.
The new railroad is now beginning to take on a prosperous appearance, as this week, several passenger coaches and four freight cars arrived. These will be followed by many others as soon as possible.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 14 December 1911:
Midland Pennsylvania Railroad
At a meeting of the Midland Pennsylvania’s board held at Philadelphia, last week the plans for finishing the new road between Millersburg and Ashland were discussed. It was decided to let the contract quickly and get the job done between Millersburg and Gratz, and afterwards, push the work eastward. Several passenger coaches and four freight cars have arrived at Millersburg. It is proposed to employ mostly home labor when the work is again started.
Joseph F. Romberger, of Berrysburg, vice president of the road attended the meeting in Philadelphia.
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News articles transcribed from Newspapers.com.