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WORKING ON THE ^ 

 WYNDMOOR RAILROAD 



The Myers & Samtman Short Line, operating between Greenhouse and 

 Field, does not cover many miles, nor is its rolling stock large, hut it pays 

 heavy dividends in health and energy. Its officers welcome rival lines, 

 which can also earn hig dividends, hut cannot diminish theirs. 



LEAE the track! Here comes 

 the fast freight on the 

 Wyndmoor railroad, other- 

 wise known as the Myers & 

 Samtman Short Line. It is 

 on the way from Greenhouse 



Roadbed of the Wyndmoor Railroad. 



to Field. If you can't find those sta- 

 tions on the map, you will be thankful 

 to be informed that they are both in 

 Springfield township, Montgomery 

 county, Pennsylvania — or, • in other 

 words, at Chestnut Hill, 

 Philadelphia. 



It is a small railroad, 

 to be sure, but then it's 

 young. Despite its youth 

 it is notably successful, 

 and pays big dividends 

 to the operators as well 

 as to the oflBcers of the 

 road. To the former they 

 are in the shape of health, 

 happiness and energy, and 

 to the latter in the shape 

 of time, money and worry 

 saved. The capital stock 

 of the road is fully paid 

 up, and there is no bonded 

 indebtedness. The officers 

 are: President, Frank P. 

 Myers ; vice - president, 

 Martin Samtman ; gen- 

 eral manager, Joseph S. 

 Myers. 



The history of the 

 road reaches back three 

 years. At the beginning 

 of that time Myers & 

 Samtman were in a quan- 

 dary. Their prosperity 



had brought them a problem. They al- 

 ready had a large range, and were add- 

 ing a house 55x300 each spring. Their 

 books showed that benches filled each 

 year with fresh soil and fresh plants 

 were generally more profitable than those 

 occupied by plants carried over. On the 

 other hand, there was the ever increas- 

 ing difficulty of getting the houses emp- 

 tied and cleaned, and filled and planted 

 in time. Every man who wanted work 

 was hired and given plenty of it each 

 spring. All the regular men did their level 

 best. But in spite of all efforts made, the 

 work dragged. It was too heavy. More 

 than this, the unusual strain told on the 

 regular employees after replanting was 

 over. They were completely played out. 

 Nor were the extra men any better. So 

 it had come to the point that everyone 

 dreaded the spring. It really seemed as 

 though progress were barred. 



The solution of the problem came with 

 the idea of replacing the wheelbarrows 

 with some mechanical method of trans- 

 porting the soil from field to greenhouse 

 and vice versa. Cars and track were 

 decided upon. So ten industrial, ball- 

 bearing steel cars were purchased, each 

 of which holds one cubic yard, or thirteen 

 wheelbarrow loads, of soil. Twelve 

 hundred feet of 24-inch track, half a 

 dozen curves of varying degrees of 

 sharpness, some turntables and several 

 switches completed the equipment. The 

 track is shifted from bench to bench 

 and house to house as needed. 



It is not extraordinary that the rail- 



road did not reach the top-notch of suc- 

 cess the first season. This was prin- 

 cipally due to lack of knowledge and ex- 

 perience. At first the track broke down 

 the benches in the greenhouses. To pre- 

 vent this, the blocks that had been used 



Uoloading Freight at Field on the Wyndmoor Railroad. 



Picking up Local Freight. 



to support the tracks were replaced by 

 3x6 spruce planks, which distributed the 

 weight over several supports. There 

 was also a partial change made in the 

 means of propelling the cars. While 

 they could be moved by 

 hand with ease on the 

 level, it was found ad- 

 visable to hook together 

 five cars and attach a 

 pair of horses to them 

 where the track was up- 

 grade. With a few such 

 minor changes the sys- 

 tem became perfected. 

 The last two years the 

 operation of replanting 

 the houses has become 

 comparatively easy. It 

 is not now, of course, a 

 light task, but the men 

 do not look forward to 

 it with the dread of the 

 old days, and are not 

 fagged when it is com- 

 pleted. 



The scenic views of 

 Wyndmoor railroad on 

 this and the following 

 page show plainly the 

 modus operandi. The 

 houses are quickly 

 cleared of the old soil, 

 which is dumped in the 



