September 1, 2014 No. 259 Coal by Rail Hopedale in August Television, 1948, Hopedale, Milford and beyond. Should a town have an official song? That's the subject of an August 14 Worcester Gazette article. It mainly concerns a song about Millbury, but if you go down near the end of it, you'll find a few sentences about two Hopedale songs: Sleepy Little Town, and A Shell. Friends of Adin Ballou Peace Picnic on YouTube. North Pond (Hopkinton, Upton, Milford) Worcester in the mid-20th century - a slide show on YouTube. During the last two weeks, I've added to pages on Parklands HIstory (Boy Scout Eagle project in the Parklands) Bridges of Hopedale Pond (photo of three women in a rowboat by the 1900 version of the Rustic Bridge.) Fitzgerald Drive (Obituaries for each of the three Fitzgeralds honored by the road name now on the page.) Recent deaths <><><><><><><><><><> Twenty-five years ago - September 1989 - Hurricane Hugo strikes the Caribbean and the southeastern United States. F.W. DeKlerk becomes last president of South Africa under apartheid. President Bush appeals to Congress and the public for support of his $7.9 billion antidrug plan so the war against narcotics can finally be won. New classes offered at the Community House this year include safe exercise and country painting on wood. There will be no classes in quilting or sewing because of low attendance in recent years. A special education policy in Hopedale that would place special needs students on a waiting list has drawn criticism from several parents. Fifty years ago - September 1964 - The Warren Commission report on the assassination of President Kennedy is published. The possible acquisition of nearly 20 acres of land on Plain Street for future recreational development was discussed by the Hopedale Conservation Commission last night. The Hopedale Housing Authority announced today its housing for the elderly project on Hopedale Street will be named the "Richard J. Griffin Apartments" in honor of the sole Hopedale youth to give his life in the Korean conflict. A happy reunion occurred at Logan Airport on Saturday when Mrs. Herbert Daige met her mother, her sister, and her nephew for the first time in 36 years. <><><><><><><><><><> Delivering Coal By Rail By Gordon E. Hopper Coal was delivered to the Hopedale Coal and Ice Company and its predecessor, the Hopedale Stable Company, by the Grafton and Upton Railroad from around 1900 until 1962. M. Russell Dennett, treasurer of the coal and ice firm, told the Milford Daily News several years ago that various types of coal were received with the majority being hard coal. He said that the coal business peaked between the years of 1920 and 1940. During the 1940s, the company received about 200 coal cars each year on the railroad and during the 1950s, about 123 carloads were received each year. As the use of coal was decreasing, only 18 or 20 carloads were received each year during the early 1960s. Each coal car carried about 50 tons of coal. A long wooden trestle which carried railroad cars to a large coal shed was condemned in 1950 and for the next 12 or 13 years, a long conveyor belt running from the bottom of the trestle to various points inside the coal shed was used to unload coal cars. A five-ton Packard truck purchased in 1912 was used to deliver coal to customers for several years. Starting during the early 1900s, the firm operated several large icehouses near the railroad crossing on Freedom Street. They were located on the western side of Hopedale Pond, and many men were employed there during the ice cutting season each year. A Grafton and Upton Railroad spur line ran to the icehouses and trains carried ice mostly to Boston and elsewhere to a smaller degree. In 1920, the harvest yielded 12,000 tons of ice. A beautiful home now occupies the site of the old icehouses and the railroad siding roadbed is still visible with some difficulty. Two Grafton and Upton Railroad employees that worked on trains bringing coal to the firm were Clifton A. Temple and his son, F. Wilder Temple, of Upton. Clifton Temple was employed by the railroad from 1917 until he retired in 1952. Occasionally he worked as station agent at the Grafton Center depot and he was a hosteler at the Hopedale engine house for several years, in addition to other years when he worked as a freight brakeman. This was the time in railroad history when train braking was done by hand. Temple passed away in 1960. F. Wilder Temple came to the Grafton and Upton in 1933 to work as a member of the track maintenance crew. Following this, he became a tender, a difficult job because he was continually exposed to the elements of rain, snow, ice, heat and cold. His work entailed riding on the outside of the electric locomotives then being used and keeping the trolley in contact with the overhead wire. Temple then worked for several years as a freight brakeman and the majority of his 35 years with the railroad was spent as a freight conductor. For five or six years prior to his retirement in 1968, Wilder Temple very capably held the position of trainmaster. Both the Temple men were very devoted and capable employees and much respected by their fellow workers. Before passing away, Wilder Temple was very proud of a letter received by his father at the time of his retirement, written by Harry A. Billings, an official of the railroad. Billings not only praised him for his long and faithful service, but complimented him for the devotion to duty displayed by his son, F. Wilder Temple. Two men, a father and his son with 70 years devoted to railroading - an achievement not soon to be forgotten. Milford Daily News G&U Railroad Menu Hopedale Coal & Ice Company Ezine Menu HOME |
Above - G&U electric locomotives. Thanks to Bob Heglund for No. 8. |
G&U yard, Hopedale - August 5, 2014 |