Vincent Francis Seyfried

“ What he did not and could not foresee was that the Poppenhusens would soon become such formidable rivals of his own Long Island R.R. Charlick was probably reluctantly willing to sacrifice the Flushing and College Point business to his rivals, but when they joined with Alexander T. Stewart to build a large system threatening him at every point, it was time to stage a counter blow.
As early as June 1869 a rumor flew that Charlick would build a branch from his own Long Island R.R. to tap the profitable traffic of Flushing. Such a branch would attack the Poppenhusens in their own stronghold. ”

“ The bitter rivalry with the White Line at Flushing was not the only area of competition. With the opening of the Central Railroad of Long Island in January 1873 and its operation by the Poppenhusens, further fierce struggles developed at Hempstead and Babylon. The Central R.R., because of its newness and glamour, won the preference of the Hempstead and Babylon people and secured the lion's share of the New York travel. The farmers along the line appreciated the low freight rates, and a heavy traffic developed in shipping manure with trains of as many as twenty-four cars. ”

“ Up until 1873 Conrad Poppenhusen was worth perhaps five to six million dollars. He had founded the rubber works at College Point, the fountainhead of his wealth, and had developed almost single-handed the surrounding village, endowing it with schools, streets, the Institute and countless public improvements. He built homes for the mechanics and laborers and magnificent homes for himself and his three sons. In 1868 he resolved to connect College Point with the outside world by building a railroad, and thus he gradually became involved in the railroading business. ”

“ In an unusual bid for public support, Sharpe asked the advice of employees and patrons of the road as to the scheduling of trains, so as best to accommodate the public and expressed his desire to meet their wishes and requirements and assure their comfort and convenience. In February he issued a circular to the farmers of the island offering them special facilities and cheap rates; if desired, trains would even stop between stations and pick up and drop off freight. On April 1, 1878, cheap new freight tariffs were issued, plus reduced rates for single excursion and commutation tickets. ”

“ In a single train one could now observe coaches painted in different colors and bearing the legends of the Southern, Long Island, White Line, and North Side roads, all coupled together. In the eighteen-month period that the Poppenhusens managed the united Long Island railroads, many worthwhile improvements were undertaken. To expedite traffic the roadbed of the North Side R.R. was widened and a double track laid from Woodside to the White Line turnoff just east of Winfield. This gave a three-track main line to Winfield and three tracks to Flushing over three separate branches. ”

“ Stewart that he would abandon operation of her road and leave her with a worthless and inoperable section of track without engines or cars, and unneeded by the Long Island R.R. Mrs. Stewart perceived the truth of this argument, and since the destiny of her husband's Garden City was involved, she accepted a compromise. In return for forfeiting her claim for $90,000 for rental of the Stewart road, Sharpe agreed to run at least seven trains each way daily through Garden City. ”

“ To permit easy movement of trains from one railroad to another, so that there would be genuine physical unification, several other interesting connections and abandonments were made:
At Central Junction in Flushing the White Line track was connected by a curve with the Central track for the movement of freight and Creedmoor excursion trains. The Long Island R.R. and Southern R.R. were connected at Springfield Junction in June 1876, and passenger service abandoned on the Southern track between Jamaica and Springfield. ”

“ The residents of Bayside, furious at being forced to rely on stagecoaches to reach Flushing, got an order from the courts directing Messenger to issue certificates to raise funds to repair the road and reopen it immediately as far as Bayside, using Long Island R.R. equipment. Operation beyond this point would involve use of the Little Neck trestle and draw which was considered in dangerous condition, but even Corbin conceded that the track to Bayside was in good repair. Corbin refused to loan the rolling stock unless protected against loss by accident. ”

“ On May 15, 1875, Poppenhusen implemented his threat by cutting the passenger rate to 10¢ between Flushing and Long Island City, with excursion tickets at 15¢. All the passengers who had previously patronized the White Line now rushed back to the North Side road. The following day Havemeyer cut his rates to meet the North Side's tariff. To further injure Poppenhusen and recover lost traffic, the Long Island's Board of Directors authorized the surveying and construction of some new branches, designed to tap the Poppenhusen system. ”

“ The spring of 1878 marked the retirement of the Poppenhusens from the active management of the railroad, and in a sense, the end of our story. Drexel, Morgan & Co., who owned all the stock as collateral, voted it to install all their own men, and of the former officers, only Poppenhusen's old counsel, Elizur B. Hinsdale, remained on the board, this time as counsel to the receiver. ”

“ This action destroyed about five miles of the old Central right-of-way; the little one-mile stub north of the Long Island R.R. main line track that terminated at Creedmoor was left intact because of heavy annual military traffic to the Rifle Range. All that was now operated of the former extensive Central road was the stretch from Floral Park to Garden City and the branch into Hempstead; sixteen miles of road eastward to Babylon lay unused and weedgrown, but physically intact. ”

“ In February 1874 a rumor went about that Charlick was making overtures to the Poppenhusens to stop his trains on condition that he received 5¢ for every Flushing passenger carried by the Flushing & North Side R.R. It was estimated that about 1,000 persons commuted from Flushing to New York daily, which would net Charlick $50 a day or $250 a week, more than the present receipts of the White Line. ”

“ Huge loads of excursionists from points as far distant as Port Jefferson and Oyster Bay visited Rockaway, and at the end of the season it was computed that the railroads had carried 200,000 persons to the beach, making a daily average of 2,500. ”

“ He opened a convenient depot popularly referred to as the Jaggar Avenue Station on Main Street between Forty-first Avenue and Forty-first Road on the present Loew Theatre site. He also provided all new coaches, painted pure white and assigned some of the fastest engines to the route. ”