Big Lorain-40 shovel ready to load sand.
There: this is the western side of the big, eighteen hundred acre loop; track runs a couple of miles along the west bounds of Mr. Atwood’s property and past several of the sand-piles and bogs. Bogs must be sprinkled with an inch of sand every winter to keep their bed in proper trim and to combat weeds and bugs. Sand also radiates heat to prevent the vines from freezing in our cold New England winters. While vines may freeze into the ice without harming ’em they mustn’t be chilled by the cold wind, if you can figure that one out. Mr. Atwood spreads nearly ten thousand yards of sand each year. He’s got a lot of grit, wouldn’t you say?
This big bog—that’s Fourteen Acre; a record breaker. Shells out nearly eighty barrels to the acre!
Where did that pile of sand come from? A mile up the line is his sand-pit. A power shovel loads it onto flatcars and the train hauls it to these different sand piles; there’s seven or eight thousand yards in that pile there. When sanding time comes—but you aren’t interested in all this; you want to see this pocket-edition railroad.
(Atwood Photo)
Berry-pickers swarm over 14-Acre Bog, scooping its 80 barrels per acre.
Look 'way across the big reservoir there: that’s the railroad coming down the east side. Remember I showed you where it entered the yards just below the station? The smudge of smoke is a work train. We’ll meet ’em either at the Ball Park or the sand pit.
(Atwood Photo)