Page:Vincent F. Seyfried - The Long Island Rail Road A Comprehensive History - Vol. 2 (1963).pdf/128

 112 in constant use by scores of boats and some schooners unloading lumber, coal and manure and merchandise. Enough business was done at the dock in the 1874 season to warrant making that point the headquarters of the superintendent of the freight department of the road. A passing reference of 1875 mentioned that in March no less than eight barges and one schooner were all unloading manure at the dock.

The flourishing freight business of the road induced the company to build a new freight depot and storehouse with a 100foot platform at Vernon Avenue. The new structure was completed for use in July 1874. In February, 1874, as a result of a reduction in freight rates, the manure hauling business doubled. Large numbers of new flat cars had to be turned out at the College Point shops, and some of the longest freight trains ever seen left Hunter's Point. We are told one freight train totaled twenty-four cars, which was then followed by an equally long manure train; to move the volume of goods it became necessary to do much night hauling on the single track road to avoid interference from daylight passenger movements.

In June 1874 new refrigerator cars were put on the Central R.R. to convey fish from Babylon to New York in better condition. We read that the number of barrels of produce carried rose from 125 to 140 per day, due to the company's aggressive policy of courting business. The most unusual improvement of all was the inauguration in 1874 of the "Market train," which arrived at Hunter's Point at 2 A.M. The novel feature was that the train was placed in charge of commission merchants who not only loaded the farmer's produce, but attended to the sale of it in the city, charging only 5% for their services. By this method the farmer saved himself the long hard drive to the city over poor roads and the produce arrived faster and in fresher condition at the market. Besides this, the train's capacity for loads was far beyond that of one wagon. The plan caught on slowly but by late fall the freight depot was full of grocerymen from New York and Brooklyn buying supplies.

In March of 1875 the company arranged to expedite the movement of freight from Hunter's Point over the East River to New York by engaging a barge and renting a dock on the New York side. Hitherto all the freight had been carried in wagons over the ferry.