Page:Vincent F. Seyfried - The Long Island Rail Road A Comprehensive History - Vol. 2 (1963).pdf/17

 The Flushing R.R. Takes Shape caused the company by stock delinquents, who were holding back the payment of their assessments. In spite of all the handicaps and delays and even abuse experienced, the company in its New Year's Day message expressed satisfaction in the progress of the work and tentatively suggested April 1–15, 1854 as the date when the "snort of the iron horse might be heard in our streets."

In February 1854, the company made provisions to overcome another difficulty, this one occasioned by the location of the terminus at Hunter's Point. At that early period no ferry existed at Borden or Jackson Avenue for the good reason that neither of these streets existed as yet, and that no one lived in Hunter's Point. To get its passengers to New York, therefore, the railroad had to acquire and operate its own ferry boats. In March 1854 the company succeeded in getting possession of two small steam ferry boats, the Enoch Dean and the Island City, two being acquired instead of one because ferry boats were liable to frequent repairs and very often a substitute proved unavailable at any price at the exact time wanted.

The Enoch Dean was purchased outright and the Island City chartered at $5 a day. One boat was to act as a ferry between Hunter's Point and Fulton Market Wharf, while the other, when not needed as a substitute, would ply between Flushing and New York at hours other than the railroad trains. In May the newly renovated Island City accidentally caught fire, and had it not been for the great exertions of the deckhands, would have burnt to the water line. Fortunately for the company, the boat was spared for future service and the insurance paid for all the damage.

The spring days of 1854 were devoted largely to putting the finishing touches to the railroad. By this time the company had secured full title to every foot of the right-of-way and had sufficient funds on hand to pay off the contractors. A deep cut near Penny Bridge was the last remaining obstacle on the road. In May the contractor announced that thirty clear working days would serve to finish the road; meanwhile the two locomotives ordered arrived in the week of May 6–13.

It happened that the last four days of June 1854 were scheduled by the New York Racing Ass'n. as racing days and the directors of the Flushing R.R. resolved to profit from the event