Ruby Robieson Bennett - Lowry Tales #2

Railroads

Thomas Lowry

The Minneapolis-St. Paul and Soo Sault Marie railroad was completed in the village of Lowry in 1887.  This village was named after Thomas Lowry, then president of the Soo Line.  Lowry largely owed its existence to the railroad in the early days.

Hugh Bryce and Thomas Hume, who owned farms on which the town site was built, were early settlers in this part of the country.  Bryce and his brother did “freighting” for the government before railroads, using oxen to haul freight to Ft. Gary (now Winnipeg), Canada and to military posts in the northwest.

At first Lowry was the division point of the Soo Line and had the roundhouse and railroad shop.  These were later moved to Glenwood following the 1897 tornado, which badly damaged Lowry.

At one time many trains rolled through Lowry, a scene much changed these days.  Trains No. 105 and No. 106 were daily passenger trains, except on Sunday and at one time met at noon in Lowry, taking on and dispatching passengers, mail, freight, and express.  Flyers No. 3 and No. 4 came through nonstop at night except for emergencies, and flyers No. 7 and No. 8 came through nonstop during the day.  Flyers No. 3 and No. 4 were called the “Mountaineer.”  People wanting tours to see America took these trains, switching to another train at Minneapolis, or other points where they’d join yet another part of the tour and travel in a different direction.  Now we take busses or fly abroad to accomplish tours.

Daytime mail pouches were put directly into the baggage car when a “mail carrier” brought them from the Post Office.  Mail from the trains arriving in Lowry was taken to the Post Office for immediate sorting and delivery.  The non-stop night flyers would “catch” the outgoing first-class mail from a pouch that was secured to the mail crane near the tracks. The baggage man on the train would extend a metal arm out to snatch the pouch from the crane.  Again an appointed “mail carrier” was on duty to hang the mail and take a thrown-off pouch to the Post Office. 

Time and again the baggage car clerk failed to catch the pouch, or the wind caught it, tossing it beneath the fast moving train wheel, sending shredded mail far down the tracks.  When morning came, the night carrier found himself busy picking all the leftover pieces that could be located and turning them in at the Post Office.  The motto was: “The mail must go through.” 

Freight trains came through daily as well, except Sundays.  These were No. 89 and No.  90.  All even numbered trains traveled to the east, odd numbered ones were westbound.  Their daily stops in Lowry exchanged freight and express. 

A drayman with a horse drawn dray wagon picked up and delivered the shipments to whatever name and address was indicated.  He’d also bring boxed shipments to the trains to be sent away.  Later the drayman used a truck for his pick-ups and deliveries.  Gradually big truckers took over the complete job, so freight trains lost the business.  At this present writing there are still freight trains rumbling through Lowry, mostly picking up grain at the Lowry elevator to be carried elsewhere.

When in existence, the Lowry Roller Mills milled and shipped out much flour.  “Lowry Leader” and other brands were sent out and they were much in demand even out of state.  Lowry Co-op Creamery shipped out sweet cream plus many large tubs of excellent butter made here.  More than one butter maker who resided in Lowry was #1 in state competition.

The station agent in Lowry lived upstairs over the depot, working an 8-5 shift 5 days a week.  There were many times he was summoned from his own daily tasks, or a night’s sleep to be “called out for orders.”  This meant a change in train schedule, a meet at Lowry of trains, or that a certain train should take the siding track so a flyer could keep its schedule and charge through.  Often times he’d need open the freight room and deliver, to a busy farmer, something he’d ordered by freight but was unable to pick up during business hours.

Telegraphy played a great part in the Agent’s life also.  Messages sent somewhere during daytime would not reach Lowry until the wee, small hours.  Reaching a recipient by phone for a message (often death messages) ran into difficulty because not everyone owned a phone.  Sometimes a neighbor would need walk far to reach a loved one, who would get to a phone, get the message, and then likely send an answer back.  Meantime, the agent sat long hours in the night until all was accomplished.  On cold winter nights when the fires were down, this meant a most chilly wait. There is no telegraphy now.  It is all taken care of by telephone and computers.

Back in the 20s and on for a number of years, Lowry depot hired a night clerk.  He worked the “night trick”, working until night trains were gone, the office and waiting room swept out, tidied up, fires in two stoves tended during the winter season, and memos left for the day agent.

The present day picture is a mighty different scene.  Even the depot has been moved away; all the railroad people work elsewhere now.  The old mail crane is long gone, only a chugging freight train can be heard “switching” or “spotting” cars as their lonely whistles pierce the air.   Railroading in Lowry has been taken over by busses and trucks, both for people and freighting.  The era of the “Old Iron Horse” has passed on.

People would ask us, we who lived upstairs in the depot, “Didn’t the night trains keep you awake at night?”  We’d answer “no.” Maybe they did at first, but we became so used to the noise, we never even heard a whistle.  We did hear, though, and will long remember the “whine” the telegraph wires made at night, high above our windows outdoors.  This happened when the weather became intensely cold.  Hearing it, we knew we were in for a very cold, much below zero night.

Ruby Robieson Bennett

Credits and references: 

Soo Line agent, Glenwood MN

Builders of Pope County, Daisy Ellen Hughs

100 Years of Greatness in Pope County, MN

Lowry Centennial Memory Book 1886-1986.