SIDEBAR
ACCORD RAILROAD STATION
A one-of-a-kind item of memorabilia from the Accord Station is this hand lettered sign on the
back of a piece of cardboard. Evidently this had been posted on the exterior of the station.
In April, 1949, shortly after Mike Palmer’s retirement as stationmaster, when Marie Meeker
had become the Agent at Accord, a strike was called by the operating brotherhoods (engineers,
firemen, brakemen and conductors).
Organized labor argued that O&W management was not paying the raises that were being earned by
rail workers nationwide. The reality was that, because the O&W Railway Company had been in
financial difficulty for many years already, wages were lower than the national standards, and
could not be paid at all as long as the strike might last. Finally, a six month truce was
declared while a third party examined the O&W line to determine whether the railroad could be
operated more efficiently.
Although the trains rolled again, and workers did get paid, the financial condition of the NY
O&W did not improve very much. Despite tax-breaks, loans, changes in management, and plans for
reorganization, funds finally ran out and operations ceased in March, 1957.
