Benjamin Hafner

[1][2][3] Benjamin Hafner, who departed this life in the spring of 1899, was at that time the oldest engineer – in point of service – in the United States.

"Uncle Ben", as he was affectionately and familiarly known on the Erie, was born in Baden, Germany, on March 24, 1821, and came to the United States with his parents in 1832.

[3] Mr. Hafner began railroading as a fireman in 1839, and in 1840 commenced running as engineer on the old slab-rail road between Baltimore and Cumberland, Maryland.

On his return he re-entered the employ of the Erie and continued in active service until March, 1892, when he quit running, and was given the position of depot master at Port Jervis, in which capacity he acted until his death.

[3] He was married February 14, 1858, to Miss Mary Catherine Goetz of Baltimore, and eleven children were born to them, five of whom are living.

Mr. Hafner was an honored member of the B. of L. E., and stood high in the esteem of the Erie's officials, while every railroad man on the two divisions had a tender regard for the aged engineer, who was one of the best in his day.

[7] The Locomotive Engineers Journal (1875)[8] published the following story about Hafner: Once, at Ramsey's, the train running at fifty miles an hour, he collided with a coal car.

The train was behind time, and he had already made up forty minutes between Port Jervis and that place – a run of about fifty-five miles.

It all started early in 1854, when Daniel McCallum then superintendent of the Susquehanna division, had drafted a renewed code of rules regulating the running of trains, which he submitted to the Directors of the company.

Superintendent McCallum's explanation and reply not being satisfactory, the engineers struck on June 17 – the first strike in the history of the railroad.

This strike on the Erie was settled after ten days' paralysis of the business of the railroad, and a loss of many thousands of dollars to the company.

The first trip Jay Gould ever took behind this locomotive with Ben at the throttle he was in a special car, bound for Susquehanna, 104 miles from Port Jem's.

Hafner made the run in just two hours, including seven stops, one of which was fourteen minutes at Turner's for supper.

In 1893 Hafner retired as an engineer after more than half a century on a locomotive, and since then has been depot master at Port Jervis.