First Locomotive Built by George Stephenson Attained
a Speed of Three Miles an Hour. So Noisy That
Public Complained. "John Bull" His First Ameri
can Locomotive Still in Existence.
mm
lyic Jsjr
BT JOHN ELFRETH W ATKINS.
WASHINGTON, July 25. (Special.)
Today the Iron horse celebrates
the 100th anniversary of Its
birth.
George Stephenson's engine, Blucher.
July 25, 1814, convinced a dubious
British public that It was a practical
locomotive. In the obscure little min
ing town of "West Moor, England, this
equally obscure engineer had been
puzzling his brain for a year or more
endeavoring to provide an economical
means for hauling coal from the Kill
lngworth collieries to the riverside.
Horses at that time were expensive.
With a view to saving the cost of the
keep of aa many aa possible, he tried
to perfect one or two mechanical de
vices as a substitute. These did not
satisfy the self-made engineer. His
further efforts resulted in the Inven
tion of the steam locomotive.
This post commonplace chain of
events led to the construction of one
of the greatest world-revolutionizing
Inventions of history. The
result of
George Stephenson's perseverance was
the epoch-making Blucher.
TZ oefoVe. " The Mea was only
quickened in the mind of Stephenson,
Locomotives, of course, had been
quicken
Those, however, which had been invent
ed would carry themselves Just so far
and no farther. They were merely big
toys. It remained for him to demon
strate that steam could be made to
propel an engine and draw a load be
au b. . , ,
On her maiden trip on the tracks of
Killlngworth colliery the Blucher drew
up an incline and at a speed of three
miles an hour a load of SO tons, dis
tributed among eight cars. Further
more, and what was of most Impor
tance, she continued to run success
fully and without hitch.
Declared a Nuisance.
But Stephenson's pathway was not
trewn with laurels, as the result of
his achievement The noise of the es-
casement of steam from the Blucher's
machinery drowned the plaudits.whicb. that ls almost impossibie to render fJreman " vla(re colIlery of Wy
hls associates may have wished to be- an account of them. On thing sug- NorthumberUnd George s birth-
stow upon "ii". a" ....,...
of the law gave warning to the In-
ventor that this din was a nuisance
and that steps must be taken for Its
abatement. It was complained that
Blucher's economic advantage over
horsepower was hardly appreciable,
that her speed barely exceeded that of
a horse's walk, and that steam power
remained equal ln point of cost with
horse power.
Meanwhile Stephenson himself was
undaunted. He began thus early to
, .... v... hi. .,i, Ha
revca "is kduiuo " j mm
... .i.nIru f
KiUUC iciiiaiucy uv.i ---" .......
LIEUTENANT PORTE'S ATTEMPT TO
(Continued From First Page.)
endless sequence during similar condi
tions of the air.
Leniou From tne Flight of Birds.
This is the real work that is opening
tip the "air lanes" for future air travel.
Nature provides both the facility and
wer to navicate the air regularly
a"r":,'r:f h.w high
. .
to fly to depend on wind currents
nearer the ocean will not be left to
speculation and guesswork. Often a
15-mile wind at the surface has a 30
mlle current speeding across the skies
at a height of 5000 feet
Now sanity dictates that an air craft
which uses up Its fuel by driving
against the wind is not of practical use.
It will only begin to be navigated when
It embark on currents that carry it
rapidly to its destination. A migrating
bird still far outstrips an air craft in
endurance and distance traveled.
Why should a bird beat an engine?
The answer 1 that the bird selects
the wind blowing ln the direction it
wants to travel. The creature covers
distance with the speed of the wind.
That is the natural and simple way by
which air liners will maintain a sched
ule superior to rail or water. The sys
tem of using the air ls no longer the-
or)-.
How Snlmet Flew Across Channel.
Both airships and aeroplanes all over
Europe are timing their flights to travel
with the assistance of the prevailing
winds ever since Henri Salmet flew
from London to Paris without stop. 232
miles, ln two hours and 60 minutes,
above the clouds, with a useless com
pass. He was shot from England into
France on a swift wind, traveling more
accurately than the airman, who real
ized his good fortune and gave himself
Into the keeping of nature. In practical
locomotion this surpassed all human
travel. It was fully equal to the mi
grating birds and It demonstrated be
yond doubt their method of traveling
vast distances.
Germany ha already mapped out her
future airship routes to and from
America on what 1 known of the
prevailing wind of the Atlantic. Pro
fessor Hugo Hergesell's report to the
German admiralty of his soundings of
ocean air currents in 1903 and lSOJgave
the definite Information that airships
bound for America can use the trade
o c 0 s '
hope while even his friends abandoned
his locomotive in deitpalr. He stoutly
contended that it would eventually
supersede every other tractive power.
So it was with confidence and faith
that he turned his attention toward
the Improvement of the Blucher.
He had made it his rule to keep In
formed on all similar appliances ud
devices with which other inventors
were toying. As a result he was prob
ably the best posted man on the sub
ject of locomotives in the world. Be
sides, he was a fine mechanic and
could personally work out his theories.
Hln Lordship' Patronage Gives.
Another point, which is of infinite
importance, he received solid financial
backing from Lord Ravenswortn ana
his partners, the owners of the Kil
lingsworth colliery. They furnished
him with the money requisite for the
building of his engine and the contin
uance of the work.
Stephenson, therefore, had only to
aPP'y nls "" lu icv-i.
and the road on wnicn it was iu iu.
The chief features of the first locomo
tive, which he desired to improve, re-
ated to the djsposal of the exhaust
from the engine and to the adhes on of
the wheels to the rails. He had turned
the exhaust into the smokestack. This
more than redoubled the generation of
steam, but at the same time made such
a racket that the public redoubled its
complaint of It. Likewise, the Blu
cher's wheels were roughened with
Knit heads and other protuberances to
Dolt . "
make them take hold of the rails. But
the constant friction of the wheels
when thus spiked1 so wrenched and
racked the locomotive that it was kept
constantly out of repair.
In his second machine Stephenson
introduced the steam blast. This
helped In abating the awful noise that
had kept up while Blucher was under
-,- He substituted smooth wheels
and demonstrated that they would run
smooth Tails. In addition he made
h.n.., ln tne machinery so numerous
jested anotner to nis mina aim
maxicac.ie composite was the result. Of
the grcatest Importance was his appli-
cation Df the ball and socket Joint to
connectlng rods where attached to
the piston and his addition of crank
Dins to the cra"nk axles. By this ar
rangement he overcame upon uneven
roads much of the difficulty caused by
the rigidity of the machinery.
Like a Story Book Hero.
During all of this time George Bte-
Dhenson was undergoing an evo-
, . -
lutlon quite as remarkabel as that of
-
wind with certainty, even during- Win-
ter months, as far north as the Axores.
because that wind always blow In
this general direction throughout the
year.
This is as simple a proposition as a
low-powered steamer making us
OI
the Gulf stream to Increase it ped
and save fuel. An airseip traveling
mile. by HI own power would
rross the ocean in two days. Th net-
ural drlft 0l the whole air from Amer-
DISTANCES FLOWN.
Lieutenant Frank Milling and
passenger. 260 miles. In Texa.
1913 (Wright's army biplane).
Lieutenants Canter and Boeh
mer, German army officers, 878
miles, Berlin to Plauen, 6 hour
minutes. World record non-stop
flight with passenger.
Roland Garres. St Raphael,
France, to Bizerta, Tuni. oro
lng the Mediterranean, a dUtance
of 966 miles, the longest non
stop water flight yet made. It
represents a distance equal to
that from Philadelphia to
Charleston, S. C. He was 7 hour
and 6S minutes in the air,
(Morane monoplane, 60 h. p.)
Victor Stoeffler, 16 hours, cros
country (Aviatik monoplane).
Bruno Langer, 18 hours over an
aerodrome (Etrich biplane).
Oscar Frlederlch and passenger,
Paris to London, nonstop (Etrich
biplane).
Anatole Seguin, Paris to Ber
lin and back, non-stop, 10 hours
51 minutes (Farman biplane).
Anatole Seguin, Paris to Bor
deaux and back, non-stop, 646
miles, ln 13 hours 5 minutes (Far
man biplane).
Victor Stoeffler, Warsaw to
Berlin, non-stop, 341 miles, 4
hours 2 minutes (Aviatik).
Adolph Relterer and passenger,
Berlin to Copenhagen, non-stop,
229 miles (Etrich).
Herr Landmann, at Berlin, June
28, non-top, 21 hours 49 min
utes. Claimed as the world's record.
THE STTVDAY
his locomotive. HU life reads like that
of the story book hero, who never fails
to rise from poverty and ignorance to
glory and wealth. His childhood and
youth had been quite inglorious
enough to please the most fanciful
story teller, and hie rise In life was
singularly spectacular, until, eventual
ly, he was offered by the King a peer
age, which he declined.
He was the son of poor but respect-
. f A
HIs father had been
place. Here the family had occupied a
mean little cottage, which stood beside
the dusty wooden tramway on which
coal wagonB were drawn daily by
horses from the coal pit to the loading
quay. It Is rather a symbolic picture
that of this young boy born directly in
the environment which he afterward
so miraculously transformed.
At the age of s he kept the cows
of a neighboring widow. The bent of
his mind appeared even then to have
exhibited Itself, for It Is recorded of
him that hi favorite amusement was
lea to Europe impllfie the return
voyage exactly as this fact ls now a
necessary medium for Lleutenanl
porte'a attempt.
All this means that airships will
orten arrive far ahead of their sched-
ules. When the higher air ourronts
over tne ocean have been thoroughly
ounded and charted an air craft nav-
at
6000 feet may frequently
, r.nn. i- as hours. The
con-
'iutey and duration in the speed and
direction of the higher Atlantic air
currents will have an Immense value
for establishing the permanency of
travel across the "big pond," a dem
onstrated for centuries by the remark
able flights of migrating birds over
the ocean.
Count Zeppelin' advent ln the race
to cross the Atlantic by air ls fore
shadowed in the construction of larger
and larger airships. These huge craft
must have tremendous lifting power
to rise Into the higher and swifter air
currents and remain there throughout
a voyaga. Their ability to do this ls
demonstrated by the most modern of
his great vessels, which has already
remained for 80 hour at 6500 feet with
a full load without losing any ef
ficiency. No attempt Is promised for
a Zeppelin ocean flight this year, but
this speediest of all airships ls a far
more finished production than a mum
moth aeroplane, and with its multiple
motors Is much better equipped for
ocean passage.
The vital part that wind plays with
air travel over sea I best Illustrated
by an Imaginary trip across the ocean
with th typ of aeroplane which
builders have conceived. From wast to
east, with the general drift of the air
in these latitudes, the trial would be
favorable for an "aeroplane of ton
nage," when we know how to construct
it by a new principle. This machine,
with a reserve of engines, fuel, oil and
food for at least one-third more than
w. .... a time of the trie might
LIIO t3 l.U,(.VV . r
fly at a peed of TO to 80 miles an hour,
It would mean getting oyr sea In 40
hours.
If th machine traveled at 8000 feet,
where soundings show that ths air cur
rents have anaverage flow of 40 mile
an hour, the crossing would require
only 33 hours. The aeroplane's own
speed, in the thinner air of high alti
tudes, ls greater than near the water.
It would attempt to fly over estab-
OREGONTAX, PORTLAND.
est? s osf Jsfjd 77-J.
erecting clay engines. He found the
clay In the nearby bogs and from the
hemlock which grew about he shaped
his makebelleve steam pipes.
Six years later he was taken on as an
assistant to his father In firing a sta
tionary engine used at the mine. A
few years later he acted as plugman on
a new coal pit opened on the Duke of
Newcastle's property. Then be befiame
fireman and shortly afterward engine
man. He devoted himself to the study
of the stationary engine and Its gear
ing. He took the machine apart In leis
ure hours for the purpose of mastering
its parts. The engine became a kind of
pet with him and he was never weary
of watching and examining it.
Illiterate Till 10.
All of this time he was wholly unedu
cated. Realizing his disadvantages he
began let attend the village night
school. Here he displayed a genius for
figures, although he was 19 before he
had learned to read and write his own
name. At this time his wages were 18
shillings a week.
At this period he married and com
menced to experience repeated finan
cial discouragement. To add to his dis
tress his young wife soon died and
left !ilm with the care of a little son.
But shortly afterward his affairs took
a turn for the better.
The lessees of Killlngworth colliery
engaged him to repair a pumping en
gine. He was successful where all
others had failed, and received ten
pounds as a gift. From then on lie
became englneman to the Killlngworth
works. His skill as an engine doctor
was noised abroad and he was called
upon to cure all of the old wheezy ma
chines In the district. Now he was
ascending the hill of prosperity and
ready for his great work. And his age
was only S3 years.
Two years after the "Blucher" had
made her first trip on the Killlngworth
track, while the colliery engineers
lighed steamship or airship routes and
to summon assistance by wireless if
compelled to alight on the sea. Ac
curate bulletins of the weather would
enable It to make the best of the wind
situation.
The adventure might be accom
plished with not fewer than five
skilled operators, who would combine
In relay work. Duplicate controls be
Ing ln every cabin, each of the travel
W having a cabin to himself, can thus
spend ths time of the passage In com-
Champion Mule of
A
LL roads look alike to "Poncho,"
champion mule of the Forest
Servlco. According to field officers oi
- . .
the service Poncho Is "some mule na
tale of his exploits as a bearer of bur
dens for uncle aam are many "run-
derful.
Poncho is here pictured laden with a
pair of toolhouses, the cubic mass of
which is about double that of the mule.
Thi burden doesn't worry Poncho any.
however. Poncho is used to awkward
burdens. He is also noted for his dig
nity, which no combination of circum
I ?
. ...I. .. i, ...in . . M.'.' '. "'. -U, I.-' ' ' H I II ni ,i ,
--flPS . d nVsssi. 4
JULY 26, 1914.
stood by and Jeered her. Stephenson
was still working for her final per-
fectlon. He had made various Im-
provements, but ne was not completely
satisfied. Steam springs were intro
duced for the purpose of easing the
engine weight upon her axles. Atten
tion was given to the improvement of
the tracks. Plans were made for per
fecting rail Joints, so that their ends
would not separate. His locomotive
was in dally use upon the Killlngworth
railway, but it did not come up to Ste
phenson's Ideals. About this time peo
ple became awakened to the prac
ticability of the use of steam for all
manner of land conveyances, and the
Inventor's enthueiasm was refired.
The First Pnnm-ncer Trnln.
In 126, 11 years after he had tried
out the "Blucher," Stephenson partlc-
ipated in the celebration f the opening
of England's first passenger railway
the Stockton ft Darlington. He was
appointed chief engineer of the road,
and drove the engine "Locomotion,"
which he had built especially for It.
The train to which he harnessed his
engine consisted of six wagons loaded
with flour and coal. After these came
a passenger coach the first In ex
istence. It w&s ln reality an old stage
coach taken off its usual supports and
mounted upon wheels taken from a
coal car. The directors rode in this
coach over the entire eight miles of
the railway's length. Behind them
were 21 wagons fitted up for other
passengers, and, lastly, six wagon
loads of coal, making ln all 38 cars.
The train traveled at a steady pace of
from four to six miles an hour. On Its
arrival in Sto-'kton great crowds gath
ered in the street to see and cheer It.
rrtl i H i ,ii H.na I.......-.! & Kirf.Kf.
Eventual.y a epeed of eight miles an
..,.,.,
hr.nr waw attained
hour was attainea
The Liverpool & Manchester line was
CROSS THE OCEAN BY AIR
.1... R.it thiM tr In show
j -- --
immediately the tremendous advantage
of the airship over the most nigniy
developed aeroplane as a mean of
comfort wnicr. tne mooern wonu .
mands for travel.
Lieutenant Port' flight may depend
entirely on the meteorological condi
tion ovsr the North Atlantic. That
fact has caused us to begin talking
here In America about the necessity for
mapping the air ocean, so fcht the air
man may go aloft with hi chart and
the Forest Service
stances has ever succeeded in ruffling,
and his tasks, however arduous, are
performed with a seriousness befitting
the king of mules.
Toolboxes, such as are shown on Pon
cho's back in the accompanying pic
ture, are distributed through the Na
tional forests at convenient points and
are stocked with a variety of useful
Implements, such as shovels, axes, etc.,
for the use of rangers engaged ln fight
ing forest fires, and also with a supply
of tinned provisions for the sustenance
of the men on "fire duty."
chartered to share the Increased com-
merce. Stephenson was offered the
post of chief engineer of this new rail-
way. and upon accepting offered to
construct a new engine that would at-
tain
a greater speed than that of "Lo-
ti0n."
comotion.
Pnrllamcut Would Have
Donhted.
"When I went to Liverpool to plan
a line from thence to Manchester," said
he, "I pledged myself to the directors
to attain a speed of ten miles an hour.
I said I had no doubt the locomotive
mIgnt De made to go much faster, but
that we had better do moaorate i mo
beginning. The directors said that I
was quite right, for that It when they
went to Parliament to obtain the
grant, I talked of going at a greater
rate than ten miles an hour, it wouiq
It was
put a cross upon the concern
not an easy task for me to keep
the
engine down to ten miles."
Nor did he. His famous locomotive
Rocket, on her first trial, covered IS
miles in 43 minutes, carrying three
times her own weight. She weighed
seven and a half tons and subsequently
hauled 41 tons at a speed of 14 miles
an hour. She represented ine cuimin-
tion ot stepnensons wo. mm -
rnmotlve. Strange to
.l.t. . h .
..,.. him fame as a
locomotive
builder along lines that are almost as
far removed from his other efforts as
though he had never before constructed
one.
The multitubular boiler and the
steam blast were the essential of his
latest success. His steady experlmen-
tation with exhaust steam to relieve
noise had finally met with success, and
h had at last quelled popular objec-
tlon to the noise upon- the public high-
ways. Applying his steam blast, he
made tlie exnaust a mon nn-m-.-
tag the draught Other Inventors naa
not realized that their engines made
eteam faster when the exhaust was
turned out into the open air.
Kaklbited Now In Washington.
In ths National Museum at Washing
ton is the oldest iron horse In the
v. ... Hpmlsnhprp
.... Tnlm
Blll ThU rugged patriarch Is another
of Gforge Stephenson's products. It Is
the direct ancestor of the whole mod-
era Amsrlcan species of locomotives.
rn America" t.su.c u.
H..H. er the success which at-
I - t i rr, ... f , . .
tended the demonstrations of the loco-
nls aata concerning
currents and be in a position somewhat
c,u"lI,a,lf navllta,or.
Some Preparations Neeessnry.
Some idea of the vast extent of the
labor In preparation for navigating th
air will be found in tne tonowing
branch of the work:
Systematic oundings of all air level
by weather stations.
Result by hours telegraphed to cen
tral stations
Central Utions' preparation of air
charts of different levels.
Transforming the ordinary weather
map Into an aerographic chart
Weather stations' frequent wirel
reports to air craft in the air.
.Practical demonstration of the use
of wireless weather Information after
It ls received on board.
New aerographic navigating lntru-
ments used on board airships.
Longltude and latitude determined in
, , . m
me air uy .ej '',,,';. ' latitude
dufr?? ttroa: ss ft
Bea; . ,h wind the
spferoT1" oVAr
T
" "" 1
THE AMERICA.
Pilot Lieutenant John Cyril Porte.
Assistant George E. A. Hallett
Designer and builder Glenn H.
Curtiss.
Backer Rodman Wanamaker.
Dimensions,
Upper wings spread 72 feet
Lower wings spreaa.
Width of wing
Total wing area
Length of the hull . .
Beam width
Thickness of hull....
46 feet
7 feet
98 feet
tt feet
4 feet
H Inch
Weights.
Pounds.
TVlrht of the hull . . .
500
Weight hull supports (ma
chlnery, oil, men) 4,600
DISTANCES.
Mile
T7lvat Ian NV w f on ndl and to
Azores 1.18
Second lap Azores to Vigo,
Spain
Third lap Vigo, Spain, to
Ireland (via Bay of Biscay) 128
Total 2,684
Estimated Time.
First lap 20 hours 1
Second lap 16 hours i55 hour
Third lap.
9 ho
jura i
Stopovers. .
Time limit..
Prize
.10 hours J
72 hours
850.000
motivee ln England, an American en-
glneer. Robert L. Stevens, emfiarked
for England In 1830 to order one of
these queer-craft for his American line,
the Camden ft Amboy, In New Jersey.
Soon after Stevens arrival at me
Stephenson locomotive works at New-
castle-on-Tyne he witnessed a demon
stration trip of one of George stepnen
son's newest engines. Its performance
pleased him so much that he ordered a
iml)ar engine to be built Imemdlately
for his company. Thus was the iirst
American order given to the pioneer
locomotive builders at Newcastls-on-Tyne.
John Bull breathed his first breath
of life in May, MM, and the next month
was shipped to Philadelphia. The bill
of lading showed that the price paid
was 784. or 13800. When the Jersey
machinists finally got the parts assem-
bled they dubbed It John Bull, and the
name stuck thereafter.
When first set up John Bull weighed
a trifle over 10 tons, or 3X.408 pounds.
A locomotive now being built for one
of our northern linos weighs 13 times
as muoh. The boiler of John Bull wait
IS feet long and only 80 Inches In
diameter. The four 60-Inch driving
wheels were mainly of wood. The fire
box was constructed .for burning wood.
..i.niiful alons the Jersey shore of
r
the Delaware.
Steam waa raised in John Bull the
last week in August 1SS1. The first
cars drawn by him were two stage
coach bodies, mounted upon truck'.
They have been described aa a cross
between a hayrack and an open street-
oar of todayi but tne two pairs of big
wneai, wr close together under the
c4nter ( tn, floor. They were of thn
EnEnh pattern, and in general ar-
ranf-ement modern English railway
coar,es have deviated from them but
.nhtly. They were originally mal
t t,e drlvn Dy norses, tor our grem-
great-grandparents had little faith In
the success of steam upon their rall
wa .
John Bull was the progenitor espe
cially of that type of American Ion. inn
ttve which has survived through the
'! -'
1ULM . V w 1 1 n I . ... ... .
boiler, horizontal cynnaer sou srais
draught, caused by the exhaust "f
ktmtm. V t-tf
best type of American
hat I VflM l T A f" l f 1 C M fl 1 OC O Ml . I I V e.
-
'Copyright. 1814. by John Klfreth
Watkhm
the ship' speed over the ground to get
the vessel's direction when the drift Is
so strong that the compass is useless.
Th ship exact poaltlon In space.
found without refsrenc to th ground
by wireless communication between
two station on th ground
How the distance and direction of
on ship in the air Is found by another
(hip. aa actually demonstrated In
maneuver.
Demonstration of communicating
weather report by relaying from air
ship to airship.
Conserving the buoyancy of airships
to Insure endurance getting 30 per
cent more endurance out of the ship
by conserving gas running low near
the ground the first part of th Jour
nay. Radius of action; It meaning In
cruising, fast flight and high flying.
The folly of naively lng In the
aeroplane an aerial transport for cross
ing the ocean becomes apparent by tho
absence of tho airship s navlgenng afl-
vntfe";
The aeroplane cannot take
B II W ' ' . W1J . m .. .up
of the winds. If larger aeroplanes
much from the airship's advanced
sgrg bhytv:K
range of Its receiving wireless etntlon
A long range means a colossal aero
plane, which mut be built after other
principle than .those we now know.
The aeroplane I affected by wind that
do not hinder the alrahlp. An un
favorable wind retard speed and
makes th aeroplane' direction un
steady. It pilot do not comprehend
other than th few obvious feature of
the wind' action over the land. Thr-
were long Ignored and caused the ma
jority of the aeroplane accident.
But Lieutenant Porte I not blind to
the great hasard of hi adventure. He
realise the danger of storm and thn
scant opportunity of preventing tin
wind from losing him In the vast void.
Doubtless he trusts to timing his start
with a favoring breese and puts his
faith in th very swlftnea ot hi
flight With hi great experience on
the sea and In the air he feels quali
fied to pronounce upon the airworthi
ness of hi craft and It engines, and
he ballave tbey will stand the test
The only note of misgiving In his
whole preparation ha been, "God help
ua If my compasses fall!"
A for the rest he faces hi ordeal
with th traditional fortitude of an
Englishman. He I willing to risk all
for th immortality that comes to htm
if nature smile on th pioneer and
permit him to point t'i way to new
achievements for civilisation. But it
he frown he will accept the conse
quence Ilk a brave man.
Spaed him on hi way!