Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1897)
IT is seventy-two years since tin; first railway in the world was opi-nud to tlic public for general trnllic. The Stockton and Darlington lino of Knglunil began operations Sept. 117, 1S'2r, with about twenty-one miles of single track. To-ila.v there are over 37."t,0"" miles of railways intercrossing the earth. In the United Stales alone there are lS(),t,"." miles of tracks, more than enough to gir dle the irlobe fourteen tinipw vtih j!n.jto rails, while the cotnliined railway systems of the world would lie sullicient to open a tninK line between the earth and the moon, with over l".,(ioil miles to spare for branch lines and sidetracks. The total mileage of the United Slates is nearly equal to that of all the other countries put together. Illinois, with over 111,11(10 miles of tracks, leads all the other States, If w ClEOltOE BTEI'IIENSOW. Pennsylvania ranking next with over !,MKl. New York State has nearly 8,0(10. The District of Columbia closes the list with thirty miles. Tin Hist rail of die Stockton and Dar lington road was laid May li.'i. W, and it required throe years and four months to complele twcrly-one miles of single track. III 1HS7 the Manitoba system was extend ed through Dakota, a distance of f4r miles, between April 2 and Oct. 1!) ti few days over, half u year. From the rude be ginning in lOnglnnd less than three-quarters of a i cut ury aiio has grown a stu pendiious system that has revolutionized Ihe commerce of the world that has rev oltitioni.ed the world itself, annihilated space and made subservient to the will of man. There are to-day over $10,000,000, 000 invested in the railroads of the world, otie-tcnth of the total wealth of civilized nations. More than 2,000,000 men nre employed in constructing, equipping and operating the railways of the United States. The standing armies and navies of the world approximate in round num bers .'l..ri( 10,000 men the wealth destroy ers. Mow much mure powerful is the wealth -producing army of American workiiigincri who have changed the whole oasis of civilization from the military to the industrial! When one studies the evolution of the railway he is lost in wonderment nt the giant strides that have been made during a period so comparatively short. In the early Hinge of its development it met with Ihe strongest opposition, in many in stances force being employed to prevent its progress. The stockholders of the ennui systems ami the stage coach lines, anil e.ven certain classes of workiiigmen under the mistaken idea that the exten sion or lailroads means a decrease In 4 lie demand for manual labor, united their forces and fought their imaginary com mon enemy, rarliamcnt took part in the proceedings, and the promoters of the In itial lines were subjected to the most scru tinizing cross-examinations. When the lirst road was opened a great concourse of people assembled to witness the event, Hiid while u few were there to rejoice If the undertaking proved successful, the majority of the spectators were anticipat ing the pleasure of seeing the "bubble burst." This opposition continued for many years, and was only dissipated when It had been demonstrated beyond dispute that the commercial interests of the coun try were advancing to a state thnt had never been attained before the introduc tion of the new tratlle system. On this small stretch of track between Stockton and Darlington the great rail ways of the world had their beginning, ltut even this smnll beginning was a long time in ruining. It seems strange to us now nt the present day, with the wonder ful development of steam and electricity brought so vividly before us, mid made a part of our daily lives, thnt men within a period remembered by persons now living should be so blind to the advancement of public and privnte Interests as to actually mine nun organize uu opposition to a sys .tem that has proved a greater benefit to the nations of the earth than all the other projects of clvUication combined. To-day we are familiar with the name of great railway kings men who have operated millions, who have been the life or the death of the stock market by the rise or the fall of a finger. We look with some thing of veneration at the carters of John w. Garrett and Thotnaa A. Scott, and even with a mixture of admiration at the wealth producing powers and executive abilities of Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay trould. But greater, far greater, than a Garrett, a Scott, a Vanderbilt or a Gould, George Stepheuson, the poor, unedu cated, colliery fireman, who worked out, between the long and cruel hour, of man Mi drudgery and slavish toll, the problem the railway for the traffic of the virld U saw a half century ahead of bis t!m Opposed by Capital. Despite the opposition of the moneyed men and the learned engineers of the day he fought his way inch by inch, ami by the sheer force and tenacity of his pow erful mind brought to a successful comple tion a project that had been the compan ion of his thoughts by day and a vision in his dreams by night for many long and anxious jears. To Ccnic Sicpiicusou and to hini alone belongs the credit of the magic develop ment, of the railway. From the moment when a boy he completed his first clay model of a stationary engine; from the time when the steam hissed in his ungain ly "Itliichor" locomotive to the day when he saw his train l ushing on toward Liver pool he nurtiiied the idea of a grand traffic way, and when he died it was with the peace of soul of a man whose life has been one of enduring usefulness, of un ceasing benefit to his fellow-man. The railway antedates the invention of the practical locomotive, although the his tory of the one is contemporaneous with the other. Wooden railways upon which coal was drawn from the mines by horses were in use at an early day in Northum berland and nt Wylaiu, where Steuhcn- son's father worked, the first locomotive was put in operation between the coal pit and the loading quay. In 1701 Saint Foml, a French traveler, spoke in high terms of the colliery wngonwnys in Kng land, which greatly facilitated the work of the horses, and he strongly urged upon his own countrymen (he economy with which coal was thus hauled to the ship ping places as an inducement to them to adopt a similar mode of transit. Wagon roads of the same character were laid in the colliery districts of Scotland at a com paratively early period. During the Scotch rebellion in 1745 there was a railway be tween the Tranent coal pits and the small harbor of Cockinzie in East Lothian. These wooden tracks were the germ of the modern railway. With the advanced ideas of the workmen improvements gradually came and in some collieries thin plates of iron were nailed unou the upper surface of (he wooden rails to afford protection from friction. It is probnhle that the first iron rails were laid at Whitehaven in 1738. Twenty-nine years later five or six tons of rails were cast for the Coalbrook dale Iron Works in Shropshire, and in 1770 cast iron rails nailed to wooden sloop- wrote a book on (he subject, portions of which were embodied in the work by the Marquis of Worcester entitled "Century of Inventions." Savery, a Cornish miner. proposed a method of propelling carriages along ordinary roads, but took no pruc tical methods to carry out his views. In 17o9 the subject was presented to James ntt, who in the specification of his pat ent of 17(1!) gave a description of the en gine proposed. On several other occasions the question of applying steam as a motive tmmmmm mm KARL V AMRHICAX I'ASSUXOEK COACH, power on land was brought to his atten tion, but he was too busily occupied per fecting his condensing engine to further consider the locomotive. The first actual model of a steam carriage of which there is a written account was made by n Frenchman named Cmriiot. who nlaced it on exhibition in 17U3. Afterward he built an engine oh the same plan, but when put in motion it projected itself with such force as to knock down a wall that was in the way, and the machine wns set aside as a dangerous invention. It is still preserved as a memento of the early efforts toward steam locomotion. In 1772 Oliver Evans, an American, invented a steam carriage to travel on ordinary roads, and obtained from the State of Maryland in 1787 exclusive right to make and operate it. But no practical use ever came of the invention. William Syming ton, one of the inventors of steam naviga tion, conceived the idea of utilizing steam in the propulsion of carriages, but the roads in Scotland were in such bnd condi tion that he got no further than to con struct n model.' The first model of a steam enrriage in England was made in 1784 by William Murdock, the assistant and friend of Watt. Murdoch succeeded in mnking nn engine about n foot high thnt generated enough steam by the aid of n spirit lamp to rush along at quite a rnte of speed over a wnlk a mile In length. One dark night STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON ENGINE AND CAR. ers were laid nt Ihe Duke of Norfolk's colliery near Sheffield. The laboring peo ple of the district were so incensed at what they imagined was a trespassing on their rights that they tore up the road, burned the coal piles and doubtless would have seriously injured John Carr, who constructed the line, had he not sought concealment in a wood. OrlKln of Tramways. William Jessop laid a line nt Loughbor ough, in Ieicostershire, in 1789, using the cast iron edge rail, with flanges upon the tires of the wagon wheels to keep them from slipping off the trucks. In 1800 Ben- GRASSHOPPER I.OCOMOTI VK. jamlu Outrani substituted stone props for timber to support the ends of the rails. This plan was generally adopted and the roads became kuown as "Outrani" roads, and subsequently, being abbreviated, lormeu me words tram roads or tramways." In this WAV th esrlv mOwnr slowly Improved. As yet they were mere toys. Their nscfulneaa limi, - ' "'nni tu drawing coal out of the mines a short dis- ranee to tne piace or shipment. No one had at this time proposed utilizing them for general traffic nuronaM vkii rude railways and tramways were being lumiYu iu mining regions the inventive genius of man was busily engaged in the solution of a new mode of locomotion Thus far the improvements had been al most entirely confined to the roads, and the wagons were still itmvn i The first person who aeems to have con- ceiTj ,ne Ktea or employing eam to move vehicles nn lamt ll t. - . - - " kv sums at sea was Solomon De Caus, who was lock- niupiwimui madman In 1041. He the pnstor saw the little immMno snorting up the path, and, taking it for me e n one, sprang into the hedges on win' won surieKs or terror. Richard Trevethick's Success. About, the venrs 1KIIO n.ml isno .1,.. tlon of building railwnvs for atn ,n..i.... was discussed and it was further proposed mui siuuonnry engines might be placed at certain distiincea mmf ,i,i i... of circulating chains greatly lessen the ciupioj incut or Horses. While these plans uvuig considered Kichnrd Treve thick, a pupil of William Murdock, built a steam carriage for use ou the common ol ib!1,- "T ,ook 0,,t his l"t"nt March iso. ihe carriage had the appear ance of nn urdinary stage coach. The horizontal cylinder, the boiler and the furnace box were placed In the rear of the hind axle, and to the credit of the in ventor it may be said that this was the nrst successful high pressure engine con strueted ou the principle of moving a pis ton by the elasticity of steam against the pressure only of the atmosphere. In ad dition to being well constructed, Treve thiek's steam carriage possessed the Qual ity of moving quite rapidly along the roadway. There were many Inventors after Treve thick who sought n motive wer to super sede horses, and while some produced verv meritorious works none met the tests r,. ol '"T!; .There WPre "'""kinsop of Leeds who had an engine with toothed wheels thnt ran upon a cogged rail; Chan mau of Newcastle, who employed a sys tem of chains, and Brunton "of Derby, shire, who Invented a "mechanical trav- i L V "pon log8' worklg alternate ly like those of a horse. These and sim ilar contrivances projected about the same time show that Invention was actively at work and that many minds were trying to o ye the traction problem. Blackett a colhery owner of Wylam, whose tramway ran by the house where George Stephen son was born, was one of the most persist ent of capitalist. ln hi. endeavors to ob tarn a locomotive to haul his cool wag on lie had tried several c the wieldy inventions of the day and wa be coming the laughing stock of his acquaint ances, who regarded him as a monomaniac on the subject of steam motive power VN hile Blackett wa. experimenting 'at Wylam George Stephenson wa. racking hU brain, to the no,, nrf at Killing- Une-wrigbt of th. collieries Blackett paved the way for Stephenson. Profiting by the failures of the locomotives of the past, Stephenson planned and constructed his first locomotive in 1S14, naming it My Lord, after Lord Kavonswood, the prin cipal owner of the Killingworth colliery, who advanced the money. This locomo tive, which was afterward known as the Wiicher, while a great improvement on nil previous rmwblTioi, was very cumber some and clumsy. It, however, answered the purpose for which it was intended very well and was regarded at the tinu ns n wonderful piece of mechanism. The inventor made many engines after that, but none gave him ns much satisfaction ns this first rude locomotive. Among the men of this period who were forming projects for the construction of rnilwnys in the important districts of pop ulation were William James of West liromwich and Edward Pease of Darling ton. James was exceedingly interested in the question of traction power, and though he had made no personal inven tions he performed as great a service to the public when he found and appreciated George Stephenson. As early as 180: James published nn article in which he stated he contemplated the projection of n railway between Liverpool nnd Man chester. He had many other railway propositions under way, but nothing came of them, except to stimulate the demand for better transportation facilities. Edward Pease was a man of nn entirelv different character. He was not so am bitious ns James, and it seems he at first only contemplated a horse tramrond be tween Stockton and Darlington, but as he proceeded with the project nnd nfter he had had nn interview with Stephenson he became nn earnest convert to the loco motive system. What Pease first con templated was the means of selling coal nt the stations along the line of the nronosed railway. He did not dream of the outlet that would lie afforded to other markets, and such a thing as u passenger convey ance never entered into his oalciilntlnna After one unsuccessful attempt in parlia ment the Mockton and Darlington rail way act was finally passed April 19, 1821, The nroiectors did not oriirmnllv contem plate the employment of locomotives, for iu the act they provide for the making and maintaining of the tramroads for the passage upon them "of wagons nnd other carriages, with men and horses or other wise." The nnhlio Wlra in lii fpwi ua with horses, cattle and carriages" the roacis rornieu ry the company on payment of the authorized rates between certain hours. It is clearly obvious from this thnt the nroiectors of the line hnrl nn clem- conception ns to the scope and operations or tneir rniirond. Some time elapsed nfter the pnssnge of the net for the construction of the rnilwnv before nny steis were taken to enrry it mto ertect. Toward the close of 1821 Stephenson cnlled on Pense and strongly urged the ndoption of the locomotive on the new rond. The inventor mnde so good nn impression that he was soon nfter ap pointed engineer of the line, conducted a personal survev of everv foot r tlm and began active preparations for build ing me roan. Estimate of the Cost. In mnkimr his first patinmtn nt he set down f 0,200 for stationary engines, not even mentioning locomotives. His reasons for this will be apparent when it Is known that the whole question of steam locomotive power was in those days, among practical and scientific men alike, largely in doubt. He preferred to quietly Impress upon the stockholders the wis dom of adopting a "method he wns confi dent would prove a complete success. After visiting Stephenson's locomotive nt iviuingwonn I'ease and another stock holder became convinced Hint it thn proper system, and in 1823 an amended act was passed permitting the use of this inr vr, Two years Inter the rond wa. opened to the public, and from the stnrt nrnvfwt a great success. The rails were of malle able and cast iron nnd the gauge was four feet eight and one half Inches. The first engine, the Active, that wns put on the line, was constructed by George Stephen son. It weighed nbout eight tons, und was cnpnble of drawing nbnut forty tons, in insignificant contrast with the Ameri can "consolidation" locomotive of to-diiy weighing fifty tons nnd able to haul on a dead level over 24,000 tons, while more powerful engines nre still being designed. No sooner did the coal and merchandise trains begin to run thnu new business re lations sprang up between Stockton nnd Darlington, nnd the iimrnno i.. -.,i..i.. traffic called into existence a new pns- -ugcr irausportntlon. .Before his plant was put in operation nn attempt hud been mnde to run a stage conch between Stock ton, Darlington and Barnard Castle three times a week, but owing to the want of BUpport It W0S discontinue! linn,..,. after the railway began running the suigvs were agnin put on and did a thriv ing business. The rall-,i - . .....j vvr,ll,nil,, , I t"C- ogniiing the Importance of this branch of service, started the first passenger conch, the Experiment, Oct. 10. 1825. a fortnight after the orjenlnir nt tt,a unA i. drawn by one horse and performed the journey uaiiy each way between Stockton and Darlington. aecnmnli),in h ,n. jance of twelve miles In about two hours. xue mre was a smiling and each pnssen- r s aaiowea rourteen pounds of lug gage free. The EiwHinont .n. 4 " erated by the railway company, but was " icsersgui ana llarland, who paid tolls for the nse of too lino vm. . passenger coach wa. regarded a. a won- """" conveyance at the time, but It would cut a rather poor figure if piad ! beside the modern dmvhTr7 constructed at a cost of ."(! niii Stephenson next co.isin,,.',,,, nod with bis l, '.'it Manchester ltailwnv. whUh 'r''1'"1' Sep.. is. is::o. Pa;.; ,'1 " "'" '""nn.-e of I hi v little over nn hour. ' ' been previously consider,., ., ' ,U' for the locomotives on the 4,-' ',: Darlington rna.l ( be,u tl,L, ' , ' 1: and twelve miles an hour bail in"!' ed us absolutely dangerous, tie, ni of speed must have 1 ,mk, something phenomenal Tu, ... , (lie railway from (his dale Wi panics being formed i all civilkJ'" t nes. w: America quickly ,,,,,,,,,, ,(l o, ,. cany as 17 , was opened between Boston and oW for the imrnos" of h,m,.i;, . the Bunker Hill monument. T iheCarbondalerail,,,,,,! by the Delaware and IIu,lsn Canal Vi pany ami extended from ll,nw,i.,i 10 Carbondale, a distance of about Vii' fviD n 1 r 1 1 1 n. & o. UAir.KOAo, is;lo-3o, teen miles. It was the first rnnil on wlkl n locomotive was used 111 this countn The engine wns built in Knglnnd. owl: the direction of Horatio Allen, whom joyed the distinction of being the first to run n locomotive In America. It ires culled the Stourbridge Lion and nrrim at its destination Aug. 9, 182). First !altiinorc& Ohio Road. In May," 18.10, the first division of tk Baltimore nnd Ohio Railway, extendiiic from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills, 1 div tnnee of hf teen miles, was formally open ed, but the passenger service was not augurnted till July 5 nf the snme jm, owing to the scarcity of cars. Horse poc was employed until the rond wns complet ed to Frederick, iu 18o2. Teter Cooper built a little locomotlre in 1829 for the Baltimore and Ohio llaii way, and was very much delighted om the fact that on the trial trip he stumd- ed in beating a horse attached to another car. The York, which was built at lort Ph., was the progenitor of the famoni "grasshopper" locomotives so many jmb in service on the Baltimore nnd Ohio. Thus did the beginning of the railwsj system on the Stockton nnd Darlington line extend over the old and the ore world. It has grown mightily during tt Inst two and seventy yenrs, and Itspo- sibilit es nre still unmeasured. When George Stephenson died, Aug. 11 1848, his stntue, which the Liverpool ut Manchester nnd Grand Juneuou panics had ordered, was on its waj England, and arrived in time to serve u his monument. Far greater than l monument thnt mind of sculptor can ceive and cunning hand execute u ftj enduring monument of his own works m the undying memory of a name madegl rious, AGED EIGHTY -TWO YEArtS. Ladles Who Claim to Be the OkM Living Twins. The claim of the Newell brothewo! Missouri thnt they are the oldest P of twins ln the country is disputed by aSi crceiiondent. Mrs. H. Johnson, recently of Kanknkee, UL Hrwl now of Omnhn. Neb., and Mrs. w rid Noggle of Janesviile are one niouti older. These Indies are the twin chil dren-Polly M. and Anna M.-of B jamin and Eunice Mosher Lewis. anJ AOBD TWINS. n-on-o lrm at Krlsrtid. N. 1'., MUJf 1815. They were the youngest of children. The twins went 10 ri.i 1T married thee?' liitr, n 11,-11 iiwut and In 1873 Mrs. Nopgle weut to u wilds of Wisconsin to live the life" pioneer. She and her husband seni at Belolt. Mr. Nopgle wns the poHtninster of that city. He wa lawyer and wns afterward nP"0 i,i., i,,!.,-, nt i.iniin bv rresiileni Grant. His health compelled bin 1 j return to Wisconsin, where lie uieu 1878, at the house of his son-in i Congressman Charles G. William. , W Nosgle Is a woman of native awl", and can tell many Interesting tales early life in Wisconsin. The ie" are both In full possession of their i ultles and are as active as women or w Curative or Bad Temper. "When the little girl Is naughty, says Mi Jessie M. Fowler, giving mother directions for curing her ni daughter's bad temper, "put on best gown, and you will see that cannot withstand Its influence. No manhas to serve an PPr',, ship In order to learn bow to make m takes. ,.n visiting v nenever you see fM, chiropodist there Is something on Re on Thi ant An null ID