History of the First Locomotives in America - Chapters 10-17



CHAPTER X.
FIRST DELIBERATIONS ON RAIILROADS.

WHEN the construction of that great work, the Liverpool and Manchester 
Railroad, was commenced, and even after it had been in progress for 
several years, its directors had not determined the motive power to be 
employed upon it. Horse-power had the strongest advocates. Another method, 
and one having a number of advocates, was that of stationary engines to 
draw the trains along. By this method the line of road over which the 
transport is conducted is divided into a number of short sections, at the 
extremity of each of which an engine is placed. The wagons or carriages, 
when drawn by any one of these engines to its own station, are detached 
and connected with the extremity of the chain worked by the next 
stationary engine, and thus the journey is performed from station to 
station by separate engines. It was proposed to divide the Liverpool and 
Manchester road into nineteen stations, or sections of about a mile and a 
half each, with twenty-one engines fused at the different points to work 
the chains forward. Not a single professional man of any eminence could be 
found who preferred the locomotive over the fixed-engine power as above, 
George Stephenson only excepted. He stuck to the locomotive-power; and 
finally committees were appointed at his suggestion to witness the 
performance of his locomotives employed in hauling coal upon the Stockton 
and Darlington Railroad. The report from the chairman of one of these 
committees states that, "although it would be practicable to go at any 
speed that the size of the wheel and the number of strokes in the engine 
might allow, yet it would not be safe to go at a greater rate than nine or 
ten miles an hour." This was considered a very high rate of speed in those 
days. The completion of the road was fast drawing nigh. The great tunnel 
at Liverpool was finished; a firm road over Cheat-Moss was completed; and 
yet the directors had not settled in their minds what power was to be used 
upon the road. Prejudice still existed against the use of locomotives. The 
road had been constructed throughout its entire length in a most 
substantial manner, and cost upward of £20,000 per mile, amounting to £820,
000. The rails used were made of forged iron, in lengths of fifteen feet 
each, and weighed 170 lbs. each. At the distance of every three feet the 
rail rests on blocks of stone, let into the ground and containing about 
four cubic feet each. Into each block, two holes, six inches deep and one 
inch in diameters are drilled; into these are driven oak plugs, and the 
cast iron chairs into which the rails are fitted are spiked down to the 
plugs, forming a structure of great solidity, and in every respect 
calculated for any power that might be determined upon by the Board. 

Finally, in the spring of 1829, the directors appointed Messrs. Stephenson 
and Lock, and Messrs. Walker and Rastrick, experienced engineers, to visit 
the different railways where practical information respecting the 
comparative effects of stationary and locomotive engines could be 
obtained; and from these gentlemen they received reports on the relative 
merits of the two methods, according to their judgment. The result of the 
comparison of the two systems was, that the capital necessary to be 
advanced to establish a line of stationary engines was considered greater 
than that which was necessary to construct an equal power in locomotives; 
that the annual expense for maintaining the stationary engines was 
likewise greater than for the locomotives, and consequently the expense of 
transportation by a stationary system was greater in like proportion. The 
system of locomotive- power, therefore, was entitled to the preference. 
Yet another consideration influenced the directors in its favor, which was 
this: Should an accident occur on any part of the railroad worked by 
stationary engines, a suspension of work along the entire road would be 
involved in the consequences; accidents arising from the fracture of any 
of the chairs, or from any derangement in the working of any of the fixed 
engines, would effectually stop the intercourse alone the entire line; 
while in the use of locomotive-power an accident could only affect the 
particular train of carriages drawn by the engine to which the mishap 
might occur. "The one system" says Mr. Walker, in his report, "is like a 
chain extending from Liverpool to Manchester, the failure of a single link 
of which would destroy the whole; while the other (the locomotive system) 
is like a number of short and unconnected chains, the destruction of any 
one of which does not interfere with the effect of the others, and the 
loss of which may be supplied by others with facility." However, to 
determine the matter, a prize was offered by the directors of £500
for a locomotive which should be produced by a certain day, and perform a 
certain duty, as follows: 

1. The engine must effectually consume its own smoke. 

2. The engine, if of six tons' weight, must be able to draw after it, day 
by day, twenty tons' weight, including the tender and water- tank, at ten 
miles an hour, with a pressure of steam upon the boiler not exceeding 
fifty pounds to the square inch. 

3. The boiler must have two safety-valves, neither of which must be 
fastened down and one of them completely out of the control of the 
engineer. 

4. The engine and boiler must be supported upon springs and rest on six 
wheels, the height of the whole not exceeding fifteen feet to the top of 
the chimney. 

5. The engine with water must not weigh more than six tons, but an engine 
of less weight would be preferred, although drawing a proportionally less 
load behind it; if of only four and onehalf tons, it might be put on four 
wheels. 

6. A mercurial gauge must be affixed to the machine, showing the steam-
pressure about forty-five pounds to the square inch. 

7. The engine must be delivered, complete and ready for trial, at the 
Liverpool end of the railway, not later than October 1, 1829. 

8. The price of the engine not to exceed £550. 

The project and the conditions were thought to be preposterous. An eminent 
gentleman of Liverpool, afterward inspector of steam- packets, said that 
"only a parcel of charlatans would have issued such a set of conditions;" 
that it had been "proved to be impossible to make a locomotive-engine to 
go ten miles an hour; but, if it was ever done, he would undertake to eat 
a stewed engine-wheel for his breakfast!" 

The Stephenson locomotive factory was still in operation at Newcastle, but 
for a long time it did not pay expenses. Mr. Stephenson now set about the 
construction of his far-famed engine the Rocket, to contend for the prize 
just offered by the Liverpool and Manchester railroad directors. As the 
name of Mr. Stephenson's Rocket is familiar in the mind of every railroad 
engineer and machinist of the present day, we will describe it, for the 
information of all who feel interested in the subject: The boiler of this 
new engine was cylindrical in form, with fat ends; it was six feet in 
length and three feet in diameter, the upper half of the boiler used as a 
reservoir for the steam, the lower half being filled with water; through 
this lower part twenty-five copper tubes three inches in diameter extended 
with both ends open, one presented to the furnace or fire-box, and the 
other end opening into the chimney. The fire-box, two feet wide and three 
feet high, attached immediately behind the boiler, was also surrounded 
with water. The cylinders, two in number, were placed on each side of the 
boiler in an oblique position, the one end being nearly even with the top 
of the boiler, and the other end pointing toward the center of the 
foremost driving pair of wheels, with which the connection was made from 
the piston-rod by a pin to the outside of the wheel. 

The Rocket with its load of water weighed only four and one quarter tons, 
and was supported upon four wheels (not coupled). The tender was four-
wheeled, and similar in shape to a wagon; the foremost part contained the 
fuel, and the hinder part a water-cask. 

The engine, when completed, was shipped to Liverpool and ready for the 
trial, with the most sanguine expectations of Mr. Stephenson of its 
success. 



CHAPTER XI.
COMPETITION FOR PRIZES.

A GREAT interest was manifested at Liverpool and throughout the country at 
the approaching competition. Engineers and scientific men arrived from all 
quarters of the world, to witness the trial of mechanical skill about to 
be displayed. 

On the day appointed the following engines were upon the spot, and entered 
for the prize: 

THE NOVELTY, made by Messrs. Braithwait and Ericsson. 

THE SANS-PAREIL, made by Mr. Timothy Hocklvorth. 

THE ROCKET, made by Messrs. Stephenson and Co., Newcastle. 

THE PERSERVERENCE, made by Sir. Burtstall. 

The day of trial was changed from the 1st to the 6th of October, in order 
to give the new engines time to get in good working- order. Many thousand 
spectators were present. The Rocket, although not the first entered, was, 
nevertheless, the first ready for the trial. The piece of road to be used 
for the occasion was two miles in length, upon which the locomotives were 
to travel to and fro. The distance run by the Rocket was about twelve 
miles in fifty-three minutes. The Novelty was next tried. It was a very 
complicated machine, carrying the water and fuel upon the same wheels as 
the engine, and the whole weighed three tons one hundred lbs. On account 
of some difficulty in determining the load she was to draw, she was not 
tested like the Rocket, but was run over the road, making sometimes twenty-
four miles per hour. 

The Sans-pareil was next tried, but no particular experiment was made on 
that day. 

The contest was postponed until the following day, but, before the judges 
arrived upon the ground, the bellows for creating the draught or blast in 
the Novelty gave way, and it was incapable of going through its 
performance. A defect was also discovered in the boiler of the Sans-
pareil, and time was allowed to get it repaired. Meantime, Mr. Stephenson, 
to lessen the disappointment to the vast crowd assembled to witness these 
experiments by the delay, brought out the Rocket and attached it to a 
coach containing thirty persons, and ran it along the road at the rate of 
from twenty-six to thirty miles an hour, much to the delight and 
gratification of the spectators. The judges then ordered the Rocket to be 
in readiness the following morning to go through its trial according to 
the prescribed conditions. 

On the morning of October 8, 1829, the Rocket was again upon the road for 
the contest. The fire-box was filled with coke, the fire lighted, and the 
steam raised until it lifted the safety- valve loaded to the pressure of 
fifty pounds to the square inch. These preparations occupied fifty-seven 
minutes. The engine being started on its journey, dragged after it 
thirteen tons' weight in carriages or wagons, and made the first ten trips 
backward and forward upon the two miles of the road, running the thirty- 
five miles, including stoppages, in one hour and forty-eight minutes.

The second ten trips were in like manner accomplished in two hours and 
three minutes. The maximum velocity of the Rocket during the trial-trip 
was about twenty-nine miles an hour, or three times the speed that one of 
the judges had declared to be the limit of possibility. 

Neither the Novelty nor the Sans-pareil was ready for trial until the 
10th. The weight of carriages attached to the Novelty was only seven tons. 
In starting, the engine went off in fine style for the two miles, but, on 
returning, the pipe for the forcing-pump burst and put an end to the 
trial. The pipe having been repaired, the engine made a trial-trip, 
without a load, and is said to have run from twenty-four to twenty-eight 
miles an hour. 

The Sans-pareil was not ready until the l3th, and, when the boiler and 
tender were filled with water, it weighed 400 lbs. beyond the prescribed 
conditions of four-wheel engines; but nevertheless the judges allowed it 
to run upon the same footing as the others, and it traveled at the average 
speed of fourteen miles an hour, with its load; but at the eighth trip the 
cold-water pipe got out of order, and it could proceed no farther. It was 
then determined by the judges to award the prize to the successful engine 
on the following day, October l8th. 

When the trial commenced, the Novelty again broke down. The builder of the 
Sans-pareil requested an other trial, but the judges decided that she was 
beyond the prescribed weight, and besides consumed and wasted too much 
coke to make her a successful competitor, using 692 lbs. of coke per hour 
when running. 

The Perseverance was then tried for the first time, and found unable to 
move more than five or six miles an hour. 

The Rocket was the only engine that had performed all the stipulated 
conditions, and the prize of £500 was accordingly awarded to its makers. 
The Rocket had eclipsed all other engines that had as yet been 
constructed, and determined the question of the use of locomotive power 
upon the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad. 

Our narrative now brings us down to the period when locomotives were first 
introduced into the United States, A. D. 1829. Two important railroads had 
been commenced, and were in successful working-order, as far as they had 
been built. But horse-power upon levels, and stationary engines upon steep 
inclines, were the only powers resorted to. Locomotives had not yet been 
introduced. The experiments in England had been heard of in this country, 
and were frequently discussed by those interested in the success of 
railroads. 

The experiments of Mr. Stephenson had been carefully watched. His name and 
fame, as an eminent engineer, were familiar to the minds of the people of 
this country. His success with his "Rocket" excited the liveliest interest 
here, and equally as much so as in England. His bearing of the £500 prize 
was hailed with rapture by thousands in America, who admired him for his 
genius and indomitable perseverance. 

We will now leave Mr. Stephenson and his improvements in England, and turn 
to the period of 1829, in the United States, when, although, as before 
said, two important railroads and two coal-roads were in successful 
progress, or in operation in different sections of the country, yet, as in 
England in its earliest day, for mining purposes, only horse-power was 
used, and no attempt had been made to construct a locomotive, nor had one 
been imported from abroad. 



CHAPTER XII.
RAILROADS IN AMERICA.

THE first railroad built in the United States was three miles in length, 
extending from the granite-quarries of Quincy, Massachusetts, to the 
Neponset River. This road was commenced in 1826, and completed in 1827. It 
was built with granite sleepers, seven and a half feet long, laid eight 
feet apart. The rails, five feet apart, were of pine, a foot deep, covered 
with an oak plate, and these with flat bars of iron. 

The second railroad was commenced in January, 1827, and completed in May 
of the same year, extending from the coal- mines in Mauch Chunk, 
Pennsylvania, to the Lehigh River, a distance of nine miles. From the 
summit of the road, and within half a mile of the mines, the descent by a 
plane was nine hundred and eighty-two feet, inclined two hundred and 
seventy-five feet to the river, and thence seventy-five feet in a shoot to 
the spot where the cars were discharged into the boats. The cars descended 
by gravity with the loaded wagons, and were drawn up again by mules. The 
rails of the road were of timber, laid on wooden sleepers, and strapped 
with fiat iron bars. 

In 1828 the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company constructed a railroad from 
their coal-mines to Honesdale, the termination of their canal. The 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the South Carolina Railroad were also 
commenced in the same year. 

It is said that at the time (1812) when De Witt Clinton was urging the 
passage, through the Legislature of New York, of the act for the 
construction of the Erie Canal, Colonel Stevens, of Hoboken, astonished 
that body by announcing that he could build a railroad at a much less cost 
than the proposed canal, and on which the transportation, by means of cars 
drawn by steam locomotives, could be carried on at a considerably cheaper 
rate, and at a much higher degree of speed than was possible on any canal. 
He laid before them the results of his numerous and long-continued 
researches, but his enemies openly laughed at him, and called him a 
maniac, and even some of his best friends regarded him as a man who had 
lost himself in experimental science. Had he lived in the days of poor 
Solomon de Cause or of Friar Bacon, he would probably, like those eminent 
men, have been consigned to a dungeon. The nineteenth century contented 
itself with sneering at him as a visionary, and refused to entertain his 
propositions. His distinguished, wise, and sensible friend, Chancellor 
Livingston, in a letter addressed to Stevens, dated at Albany, March 20, 
1811, only a year before, expresses his opinion of the railroad locomotive 
schemes of which his friend was so strenuous an advocate. The chancellor 
thus writes: 

"I had before read of your very ingenious proposition as to railway 
communication. I fear, however, on mature reflection, that they will be 
liable to serious objections, and ultimately prove more expensive than a 
canal. They must be double, so as to prevent the danger of two such heavy 
bodies meeting. The wall on which they are placed must be at least four 
feet below the surface, to avoid frost, and three feet above, to avoid 
snow, and must be clasped with iron, and even then would hardly sustain so 
heavy a weight as you propose moving at the rate of four miles an hour on 
wheels. As to wood, it would not last a week. They must be covered with 
iron, and that, too, very thick and strong. The means of stopping these 
heavy carriages without a great shock, and of preventing them from running 
on each other, for there would be many running on the road at once, would 
be very difficult. In case of accidental stops or necessary stays to take 
wood or water, etc., many accidents would happen. The carriage of 
condensing water would be very troublesome. Upon the whole, I fear the 
expense would be much greater than that of canals, without being so 
convenient." 

And yet, only fourteen years afterward, such was the rapid development of 
the steam locomotive, the Legislature of the same State granted a charter 
incorporating the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, a line, seventeen miles 
long, running between Albany and Schenectady; and there are now no less 
than three thousand one hundred and ninety-five miles of railway in the 
State of New York alone. 

Next to Colonel Stevens, and as early as 1819, Eve have in the United 
States another advocate for railroads, with steam locomotion. We learn, by 
an extract from the current news of that day, copied Tom a literary paper 
called The Villager, that the following memorial was presented to Congress 
at the previous session, which was referred to the Committee on Commerce 
and Manufactures. The following is a copy of the document: 

"The memorial of Benjamin Dearborn, of Boston, respectfully represents 
that he has devised in theory a mode of propelling wheel- carriages in a 
manner probably unknown in any country; and has perfectly satisfied his 
own mind of the practicability of conveying mails and passengers with such 
celerity as has never before been accomplished, and with complete security 
from robberies on the highway. 

"For obtaining these results, he relies on carriages propelled by steam, 
on level railroads, and contemplates that they be furnished with 
accommodations for passengers to take their meals and their rest during 
the passage, as in packets; that they be sufficiently high for persons to 
walk in without stooping, and so capacious as to accommodate twenty, 
thirty, or more passengers, with their baggage. 

"The inequalities of the earth's surface Mill require levels of various 
elevations in the railroads; and your memorialist has devised means which 
he believes will be completely effectual for lifting the carriage, by the 
inherent power of its machinery, Tom one level to another, as also for the 
passage of carriages by each other, on the same road; and he feels 
confident that whenever such an establishment shall be advanced to its 
most improved state, the carriages will move with a rapidity at least 
equal to a mile in three minutes. 

"Protection from the attacks of assailants will be insured; not only by 
the celerity of the movement, but by weapons of defense belonging to the 
carriage, and always kept ready in it to be wielded by the number of 
passengers constantly traveling in this spacious vehicle, where they would 
have liberty to stand erect, and to exercise their arms in their own 
defense. 

"The practicability of running steam-carriages on the common road was long 
since advocated in a publication, by that ingenious and useful citizen, 
Oliver Evans: your memorialist, therefore, does not assume the merit of 
originating the idea of steam-carriages, but only of modifying the system 
in such a manner as to produce the results here stated, which could not be 
effected on a common road. 

"Relying upon the candor of the national council, this memorial is laid 
before them with the desire that ingenious and scientific artists, in the 
different sections of our country may be consulted, by direction of 
Congress, on the probability of accomplishing the purposes here 
anticipated; and that an experiment be made, if sanctioned by their 
favorable opinions; for if the design can be put into successful operation 
by the Government, a great revenue would eventually be derived from the 
establishment, besides the advantages before enumerated." 

We never have heard that any report was made by the committee respecting 
it; yet all these results have been signally realized within a little more 
than a third of a century. 



CHAPTER XIII.
FIRST ENGLISH LOCOMOTIVE.

THE competition in England for the £500 prize attracted many distinguished 
engineers, scientific men, and enterprising gentlemen, from all parts of 
the world, to witness the contest. Among the engineers from America was 
Horatio Allen, Esq., late assistant engineer upon the Delaware and Hudson 
Canal and Railroad, who was on a trip to England to examine into the 
improvements in the new mode of intercommunication. Another enterprising 
gentleman from America, who went out expressly to witness these 
experiments, was Mr. E. L. Miller, of Charleston, South Carolina. Of this 
gentleman we shall hereafter have occasion to speak more fully. While in 
Europe, Mr. Horatio Allen was appointed by John B. Jervis, Esq., the chief 
engineer of the Delaware and Hudson Canal and Railroad Company, to 
contract for the iron for the road just graded, and also for three 
locomotives. Mr. Allen was an excellent person for this important duty, as 
Mr. Fervis well knew, having been associated with him in the construction 
of the road; he was an engineer of distinction and experience. We shall 
have to speak of him hereafter, in connection with the running of the 
first locomotive imported and put upon a railroad in America. 

In this work the author has promised to substantiate every position he may 
assume, by giving to the readers all the evidence upon which his 
statements are based, and thereby enable them to judge for themselves as 
to the correctness of his history. 

On this visit of Mr. Allen to England, he purchased for the Delaware and 
Hudson Canal and Railroad Company three locomotives. The "Stourbridge 
Lion" was one of these, and the first, which soon after arrived in New 
York. Its performances in the yard of the works where it was landed (the 
West Point Foundery Works, foot of Beach Street) were witnessed by 
thousands, attracted by the novelty of the machine. In a letter addressed 
to the author by David Matthew, Esq., late of Philadelphia, who resided in 
New York in 1829, and had charge of the men while fitting up the machinery 
in the shops of the West Point Foundery Association, to whom the author 
had addressed a letter malting some inquiries, he writes: 

PHILADELPHIA December 6, 1859. 

Mr. WM. H. BROWN- 

DEAR SIR: Yours of the 20th November is received, inquiring about the 
first locomotive imported into this country; the first built here, and on 
what date and railroad it was run. In compliance with your request, I 
herewith with pleasure send you the following history, partly from memory 
and partly from records and memoranda upon the subject in some documents I 
have preserved among a file of old papers and documents. 

"Some time about the middle of May, 1829, the locomotive called the 
Stourbridge Lion arrived from England, on the ship John Jay. It was landed 
at the wharf of the West Point Foundry Works, foot of Beach Street, New-
York City. This engine was in charge of Horatio Allen, Esq., assistant 
engineer of the Delaware and Hudson Canal and Railroad Company. The 
locomotive was blocked up in our yard, and steam put to it from our works, 
and it became the object of curiosity to thousands who visited the works 
from day to day, to see the curious fretter go through the motions only, 
as there was no road for it about the premises. After a short stay in New 
York, about the 1st of July, it was shipped up the North River to Rondout, 
for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, and thence by canal to 
Carbondale, where it was tried upon their railroad at Honesdale, run a few 
miles out upon the road, then taken off the track, the road not being 
sufficiently strong to carry it. It was housed and held for sale for many 
years." 

So much, at present, for Mr. Matthew's letter upon the first English 
locomotive in America. To this letter, however, we will hereafter again 
refer. Meantime, for the information of such of our readers as may not be 
acquainted with the character and reputation of Mr. Matthew, we will refer 
to the following certificates from prominent and well-known citizens: 

NEW YORK, March, 1831 

Mr. David Matthew has served an apprenticeship of four years and eleven 
months in the steam-engine factory of the Chest Point Association, as a 
tinner and fitter-up, in course of which time he has conducted himself to 
the entire satisfaction of his employers, and I recommend him as a trusty 
and good workman. 

WM. KEMBLE, 

"Agent for the West Point Association." 

ALBANY, December 1, 1831. 

The bearer, Mr. David Matthew, has been employed to run the locomotive De 
Witt Clinton on the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, since the opening of the 
work. I have often been on the engine with him, and seen much of his 
management and conduct in reference to his business, and believe him to be 
a sober, industrious man, and well qualified for such work. I think him 
very prudent in managing an engine. 

JOHN B. JERVIS, 

Chief Engineer Hudson and Mohawk Railroad. 

SCENECTADY, September 24, 1836. 

By a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Utica and Schenectady 
Railroad Company, passed September 23, 1835, David Matthew is employed as 
chief locomotive engineer, at a salary of one thousand one hundred dollars 
per year. 

WM. C. YOUNG, 

"Chief Engineer." 

OFFICE OF THE UTICA AND SCHENECTADY RAILROAD COMPANY. 

ALBANY, AUGUST 29, 1842. 

To whom it may concern: 

The bearer, Mr. David Matthew, has been employed by the company during the 
past six and a half years, as chief locomotive engineer and machinist, and 
in all respects has shown himself honest, industrious, and intelligent, 
and is worthy of patronage and confidence. 

"ERASTUS CORNING." 

These and many other evidences of Mr. Matthew's character and reliability 
could be produced, but the foregoing will no doubt be sufficient. From a 
mass of useful information received by the author in several letters Mom 
John B. Jervis, Esq., who was in 1829 chief engineer of the Delaware and 
Hud- son Canal Company, we make the following extracts is in reference to 
the arrival of the first locomotive in America: 

ROME, NEW YORK, JULY 17, 1870. 

DEAR SIR: Yours of the 1st inst. was duly received; absence from home and 
special duties have delayed my answer. As it required the overhauling of 
papers forty years old, it could not be done promptly. The name of the 
first locomotive ordered from England, and the first in America, was the 
Stourbridge Lion, and to your questions when and where it was landed, I 
will refer you to the following letters addressed to me at the time, by 
Horatio Allen, Esq., who was in New York City waiting its arrival, and had 
contracted for it when in England. On referring to my papers, I find that 
the engine arrived at Rondout on the way to Honesdale from New York, on 
the 4th of July, 1829. My recollections are that it was put in motion on 
the Carbondale Railroad, at Honesdale, in August, same year, most probably 
the early part of August. This locomotive and two or three others were 
obtained from England for the said road, but only the Lion was set up. It 
worked very well, and no doubt would have done good service, had the 
trestle-work (of which there was a large portion on the road) been 
sufficient to sustain the weight of the engine in working. It was the 
intention of having engines of one and a quarter ton on a wheel as the 
heaviest; but the builders of the engine at that time had little 
experience, and when the machine was constructed it was found to have 
nearly two tons on a wheel, and this the road was not designed for. 
Subsequently the road has been made a gravity railroad, all the power in 
both directions being stationary; which is no doubt the best economy for 
the circumstances and nature of the traffic. 

Mr. Allen's letters, which follow, will give you all necessary facts 
relative to the arrival of the first locomotive in America. In regard to 
the present officers of the Delaware and Hadson Canal Company, I have 
little acquaintance with them; all the old ones are gone, excepting, 
perhaps, Isaac N. Seymour, who was for many years treasurer (now retired), 
and living in New York. He could give you much information, by referring 
to the file of letters for 1829, in the office of the company in New York, 
including those of August; they would give the time of the running of the 
engine at Honesdale, in letters from Mr. Horatio Allen to myself In your 
last letter to me, you make some inquiries concerning my invention of the 
principle of using the truck under the front part of the engine, to 
support and to govern the machine in running curves. I believe I sent you, 
some time since, a copy of my work upon railway property, etc. In that 
work, commencing at page 153, you will find all the information upon that 
subject you may desire. I shall only say here that I was the inventor, and 
put in successful operation, the locomotive-truck. 

I notice that they are giving more attention to it in England, where they 
heretofore had strong prejudices against it, and now they attribute it, as 
a new thing, to Farlie, who introduced it in some new and small machinery 
in England. All that Farlie has done is simply to adopt my truck. Wishing 
you great success in your undertaking, I am very truly yours, 

JOHN B. JERVIS. 

We will hereafter notice the improvement alluded to by Mr. Jervis, in the 
last paragraph of his highly interesting letter, viz., the introduction of 
the truck under the front part of the engine. Of this improvement he is, 
no doubt, the inventor, having put it in successful operation in this 
country, nearly forty years ago, as we are prepared to show, England's 
claim to the contrary notwithstanding. 

JOHN B. JERVIS, Esq. 

NEW YORK, May 12, 1829. 

We at length have something definite on the subject of our locomotive. The 
Canada, that sailed from Liverpool April 18th, arrived this afternoon, and 
brings us news of the shipment of our locomotive, on April 8th, on the 
John Jay, which has not yet got in, though it sailed one week before the 
Canada. 

Yours, 

HORATIO ALLEN. 

JOHN B. JERVIS, ESQ. 

NEW YORK, May 17, 1829. 

The John Jay has arrived, as I informed you. On Monday the engine is to be 
landed, and sent to Kimball's establishment. I hope to have it all 
together and in operation by Saturday next. 

Yours, 

HORATIO ALLEN.



CHAPTER XIV.
DATE OF ITS RUNNING.

THE exact date of the arrival and landing of the first English locomotive 
that was ever run upon a railroad in America being now settled by Mr. 
Horatio Allen's letters to John B. Jervis, Esq., the nest object of the 
author was to learn upon what day that engine was first run upon a 
railroad. For this purpose, by advice of Mr. Fervis, he addressed a letter 
to C. F. Young, Esq., the present general superintendent of the Delaware 
and Hudson Railroad and Canal Company. Previously to receiving Mr. Young's 
answer, the author addressed a letter to Thornas Dickson, Esq., the 
president of the company, to which he received the following reply. 

DELAWARE AND HUDSON CANAL COMPANY, 

SCRANTON February 26, 1870. WM. H BR0WN, Esq., 

DEAR SIR: I have yours of the l9th inst. C. F. Young, of Honesdale, 
Pennsylvania, our general superintendent, has been looking up, for you, 
the matters you refer to, and has doubtless written you ere this. In a 
conversation I had with him. Young, a few days ago, he told me that the 
time of the trial-trip he had found positively to have been between the 3d 
and 8th of August, 1829. That it was in 1829, and on one of the days 
mentioned, there is not the shadow of a doubt, and that it was the first 
locomotive run upon this continent is beyond question. 

We take pleasure in affording you every opportunity in makinoa your 
investigation; and, that there may be no mistake, I will enclose your 
letter to Mr. Young, that his attention may be called to it again. 

Very truly yours, 

THOMAS S. DICKENSON, President. 

Almost the same mail brought the long-looked-for letter from Mr. Young; 
and, as he gives the date of the first day's trial near to the 
consummation of the author's desire upon that subject, we evils, as we 
promised our readers, present Mr. Young's letter, just as it was written, 
as every portion of it is of interest: 

OFFICE OF GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT, 

DELAWARE AND HUDSON CANAL COMPANY, 

HONESDALE, PA., February 23, 1870. WM. H. BROWN ESQ.,- 

DEAR SIR: I owe you an apology for the long delay in furnishing you what 
information I might be able to obtain respecting the date of the 
experimental trip of the first locomotive- engine imported by our company. 
I waited to hear from a gentleman who was to have examined a file of 
newspapers, published at Diontrose, Susquehanna County, in 1829; but I 
have not yet heard from him. I have not been able, from any thing I ean 
find in the books or papers of the company, to fix the exact day on which 
the trial-trip took place. I find from our collector's books, at 
Eddyville, that two locomotive-engines were cleared at that office, and 
started up the canal, July 16, 1829. I do not find any record of their 
arrival at Honesdale, which was probably five or six days thereafter. 

The old inhabitants of this place, who were present at the time, agree 
that the experimental trip was made in August, 1829. John Torry informs me 
that he finds in the books of his father, Jason Torry, a charge against 
the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, dated August 3, 1829, for labor of 
men and horses, drawing stones, 'this day,' to load a railroad-car. This 
car, loaded with stone, is understood and believed to be the one which was 
to be attached to the locomotive on its trial trip. I find many, who were 
present at the time, remember the car-load of stone designed to be 
attached to the locomotive on its trial-trip. At the celebration, on the 
day the experiment was made, a young man, by the name of Alva Adams, had 
his arm badly shattered by the premature discharge of the cannon which was 
used. Dr. E. T. Losey, who is now living here, assisted in amputating the 
arm and afterward attended the patient. Dr. Losey finds the charge on his 
books, for amputating, dated August 8, 1829. The trial-trip, no doubt, 
took place some time from the 3d to the 8th of August, 1829. Dr. Losey 
thinks the arm was amputated the same day on which the injury was 
received; but says he might have omitted to make the charge for three or 
four days, but is not certain of this. 

I have had the file of letters for 1829 examined, at our office in New 
York, without finding any letters from John B. Jervis or Horatio Allen 
which fix the date of the experiment. I am of opinion that there were such 
letters, and that they have been lent to some previous explorer, who has 
failed to return them. 

John B. Jervis's annual report for 1829 I have examined (it is now in our 
New-York office); but, while he speaks of the causes of failure as to the 
success of the locomotive, he does not give the day on which the 
experiment was made. 

I am sorry that I am unable to fix the exact day on which the trialtrip of 
the first locomotive was made, but there is no doubt it occurred some time 
from the 3d to the 8th of August, 1829. Yours very truly, 

C. F. YOUNG, 

General Superintendent. 

Determined to leave no stone unturned and no effort untried to establish 
the exact day the first locomotive was run upon a railroad in America, the 
author (taking the hint from Mr. Young's letter) addressed the postmaster 
of Montrose, relative to the old file of newspapers said to be in 
existence, stating the object of his inquiry. In a few days he received a 
reply from a lady, Miss Emily C. Blackman, offering her aid and services 
in examining the said file, and through her energy and perseverance he 
received much valuable information, by following which, he was rewarded 
with complete success. In one of Miss Blackman's letters, she corroborates 
Mr. Young's information, by the following extract from the Montlose paper: 

Melancholy Accident. We are informed that a young man, by the name of 
Adams, was severely injured on Saturday last, at Honesdale, by the sudden 
and unexpected discharge of a cannon. Adams and others were engaged in 
firing signals on starting the locomotive-engine. 

From the Dundaff Republican, but no date. 

Through the kindness of Miss Blackman, the author learned that a file of 
the Dundaff Republican of 1829 could be obtained from Dilton Barrington, 
Esq., of Carbondale; who, on application, kindly forwarded the same to the 
author. From this file, under date of Thursday, August 13, 1829, we 
extract the following: 

"Melancholy Accident. We are informed that a young man, by the name of 
Adams, was severely injured on Saturday last, at Honesdale," etc., etc. 



CHAPTER XV.
LANDING IN AMERICA.

THE author was next, at a loss how to account for the long intervals some 
six weeks or more, which elapsed after the Stourbridge Lion arrived in New 
York, by Mr. Allen's letter, before its first appearance upon the railroad 
at Honesdale; when the prompt and indefatigable lady correspondent, Bliss 
Blackman, again came to his relief with a statement abstracted from her 
own private journal, which was as follows: 

From Morning Courier and New York Inquirer, June 12, 1829. 

Locomotive-Engines.-We yesterday attended the first exhibition of a 
locomotive-engine, called The Lion, imported by the Delaware and Hudson 
Canal Company, to be used upon their railway. On Wednesday, the engine, 
just imported, was tried, and gave such general satisfaction, that the 
present exhibition was unanimously attended by gentlemen of science and 
particular intelligence. The engine was put up in Mr. Kimball's 
manufactory, by Horatio Allen, Esq., who went to England to purchase it 
for the company, and it gives us great satisfaction to say that the most 
important improvements which have lately been made in the construction of 
these engines originated with him. It is of nine horse power, having a 
boiler sixteen and a half feet long, with two cylinders, each of three-
feet stroke. It is calculated to propel from sixty to eighty tons, at five 
miles per hour. The power is applied to each wheel at about twelve inches 
from the center, and the adhesive power of the wheel, arising from the 
weight of the engine, will give locomotion to the whole structure. 

The steam was raised by the Lackawaxen coal, and sustained (although there 
was no friction) at between forty and fifty pounds to the inch. 

We were delighted with the performance of the engine, and have no doubt 
but the enterprising company to whom it belongs will reap a rich reward 
for their enterprise and perseverance. 

"Pleased as we were, however, with the engine, we were much more pleased 
with the practical demonstration offered, of the importance and usefulness 
of the coal which the company propose to bring to market. It is now 
reduced to a certainty that the Lackawaxen coal will generate steam in 
sufficient quantity to answer all the purposes to which it is applied, and 
this fact is not only of great importance to the company, but is worth 
millions to our State." 

To the kindness of Mr. Yarrington, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, we are 
indebted for the opportunity to examine an old file of the Dundaff 
Republican, published in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, for the year 
1829. Under date of July 23, 1829, we find the following, announcing the 
arrival at Honesdale of the Stourbridge Lion from New-York, via Delaware 
and Hudson Canal: 

The boats begin to arrive with the traveling-engines and railroad 
machinery; all is bustle and business. The engine intended for this end of 
the road is a plain, stout work of immense height, weighing about seven 
tons, and will travel four miles per hour, with a train of thirty to 
thirty-six carriages, loaded with two tons of coal each; the engine is 
called the Stourbridge Lion, its boiler being built something in shape of 
that animal, and painted accordingly. Now imagine to yourself the 
appearance of that animal, the body at least twelve feet in length and 
five in diameter, traveling at the rate of four or five miles per hour, 
together with a host of young ones in train, and you will have some idea 
of the scene before us; but the enchantment is broken, and in a few days 
the whole will be set in motion, and we will now give you information 
that, when the whole is in operation, we shall give a general notice that 
we intend to hold a day of rejoicing on the completion of the same, and 
shall give a general invitation to our fellow-citizens to attend. 

We have procured a large cannon, and intend to station it on the top of 
the high peak, to sound on the occasion. 

"A STRICT OBSERVER."

The following description of the locomotive Stourbridge Lion and its first 
experimental trip, from the pen of the Hon. John Torry, a resident of 
Honesdale, and a spectator of the events on that occasion, we will present 
in his own language: 

HONESDALE, March 28, 1870. 

WM. H. BROWN, ESQ.,- 

DEAR SIR: Yours of the 16th inst., asking for information and particulars 
respecting the trial-trip of the first locomotive in Honesdale, came duly 
to hand. I have conversed with numerous persons who I thought would be 
likely to remember incidents concerning it, and have seen my brother, who 
kept my father's accounts in 1829 (who was in Minnesota when A. F. Young, 
Esq., was seeking information). 

From his memorandum made at the time, the precise slate of the trial is 
determined (viz., August 8, 1829). I have prepared a statement embodying 
so many of the incidents as it seems to me you would think of any 
interest, and probably including some which might better be omitted, as 
well as some which you will have obtained from other sources, and have 
appended as foot-notes such copies of the entries I have found as relate 
to the subject. 

The statements I have made are partly from my own knowledge, partly such 
as I have obtained from interviews with persons who were present, and 
whose statements I consider reliable, and partly from written memoranda, 
from which I have made extracts. You can use so much of it as you think 
advisable, and in such form as you please. 

Dr. Losey, to whom you wrote, died on the 9th inst. The first locomotive 
run by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, on their railroad at 
Elonesdale, was constructed in Stourbridge, England (a manufacturing town 
on the river Stour, some fifteen miles westward from Birmingham). 

Its plan of construction was much less simple than that of those now in 
use. From the great number of its rods and joints, some who were observers 
of its experimental trial on the road, describe it as looking like a 
mammoth grasshopper, having three or four times the usual number of legs. 
Its driving-wheels were of oakwood, banded with a heavy wrought-iron tire, 
and the wont was ornamented with 3 large, fierce-looking face of a lion, 
in bold relief, and it bore the name of "Stourbridge Lion." 

This locomotive and two others, purchased by or made for the company in 
England, arrived in New York in May, 1829, and it was expected the 
company's railroad would be completed in time to have the celebration of 
the opening of the railroad, and of the running of the first locomotive 
upon it, on the 4th of July of that year. But the month August came before 
the railroad was so far completed that the formal opening could be 
attempted. 

The locomotive having been transported by canal to Honesdale, the 
'Stourbridge Lion' was elevated, by the use of a temporary inclined plane, 
to the level of the railroad, and put in running order, and placed upon 
the rails; and everything thus got in readiness for the trial. On 
Saturday, August 8, 1829, the fire was kindled and steam raised, and, 
under the management of Mr. Horatio Allen, the 'wonderful machine' was 
found capable of moving, to the great joy of the crowd of excited 
spectators. After running it back and forth on the portion of the road 
between the canal basin and the high railroad-bridge across the west 
branch of the Lackawaxen, Mr. Allen started it, with no person 
accompanying him, and without any car being attached, and ran it with good 
speed around the curve and across the bridge, and up the railroad about 
one and a half mile, to where the railroad was crossed by a common road-
bridge, placed too low to admit of the passage of the locomotive under it. 
Here he reversed the engine and ran it back to the place of starting, 
greeted by the shouting cheers of the people and the booming of cannon. 
Mr. Alva Adams, a mechanic, while assisting to fire the cannon, had his 
arm so badly shattered that amputation became necessary. 

After repeating the trial a few times, the 'Stourbridge Lion' was removed 
from the track and left standing by the side of the railroad, with no 
covering, but a temporary roof, until the approach of winter. 

These experiments demonstrated that the manner of construction of the 
railroad was not sufficiently firm and substantial for a locomotive-road, 
the rails being of hemlock-timber, six inches thick by twelve inches deep, 
keyed (or wedged) into gains cut in cross-ties of hemlock-timber, placed 
ten feet apart, with a flat bar of iron fastened by screws upon the top of 
the rail, the gauge (or width) of track being four feet three inches. They 
also demonstrated that the plan of construction of the locomotive was not 
such as to afford a probability of its being successfully used for the 
purpose designed, with any such changes in the road as were then deemed 
reasonable. 

The failure of success was a great disappointment, not only to the 
directors and stockholders of the company, but also to the community, who 
were interested in the prosperity of the county. 

While thus standing by the side of the railroad, it was an object of great 
dread to timid children who were obliged to pass by it; and many, now 
residing in Honesdale, remember the care they were accustomed to take, 
when children, to avoid passing near the fierce- looking 'lion.' In 
November, 1829, it was focused in with rough boards, as it thus stood 
beside the railroad, though some of the boards on the sides were soon 
displaced, to give opportunity for the curious to examine it more readily. 
It remained where thus housed some fourteen or fifteen years, until so 
many of its parts were detached or broken, that it was entirely disabled 
and considered worthless as a locomotive; when the boiler was removed to 
Carbondale, and used with a stationary engine in one of the company's 
shops, and the wheels, axles, and loose parts, were sold for old iron. 
Some of the loose parts are still kept as mementos of the first locomotive 
run upon a railroad en America. The boiler is now in use in Carbondale. 

In the original 'Labor Account' kept by Mr. Stephen Torry, for his 
father's Honesdale business, in 1829, is the following entry: 

SATURDAY, August 8, 1829. 

The locomotive-engine "Stourbridge Lion" was started by steam this 
morning. Alva Adams had his arm blown off while firing the cannon. 

No work was done until after the middle of forenoon. 

In the accounts kept by Stephen Torry for his father, in 1829, is a charge 
to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, under date of 'November 7,
1829,' for 'boards to cover the steam-engine.' 

The foregoing extracts are true copies from the original papers relating 
to Jason Torry's business. 

Respectfully, 

JOHN TORRY. 

Annexed a description of the engine by Mr. David Matthew, who had charge 
of the men who were employed to fit up the engine when it arrived in New 
York, and had been landed at the works of the West Point Foundery, New 
York. 

Mr. Matthew writes, under date of December 6, 1809: 

"The 'Stourbridge Lion' was a four-wheeled engine, with all four wheels 
connected by pins in the wheels. The boiler was a rounds cylindrical one; 
no drop part for the furnace, and the smolebox had a well-painted lion's 
head on it. The cylinders were vertical, placed at the back and each side 
of the furnace, with grasshopper beams and connecting-rods from them to 
the crankpins in the wheels. The back wheels and the side-rods between 
them and the front wheels; the out end of the beams were supported by a 
pair of radius rods which formed the parallel motion. This engine was 
built by Foster, Rastrick Aid Company, at Stourbridge, England." 



CHAPTER XVI.
MORE FACTS ON THE "STOURBRIDGE LION".

In September, 1829, a locomotive built by George Stephenson, at his works 
in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, arrived in New York and was to be seen, for some 
time, in the yard of E. Dunscomb, Water Street; its wheels were raised 
above the ground and kept running for the amusement of the crowds 
attracted by its novelty. Of this engine Mr. Horatio Allen speaks in a 
letter to the author as follows: 

"This locomotive, or motive (but not progressive motion), was not the 
engine which made the first run on the railroad at Honesdale, 
Pennsylvania. This engine (built by Stephenson at Newcastle-upon-Tyne) was 
set up at an iron-yard on the East-River side of New York, and being 
blocked up, so that the wheels could not touch the ground, the engine 
could go through the motions without running." 

As we are determined that our history of the first locomotives in America 
shall lack no evidence to sustain the facts we record, we cannot close our 
testimony in the case of the "Stourbridge Lion" without removing an 
impression which many persons entertain, and have often declared to the 
author, that this sanze old engine, which came from England and made the 
first trip on a railroad in Americas is still in existence somewhere in 
New England. Such is not the fact. Not withstanding the testimony upon 
this point to be found in the latter part of the Hon. John Torry's letter 
to the author, where he distinctly records the ultimate fate of the Lion, 
we have another letter from an old citizen of that region, the same 
gentleman who favored us with the file of the Reptublsec, Mr. Dilton 
Yarrington, from which we will extract such parts as relate to the final 
disposition of this locomotive, thus: 

"As far as the locomotive was concerned, it was considered a failure from 
the very first time it was used. It stood around for some years, and by 
degrees was taken to pieces and wasted away like an old cripple. I worked 
up some of the fragments of it in the shop in 1S49. 

"The boiler is now in use here in Carbondale, in a foundery, where it has 
been in use for twenty years past, and is still considered reliable. The 
iron plates composing it are full half an inch thick. Mr. Yarrington was a 
blacksmith in the company's shops, an old citizen of that region, and 
lived in Dundee from 182a to 1847."

We will now close our description of the events incident to the first 
locomotive in America, by giving our readers Mr. LillyÕs account of his 
ride alone the "Stourbridge Lion," in a speech made by him in 1801, at 
Dunkirk, on the occasion of the celebration in honor of the completion of 
the New York and Erie Railroad, anal transmitted by him to the author. 
Alter alluding in terms of commendation to those who, by their talents and 
perseverance, had carried through to a successful completion the great 
work just finished, Mr. Allen continued: 

"Staving occupied your time with these statements of perhaps no great 
interest, but the omission of which would have been an act of injustice, I 
leave thought that, on this great railroad occasion, a reference to some 
of the incidents in the early railroad history of this country might be 
appropriate. To bring before you as strikingly as in my power, it has 
occurred to me to lead your imagination to the conception of the scene 
which would present itself if, on some fine morning, you were placed at an 
elevation, and gifted for the moment with a power of vision which would 
command the railroad movements of the whole United States. There would be 
presented an exciting picture of activity, in a thousand iron horses 
starting forth from the various railroad centers, or traversing the 
surface of the continent in all directions. When the imagination has 
attained to some conception of the scene, let it seek to go back to the 
time when only one of these iron monsters was in existence on this 
continent, and was moving forth, the first of his mighty race. Then was 
it? where was it? and who awakened its energies and directed its 
movements? It was in the year 1829, on the banks of the Lackawaxen, at the 
commencement of the railroad connecting the canal of the Delaware and 
Hudson Company with their coal- mines, and he who addresses you was the 
only person on that locomotive. 

"The circumstances which led to my being left alone on the engine were 
these: The road had been built in the summer, the structure was of hemlock-
timber, and the rails, of large dimensions, notched on to caps placed far 
apart. The timber had cracked and warped, from exposure to the sun. After 
about five hundred feet of straight line, the road crossed the Lackawaxen 
Creek on a trestle-work about thirty feet high, and with a curve of three 
hundred and fifty or four hundred feet radius. The impression was very 
general that the iron monster would either break down the road or that it 
would leave the track at the curve and plunge into the creek. Any reply to 
apprehension was, that it was too late to consider the probability of such 
occurrences; that there was no other course but to have the trial made of 
the strange animal which had been brought here at such great expense, but 
that it was not necessary that more than one should be involved in its 
fate; that I would take the first ride alone, and that the time would come 
when I should look back to this incident with great interest. As I placed 
my hand on the throttle- valve handle I was undecided whether I would move 
slowly or with a fair degree of speed; but believing that the road would 
prove safe, and preferring, if we did go down, to go down handsomely and 
without any evidence of timidity, I started with considerable velocity, 
passed the curve over the creek safely, and was soon out of hearing of the 
cheers of the large assembledge present. At the end of two or of three 
miles, I reversed the salves and returned without accident to the place of 
starting, having thus made the first railroad trip by locomotive on the 
Western Hemisphere." 

Our readers are doubtless now satisfied that to the Delaware and Hudson 
Canal Company is justly due the credit of having introduced and run upon 
their railroad the first locomotive that made a revolution with its 
driving-wheel upon the American Continent. And although this engine proved 
to be impracticable under the circumstances, it was caused by no defect in 
its construction, or the principle involved, nor from a lack of power and 
ability to perform all the duties that might have been required; but from 
this cause alone, that the road had not been built to sustain such a 
weight as it was called upon to bear when this new instrument of power was 
placed upon it. The road had been constructed for horsepower alone, as all 
other roads were in this country at that early period, and for a long time 
after, even in England. No idea of a locomotive had then been conceived in 
this country. Nevertheless, these machines were the forerunners of a 
mighty race of iron monsters, which only two years after were to be seen 
traversing every section of the country, even stretching their course from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

We will now leave the "Stourbridge Lion" where we last heard of it, by the 
roadside, snugly stowed away in a shed, constructed of hemlock-boards, 
purchased from Jason Torry, Esq., as it appears from the copy of the 
original entry in his books, in November, 1829, and pursue our history a 
few years later, by recording events which soon after followed the advent 
of the Lion.



CHAPTER XVII.
FIRST MEETING OF THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY.

The first meeting for the purpose of forming a rail road company in the 
United States, to connect the waters of the East with the waters of the 
West, was held in the city of Baltimore, on the 12th day of February, 
1827. The practicability of the project was left to a committee who soon 
after reported at the second meeting, on the 19th, and a resolution was 
passed to obtain a charter from the Legislature. The charter was obtained, 
and on April 24, 1827, the company was organized, and the first board of 
directors elected. 

The construction of the road was commenced by laying a corner-stone, July 
4, 1828, attended by one of the most magnificent processions of the 
military and civil associations, trades, and professions, ever witnessed 
on any occasion in the United States. The author was in Baltimore at that 
time, and participated as one in the vast crowd assembled to take part in 
the imposing ceremonies of that eventful day. Never in his life (and he 
has been present on many demonstrations on other occasions) has he 
witnessed a more magnificent display than divas made on that day. 

The venerable Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, then over ninety years of 
age, the only survivor of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, 
was present on the occasion and laid the corner-stone of this stupendous 
fabric, with appropriate ceremonies. It is related that, on this occasion, 
after the imposing ceremonies were over, the venerable patriot made use of 
the expression to one of his friends present: "I consider this among the 
most important acts of my life, second only to my signing the Declaration 
of Independence, if even it be second to that;" and to the end of his life 
he continued a firm friend of the work. 

The construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was commenced in 1828, 
and completed in 1852. On January 12, 1853, in honor of the completion of 
the road, a magnificent banquet took place in Wheeling, its western 
terminus. At that time it was the longest railroad in the world. At this 
banquet Mr. Swann, the president of the company, in his address, made this 
beautiful allusion to the venerable and patriotic Carroll: "There are 
those present who witnessed the enthusiasm which attended the laying of 
the first stone, by the illustrious Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. 
Charqhen et venerable nornen.." He then produced the trowel which had been 
used by Mr. Carroll, and was still preserved by the company, with this 
memorandum on it: "This trowel was used by Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, 
to lay the first stone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, July 4, 1898." 
This interesting relic was received by the assembled company with 
rapturous applause. Mr. John B. Morris, who delivered the address for the 
president and directors, took occasion to remark of Mr. Carroll, in 
connection with the interesting event: "In the full possession of all his 
mental powers, with his feelings and affections still buoyant and warm, he 
now declares that the proudest act of his life, and the most important in 
its consequences to his country, was the signature of the Declaration of 
Independence; the next, the laying of the corner-stone of the work which 
is to perpetuate the union of the American States, and to make the East 
and the West as one household in the facilities of intercourse and the 
feelings of mutual affection." Benjamin H. Latrobe, Esq., then followed in 
a few brief remarks, in reply to the beautiful and flattering allusion 
made to his services by the president of the road. Mr. Latrobe was the 
chief engineer of the long work just completed, and to his great energy 
and ability, as well as to his indomitable perseverance in overcoming all 
obstacles, the success of this stupendous undertaking is largely to be 
attributed. To the kindness of Mr. Latrobe, also, is the author indebted 
for much of the valuable information contained in these pages, and also 
for the pen-and-ink drawing of the Peter Cooper engine, of which we will 
speak in its proper place, and the sketch and experiments of Mr. Thomas's 
sailing-car and several other machines that succeeded it. 

As soon as the corner-stone of the road was laid, preparations were made 
to push the work through with as much energy and expedition as could be 
exercised in the manner of construction for a railroad deemed absolutely 
necessary at that early day. The amount of expense involved in the 
prosecution of this work, when compared with the construction of railroads 
at the present day, only fills our minds with the more wonder and 
admiration at the boldness displayed by the projectors of such a 
stupendous undertaking as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. We will briefly 
describe the mode of construction of this early road, as it will no doubt 
prove interesting to our readers who are only conversant with the present 
method of building railroads. The method of construction was reported to 
the author by a gentleman now living in Baltimore, who was engaged in one 
of the branches of the enterprise at the time, thus: 

"After the ground was brought to a level for the track, two square holes 
were dug, four feet apart, twenty inches wide, two feet long, and two feet 
deep. In these holes broken stones were put, sufficient to fill to the 
surface. Tney were then securely rammed down. Each particle of stone was 
tested and passed through an iron ring, to insure its proper dimensions. 
On this point great care was taken that every stone should be of the 
uniform size required. After the foundation is made, a trench six inches 
deep, and filled with stone, broken and tested with the ring as at first, 
is extended across the track from one of the filled-up holes to another 
opposite, upon which a sleeper made of cedar, seven feet long, is laid. By 
this process the foundation of the rail is protected from the effects of 
dampness or frosts, and firmness and stability are imparted to it. These 
cedar crosspieces were laid with great accuracy and care; a split-level 
was used to adjust them properly. In each end of these cedar crosspieces, 
immediately above the stone foundation, notches were cut and carefully 
leveled; into these notches were laid wooden rails or stringpieces, and 
securely kept in their places by wedges. These stringpieces were of yellow 
pine, from twelve to twenty-four feet long and six inches square, and 
slightly leveled on the top of the upper side, for the flange of the 
wheels, which at that time was on the outside. On these string-pieces iron 
rails were placed and securely nailed down with wrought-iron nails, four 
inches long. The earth between these cedar sleepers was carefully removed, 
so as not to come in contact with the bottom of the string-pieces, and 
thus the decay, which otherwise might take place, was prevented. Fret, 
with all these difficulties to contend with, our pioneers of the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad persevered until they brought their work to a successful 
termination. After several miles of this description of road had been 
made, long granite slabs were substituted for the cedar crosspieces and 
the yellow-pine stringers. Beyond Vinegar Hill, these huge blocks of this 
solid material could be seen deposited along the track, and gangs of 
workmen engaged in the various operations of dressing, drilling, laying, 
and affixing the iron. 

"When the track was finished to Vinegar Hill, a distance of about seven 
miles, cars were put upon it for the accommodation of the officers, and to 
gratify the curious by a ride."