The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1851-06-10
The Firat Locomotive on an American
Railway.

Major Allen, the chief engineer Of the Erie
Railroad, made speech in which he gives thrill
ling description of the first locomotive trip on the
continent:
Having occupied your time with these state
ments OF perhaps no general interest, but the oms-
SION ot which would have been an act of Injustice
] have thought that this great railroad occasion
reference to some of the inc idents in the early
railroad history OF this country might be appro-
pirate.
" To bring before you as strkngy as is in nv
power, 1t has occurred to me to lead your imagina-
ton TO the conception of the scene which would
present itself, II on some fine morning you were
placed at an elevation, and gifted for the moment
with power OF vision which would command the
railroad movements of the whole United States
There would be presented an exciting picture of
activity in the thousand iron horses starting forth
from the various railroad centres, traversng the
surface OF the cont nent in all directions. When
the Imagination has attained to some conception of
this scene, let it seek to go back to the time when
only of these iron monsters in existence
this continent, and moving forth, the first
OF the mighty race. When was it? Where was
it2 Aud who awakened its energies and directed
its movements? 1t was in the year 1928, the
banks OF the Lackawanna, at the commencement
oil the railroad connecting the canal of the Dela-
ware and Hudson Canal Company with their coal
mnes and he who addresses you was the only
person on that locomotive. The circumstances
which led TO my being 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 the After about 500 feet of stragh,
line, the road crossed the Lacawanna Creek, on
ireste work about thirty feet high, and with a
curve OF $50 feet to 400 feet radius. The impres.
sion very general that this iron monster would
either break down the road, or that 1t would leave
the track the curve, and plunge into the creek.
My reply to such apprehension was that it wa,
too late to consider the probability of such occur
rences that there was other course but to have
the trial made of the strange animal, which haC
been brought there at such great expense but tina
II was not necessary that more than one should bt
involved in its fate; that | would take the first
ride alone, and that the lime would come when
should look back to this incident with grea
interest.
AS l placed my hand on the throttle valve
handle, was undecided whether / would NOV,
slowly, or wtha fair degree of speed but beievn.
that the road would prove safe, and preferring, j
we did 60 down, to go down handsomely, anC
without any evidence Of timidity, started will
considerable velocity-passed the curve over tn,
creek safely, and was soon cut of hearing of tn
cheers Of the large assemblage present. At the en-
OF Two or three miles, | reversed the valves, an
returned without accident to the place of starting
having ihus made the first railroad trip by lucomo
tive on The Western Hemisphere.
" So rapid has been the railroad development i
this country, that the impression is probably nearl
universal that the system was imported from Eng
land full grown; but such was not the case AM
some circumstances illustrative of this fact may b
of interest, occasion like the present. althoug
time will permit but summary reference.