The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-03-07
THE LOCOMOTIVE.
A Lecture on the Iron Horse.


The Philadelphia Press says: TIL
! regular meeting of the Franklin Inst
tute took place Thursday evening
: The President, Mr.. Coleman SelIeni
called the meeting to order at eigh
O'Clock, when the minutes of the pre-
vious meeting and the report of th
board of managers were read and ar
) proved. At the conclusion of the OF
dinary business Mr.. Joseph Harrison
Jr., was announced and read q mos
interesting and instructive paper ol
the locomotive and the share takeI
by Philadelphia in its improvement
The room was filled with an intelli
gent and appreciative audience, VIII
frequently manifested their interes
in the subject and Its handling by tint
most fiattering applause of che lectur
er. Mr.. Harrison occupied nearly twt
hours in the reading of his paper, anC
delighted his audience with capital il
Illustrations of the earlier experiments
in engine-building He went on int
elaborate and entertaining history o
the locomotive from its earliest con,
ceptiOn in the brain of the immortal
Stephenson to the later efforts Oi
Messrs. Norris, Baldwin, and other:
of Philadelphia, who have brought il
to its present degree of perfection.
The lecturer began his remarks by
a fiattering and graceful tribute to Col
/ William d. Lewis, of this city, 70
whose untiring energy and zeaiin the
early development of our present rail-
way system the country is indebted.
He offered to read a poem written by
that gentleman on the subject of the
locomotive engine which was printed
years ago in the Evening Telegraph,
/ but upon asking Col. Lewis consent,
he being present in the audience)
mOdestly requested Mr.. Harrison to
refrain. The lecturer then described
the first engine built by the Stephen
sons of England, viz: The "ROeket"
which was to compete for prize of
fered for the best machine of the kind
with the Novelty" built by Mr..
John Ericsson of more recent 'MOni-
tori fame, and two others designed
by eminent English engineers. The
'.ROeket'' carried off the prize, but was
crude in design and faulty in con-
struetiOn, although thelecturer assert
ed that in all that goes to make up
the locomotive engine theStephensOn
machine was nearly as perfect as
those of the present day. The first
practical effort made in this country,
however, to construct self-prOpellipg
wagon was made by Mr.. Oliver Ev-
ans as early as 1915. At the time Mr..
Evans was making his first expert
ments he was sharply criticised by
many English scientific writers, but
the lecturer was happy to say that
almost all of the principles in the con-
struction of locomotives discovered or
developed by Mr.. Evans were not on
Iy adopted by the Stephensons tnem-
selves, but have been adhered to by
all English locomotive builders to the
present day.
Mr.. Evans found a valuable friend
and helper in Mr.. Patterson, then
Professor of Mathematics in the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania. Aided by
this gentleman, Mr.. Evans built
steam-dredge for dredging out docks,
and in construction it was quite SINH
lar to those in use at the present time.
It was set in a scOW, which was itself
set on four wheels. The motive pow
W tlo a 6LudlA SlCdAA GA1ACCa IL
the bottom of the scOw, and power
was applied to the wheels by means
Of ordinary belts. The same engine
supplied the power for the dredge
when In operation, thus acting dual
This queer machine was
named by the inventor the "Ouuctor |
Amphibolis." It was intended not |
only to propel itself on land but to
likewise propei itself in the water by /
means OF paddle-wheels substituted |
for those that ran over the ground. |
The invention, however, was only
partial success but enough had been
from it t. know that a /
steam wagon or self-lOeOmOtor was 4
Inspired with the most
hopes from the partial sue
eess of his invention, Mr.. Evans ut
.ered the astonishing prediction that
he time WoulllUot -osroa 1llllAn a man
nielI0 go IN Tsakfast in Baltimore, dine /
N Philadelphia, and take supper IN /
New York on the same day. Mr.. Ev-
ans died i'm 1919, and of course did not |
even see the first development look
ng to n verifcatiOn of his singular |
prophecy. i
Eight or nine years after Mr.Evans'
Ieath the firm of Nicholas & James
Johnson, then of this city, construct
I'd an oddIy-cOntrived machine, OF /
which the lecturer exhibited an illus
ration. 1t was comparatively unsuc- |
,essful as a locomotive, but served to |
excite attention and inspire a feeling
IF ambition in the minds of inventors |
and builders. From this time forward
yigantic strides were made in devel-
1ping the new invention. 1t was
about this time that Stephenson built |
the "ROcket" and the success of that
machine created great excitement IN
this country.
MARYLAND was the first State to grant
4 charter for the building of Railroad.
South Carolina followed her, and un- |
der a charter granted by that State
the present South Carolina Railroad /
was begun. The Columbia, now a 1
part of the Great Pennsylvania Rail-
road. was also started then, and soon /
the Philadelphia, Germantown, and |
road was got under way. |
Then came Camden and AmbOy and
others. The South Carolina road was
the first to encourage the building of
in America, by giving to
the West Point Foundry an order for |
such a machine in 1880.
The first locomotive ever run IN
thiscountry, however, was in 1879 on
the Delaware & Hudson road. This
was the "Lion," an engine built in
England, and brought to this country |
by Horatio Allen, Esq, who rode on
the trial trip on the road mentioned.
Mr.. Allen, therefore, may properly
said to be the first man to have had a
a railroad ride in this country.
Mr.. Harrison here dwelt at cOnsid-
cradle length upon the progress made
from this time forward in the i'm
movement of the American lOcOmO-
tive. He recited the efforts made by
Colonel Long of the United States
Army, Messrs. William Norris and M
w. Baldwin, Of Philadelphia, DIR.
Phineas Davis, Of York, Pa, and the
Hon. P. Cooper, Of New York. Mr..
Davis experimental on the Baltimore
& Ohio road with an engine of his
own construction.
Two engines of Stephenson's design
wee imported from England IN 1881,
usei on the New Castle & French
town rOaQ. ln6S6 cuklncS MCAC SCS
I'D by NJ. w. Baldwin, and from this
exteriment Mr.. Baldwin was enabled
to make Improvements, which being
still further perfected have since made
thst gentleman's name famous as one
of the first locomotive builders in the
world.
In 1880 Mr.. Campbell, of Philadel-
mia, invented the duplicate driving
wheel. Before this all engines built
had but one pair. The lecturer then
fuIy described the value of this i'm
prtvement, and following out that
ven, gave an interesting description
in mechanical language of the present
locomotive in use on our railways.
MI Harrison closed with handsome
alIlsiOn to the tremendous strides
male by the American people in the
Development of their railway system.
At the close the audience left high
Iy delighted With their evenings
en- ertainment.
4 Mothers Work.
Many a discouraged mother folds
hei tired hands at night, and feels as
;f e,a had after s.ll done nOthiuU al