The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1875-01-27
PIONEER RAILRoADING.o .ol.
The Mm Who Built aud Ran hs Ffs
.el,.,.8 ASaerican Locoa,otice. ,.s. .s...

The MN Who Built aud Ran Ms First
,el,.,1 Id Asaerieun Locoaotice. ,.sn .@..,
.oas,B ,Hsfsaa n. Y. Graphie.l % II F-,eta.
h Peter Cooper, the venerable millionaire.
was found recently sitting at little. desk
in his private Office ut his residence. i
built and ran the first locomotive engine
ever used on an American railroad said
he. He was in excellent spirits. aud con-
yersed as viyaciously as man Of half his
age. .Iwas in Baltimore ut the time. |
owned three thousand acres Of land in that
city--tbe same property now ownsd by the
Canton Company. | sold it to thenI. Il
cost me SOS. .O0U. but | don't doubt il is
valued al SIS 900, 000 70 day Nell. as
I was saying. the. Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road was horse railroad ut that time. this
was 10 lS29--snd ran to Ellicctt's Mil Is.
distance of thirteeu miles srom Balti-
more. q The road didn't pa5, aiid the
stockholders were beginning ~ get fright
eued. They refused to invest any more
money In the road | was afraid il would
stop running. | went to the directors aud
asked them 70 held on awhile until tried
steam locomotive that | had an idea
would DO Tor the road. You see. 10 shat
short road there we're good many curves
--short curves--for il ran through srough
rocky valley. The opinion had come
from England tnat no engine could
be built 10 turn curve Of less than 300
feet. aud some Of these curves were only
200 feets. T9ttH 5g# h *a ta
jtt.Ross winaus. an engineer on the rail-
road-Ross is the man that made 50 many
millions out Of tho Russians. building To-
comotives for them. lie is alive now. |
saw bin o. Nexport last summer. Hes
got iue place there. welIhe gave me
30 invention Of his and | built the lJcomo-
tive. Ii was a little thing. aud weighed
only q ton. Why and Mr.. Cooper
laughed at the recollection; the boiler
WASH Us big Is barrel. But here. I'll
let you read what Mr.. Latrobe says shout
Il. lie wss counsellor Of the railroad,
nd ] guess be is yet. He rode on the
engine With me. Here, read what be
says. -. -. -.
While Mr.. Cooper was speaking be had
fiseh from bis easy chair. aud was exami-
ming several papers which lie took from =
desk IN the corner. talking all the while,
j. Alb, here il IS said be unfolding large
printed chart iand returning 70 his seat
Ills aged band lrembled as be held out
the sheet for the visitors inspection. 4
rough wood cut ola primitive eugiue and
eat adorned the top Of the sheet; beneath.
the page vas fiIled with extracts from n
leetdfe deiisefed by UcrrselCr latfopc.
The cut represented vehicle as large as a
hand-car. resting on four slight wheels,
and containing an upright boiler aud
smoke.s,aek and six persons. Nothing
eise vas sisibls except two upright bars
meeting like tie strokes Of an inverted Y
in trout of the engine. Mr.. Cooper ex.
rlained that this was tho machinery aud
The nfan Standing BY il was himself. AL
the people wore lcu hats except Mr. Coop
er laccCrding 10 the cut), aud be was dis
tineuished by high, broad.brim,ned
beaver. lie was thirty nine years Of age
then. and Mr.. Latrobe was few years
Younger 4 had been q Common Coun.
Gilman al tttat time. said Mr.. Cooper. 10
patentIcsis. II represented The Twelfth
ward when L extended from the Bible
House 10 kingsbridgc.
AT NJ. Ceoper's suggestion the writer
glanced over tho printed matter which ex.
planned the engine and related itsexploits.
Ne. Cooper, Il seenrs. invited The direct.
ors q the rosd, with q few others, 20 &C.
company him on lYis trial trip when The en-.
gine was eompleted. The party that &C.
ceptsd the invitation numbered About for.
" ono. Tlnrty-sis we're conveyed in orr
cara grcat carfy-all wagon Hou eal
wheels-1and tho Othor Eve rods with Mr
Cooper on tho engine. The machinery Q
The locomoiise did not diaer from that o
the time ID which u was built ID wa
sim2ly combination of belts and cog
4 .sl..el. yha ar<ssakf narasearx IN kooi