The Elk Mountain pilot., 1881-08-04
RAILROAD FATHERS
An Interesting Account Of The ReeeIeeions
Of Peter Cooper and Horaio Allen.

The centennial anniversary of the
birth of Geordie " Stephenson, the
father Of the railroad, was celebrated
in elaborate style at Newcastle-on-
Tyne on the 9th inst. The fact that
the real fathers Of the American rail-
road system are still living IN a hale
and honored old age, and that at this
season the subject has particular in
terest for Americans-for never was
the work of railroad development
more active than at present-has in
duced a New York paper to print the
reccllections of Peter Cooper and
Horatio Allen.
WHEN PETER COOPER,
now sc years of age, was asked how
he became connected with the early
railroad interests of this country, and
to what extent, he replied that in the
year 1928 he purchased 5000 acres of
land IN the city of Baltimore and
erected thereon the Canton iron
works. The legislature had granted a
charter to d company to build a rail-
road for carrying passengers and mer
chandise. The capital stock of the
company was s5oo,ooo. The route
was from Baltimore through the Pa
tapsco valley to Ellicott mills, a dis
tance of I3 miles. The construction
of the road was very simple. There
were several short turns, which dis
couraged the projectors. who thought
that no engine could be built to take
these curves. They were almost de-
termined to
ABANDON The ROAD
when Peter Cooper told them that he
believed he could overcome the diff
Guilty. In his glue factory at New
York he had an old stationary engine
with a boiler about the size of barrel
and cylinder three and a half inches
in diameter. The whole engine could
easily be moved on a hand barrow.
This engine he removed to Baltimore.
He took it to a carriage makers,
it upon a truck, and con-
nected with it the wheels by an ordi-
nary crank. The day when they
made their trial trip there were 36
men on the engine. which carried its
own fuel and water. The thirteen
miles were made up grade IS feet to
the mile, in one hour and twenty
minutes, and the return trip in fifty
seven minutes This. said Mr.. Cooper,
WAS THE FIRST PASSENGER ENGINE
built in America and the first passen-
ger train that was ever drawn by an
engine on this continent. MIR. Cooper
said that he had no correspondence
with Stephenson about building his
engine. The engine was entirely Of
his own design, and four years after
ward Mr.. Gwynne, Of Baltimore, who
had previously compared the two en-
gines. published that Cooper's engine
was greater success than Stephen
sons. Mr.. Cooper's connection with
railroads ceased with the completion
of the engine ard its trial trip; but in
a few years ne built railroad eight
miles in length for the transportation
of ore to his blast furnace at Philadel-
phia. He did not build the engine,
however, and from that day he has
had no capital interest in railroads.
HoRATIo ALLEN, WHO WAS DRIVER
or engineer of the first locomotive in
America, is still living in New Jersey.
In conversation with the reporter he
laughed loudly as he recalled the
warning of the prophets of those days
concerning the absolute folly of at
to propel a carriage by steam
along two smooth rails. Mr.. Allen
was sent to Europe IN 1927 by the
Delaware & Hudson canal company
to report upon the prospect of steam
locomotion in that country and .the
of beginning similar work
here. While there he superintended
the construction of three locomotives,
one of which was built by George
Stephenson and one by Foster, Ras-
trick & Co., Stonebridge. The only
railroads then in use were