Omaha daily bee., 1884-06-17
w RIVAL ENGINES,
The Trip That Made the Fortune of "a
Locomotive builder.
O. X. CoUTANT,
Postmaster.

n old engineer in the New York Sun.
Speaking of Rogers the locomotive
builder, reminds me of IN interesting in.
cident connected with the early days of
locomotive building and r%ailroading in
this country. Commissioner Swinburne,
who died at Patterson last fall, was one
of the first practical locomotive builders
and he commenced business on a small
scale about forty years ago in that city.
Rogers was then laying the foundation of
the works that are now known all over
the world. S%winburne and Rogers were
rivals.
The Erie road was then in operation
only as far as Middletown. Both of the
/ atterson locomotive builders had turned
out locomotives for the road and there
was great diversity of opinion among the
engineers as to the fastest of the differ
emit machines. The The Swinburne en-
gines had a firm friend and advocate in
Josh Martin, and the Rogers make was
championed by Cad Lyman, two of the
original pioneers on the Erie, and two
of the best that ever opened a throttle.
In 1850 the company purchased a loco.
motive from the Swinburne make. Swim.
burne W "a not looked upon with much
faver by the powers of the road at that
time, and the hope of iurnidg out a ma
chine that would make him solid, he did
the most of the work on this locomotive
with his own hands. She was called Mp.
II, and when she wal delivered to
the company to be tested,
Swinburne requested that she
be placed on John Martins run. But
she wasn't. Cad Lyman was told to
handle "a, and he took her. He reported
after every run that he couldn't make
time with her, and declared that he must
have a Rogers engine. Josh Martin was
sure that he could do good work with
Il, and he begged for the chance,
but she was taken off regular work
and put to duty as a gravel train.
well, Josh Martin almost broke heart
over that. Every chance he'd get he'd
run down to Piermont, took "a over, and
appeal to Master Mechanic Brant to. give
her a chance with him. Swinburne was
knocked fiat by the failure of his pet,
and he joined in with Martin for a new
trial. At last Brant got mad. He told
Josh to take II and 60 To- with her.
Josh had her taken back to the shop to
have her overhauled to see what was the
matter with her. Nothing wrong could
be found. Then he tried her on his run.
His first report of her abilities was that it
was all he could do to keep her from
getting to Susquehanna an hour ahead Of
time. That was a big feather in Swim
burne's cap, but two months later II and
Martin gave him a boost that started
him on the road to the So, 600. 900 he left
"The Erieroad was opened to Duukirk
in May, 1851. Early in that month Cad
Lyman was notified that he was to take
his engine, No. 100, and run one of the
Piermont to Dunkirk. The 100 was a
Rogers engine. Lyman started with
the train. 1t had nine cars, but they
were too heavy for Cad Lyman's engine,
and when they reached Middletown the
train was almost an hour behind time.
Then Superintendent Charles Minot tele-
graphed to Port Jervis to have old II and
Josh Martin on hand to take the place
of Lyman and his Rogers engine. josh
and II were waiting when the train got
to Porti Jervis. They coupled on.
Swinburne was one of the excursion
lists. When he found that his pet engine
was to try and redeem the character of the
road, he came near fainting. But away
Josh went, an hour behind time. If aver
a railroad train sung along the precipices
of the Delaware valley, it did that day.
Old Josh whirled that excursion train
into Narrowsburg in just thirty minutes,
aud the distance is thirty-four miles.
When he reached Deposit, sixty miles
further on, every minute of the lost time
was made up, and II tore down Lake
Erie into the western terminus of the
road only a few minutes behind the
schedule time. Swinburue was made,
and Josh Martin made him. The former
gathered in his millions. The latter was
running a switch engine at 800 a month
the last | ever heard of him, being too
old for regular train seavice."