Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-04-05


BY HORsEs-THE FIRST AMERICAN LOcOMo-
TIvE-FACTs CONCERNING THE EARLY HISTORY
OF RAILROADS IN THIS CoUNTRY-A MAN WHO
HAS TRAVELLED OVER A MILLION AND A HALF
MILES.
As fast passenger train on the B. and O. road
entered the depot in this city the other day. tie
huge engine, which had made the run from
Baltimore here in forty-fve minutes. stopped
easily and gently at just the point on the track
where the hand which held the throttle designed
and the passengers on the train. without having
felt shock or jolt. left the cars and dispersed
in many directions
In the cab of the engine stood man whose
hair is gray and a little thin on top but his
active step. firm grasp, clear. healthy COM
peXtOn and bright blue eye show no signs of
the many years during which he has driven
his massive horse over the iron track.
through winter storm and summer sun
shine sa, until until he can say that he has
than almost any other man (it indeed there be
any exceptionl who is now alive This man is
William Galloway. who entered the service of
the Baltimore and Ohio company January %
1923, and who has ever since been in the con-
slant employment of that corporation.
The first work ever did connected with a
railway" said Mr. Galloway to STAR reporter.
was in connection with the Northern Central
road. At that time was teamng tor a farmer
in the vicinity Of Baltimore, and | broke the
ground for the first half mile of that road with
my plough when they began to lay the grade
That was at the planting of the corner
stone. and the place is now the eastern
end of the large tunnel of the Baltimore and
Potomac road in Baltimore. / afterwards
on January %, 1888, entered the employ
ment OF the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and
have been there ever since. The first three
years was delivering freight for the company
on Howard street, and at that time the entire
road from Baltimore to Frederick was operated
by horses and the cars used were like the horse
cars of to-day, very light and with only four
wheels | then became yardmaster at Mount
Clare and remained there four years. While
was there the Northern Central road got
an Englisil-bullt locomotive and began to run it
in opposition to US, which of course our COM
pany did not fancy. Mr.. Philip E. Thomas was
president OF the company at that time. and he
offered premium of 5000 to any American
manufacturer who would build a locomotive
which would run and do work. There was lively
competition among the iron workers immedi-
ately and a number of engines were built by
Peter Cooper and others. 1t has been said that
Peter Cooper built
THE FIRST AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE
which run In this country but that Is not so, the
first was built by Phineas Davis, at York, Pa
1t weighed four tons and was set up ready for
running and hauled on sled from his foundry,
over the hills to the yard at Mt Glare, where it
was placed on the track. COoper's engines
would not work. so we never used them, but
the little Davis machine took three loaded cars
and run them from Mt. Clare to Ellicott mills in
an hour. There were four drive wheels on it
and the plstOns worked up and down, similar to
the walking beams on a steam boat engine,
which made it look like grasShOpper and we
therefore called those engines the grasshoppers.
VIM. Norris, OF Philadelphia, built an engine
with TWO drive wheels. one on each side which
weighed eleven tons and which did good work.
1 think there are few OF these in existence
now. Christmas day. 1910, took nv seat in
the engine and have been running ever since
Shortly after this, Mr. Davis who had begun to
build his engines in Baltimore, started one on
an improved plan and he felt so sure Of success
that he told his wOrkmen that when the engine
was sci up and had proved its worth, he would
take them and their wives to Washington and
have good time of it. Well everything turned
out as he anticipated and he brought all the
Workmen, forty or fifty in number and their
families over here. and hada banquet at Browns
OLD hotel. that is now the Metropolitan; every
body had good time, but the end was narred
by
A SAD ACCIDENT.
On the way back TO Baltimore, about fourteen
miles this side of there, the engine jumped the
track, and, breaking the coupling, turned end
over end. Mr.. Davis, who was riding In the
cab. was struck on the temple by piece of Iron.
and instantly killed. No one else was hurt.
Mr.. Gillingham. the partner of MIR. Davis, then
took In Ross Winans, who was at that time
draughtsman. and they formed the firm Of en-
CINE builders which has since become known
throughout the world.
This hrm built the camel-back engine-that IA.
those engines which have their cabs on TOP and
which you see hauling freight trains They are
good engine for the purpose for which they
I'm md
so awkward. When first began to run we had
the strap rails which were something like the
present horse car rails. They were fastened
down by iron straps, counter sunk and spiked
They were SO light that the ends would curl up
like dandelion stem, and accidents were con-
stantly occurring. We then got the rail, and
when the Washington track was laid, which was
somewhere about 1885 or 1886 the rails were
used exclusively. and they weighed about As
pounds to the yard. while the rails used now
weigh over hundred.
THE FIRST TRAIN
over the Washington track was run on the
4th of July, in '35 or SO and George Law was
the engineer. The engine was one of the Davis
'grasshoppers' and was called the America
There was big jubilee at the time, but have
forgotten whether or not the President of the
United States was on the train. The first Pres
ident of the United States whom know that
carried was James X. Polk and have had most
all OF them since The first grasshoppers burned
hard COAL but when the road was pushed
through to Cumberland the CRATES In the en-
gines were changed and soft coal was intro
duced. Well as told you, | took an engine on
Christmas day. 1870 and have been running ever
since. When first began the trains were all
accommodation trains. that stopped at every
little station, yet We made the run from Baiti-
more here in one hour and forty minutes. The
depot In that day at Baltimore was on Pratt
street, near Light and the one here was at the
corner of Pennsylvania avenue and LIST street
me engine which you saw me in tonight makes
the run in fortyfve minutes"
ACCIDENTS
Yes" continued the veteran engineer. 81
have had accidents, three, think, in the course
OF my years Of work. Once | came round a
curve and struck COW when we were going at
about forty-fve miles an hour. The couplings
broke, and my engine went clean over, so that
the drive wheels were in the air where the bell
ought to be. and the smOkestack was In the
mud. The cars never left the track, and even.
In that perilOus moment knew they were going
by me all right. There must have been several
hundred pieces OF loose iron and glass f1yino
around the cab, but neither the fireman nor nv
self were scratched, though We were pretty well
shaken up. The next time was when the axle
OF rear truck of a smoking car broke We were
going at pretty good jog and the end flew I'D
through the floor OF the car and cracked the
shins OF an old darkey preacher. They rung the
bell, and l stopped the train without any
further damage being done. can see that dar-