The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-04-16
Tie r,nSr RAILROAD Train
An Interesting Scrap of Railroad History
Revived.

| INV N@u hdIulN ItoliZc III tucSc udNs
when every civilized country is crossed
and re-crossed by railways without
number, that almost the first American
"a lway train drawn by locomotive
ran from Albany to Schenectady. only
half a century ago. well within the
memory of many now living in this city
A train had run over short railway il
South Carolina in the winter of 1850
1881.
1t Is ten o'clock in the morning OF
August 9, 1881. At the head of Lydius
Street, two miles from the Hudson river.
there stands on railroad track a queer
looking locomotive. and behind it are a
tender and two strange passenger cars.
consisting of the bodies of stage coaches
fastened upon railroad trucks. A great
crowd is assembled, and it is nearly
time to start the train The railroad is
the Mohawk d Hudson: the company
has been running its cars by horses. but
received from the West Point Foundry a
new motor in the shape of the locomo-
tive engine. DE Witt Clinton''-the
third one built in the United States for
actual service, and the first of that char
acter ever run on passenger railroad
in the Northern States. Accordingly,
everybody is full of interest and curios-
ity, and at all available points
along the sixteen miles of rail
road between Albany and Schenec-
tady, the farmers are out in force
with their teams and families. to see
the wonderful iron steed. 1t happens
that a travelling Silhouette-artist named
William II. Brown, is in Albany on this
gala-day, and finding everybody going
to see the locomotive. concludes to 90
| likewise; for artist Brown is in the hab-
it of shipping out of black paper not
only very good individual portraits, but
also representations of groups of people.
as well as race-cOurseS. harbOrS, bu Id
ings, etc. Arrived in the presence of
the curious train of cars, he sees his OPP
pOrtunity for securing nice advertising
| plum; SO he whips out letter from his
pocket inyerts his hat for a desk, and
hastily making rough drawing of To-
connective and tender, and the first two
| passenger coaches. In the evening o.
/ the same day. he neatly cut out of black
| paper. his now famous profile p'cture-
, modelled after his skC ch--a1d after eN-
! hibitin@ il in Albany. prc,cltc it t. the
| Connecticut Historical Society. where i
is still cherished as one Of the society )
choicest treasures. 1t has often been
reproduced in print.
But Conductor John T. Clark, having
stepped from platform to platform out
side the coaches to collect the tickets
previously sold III hotels and other
public places throughout the city, now
mounts little bug " seat ut the top of
the tender, and blows 4 tin horn as the
signal for departure; the engine starts
with great jerk. and to- the accompa-
niment of much putting and Wheeling
from it. and loud shouts from the
crowd. the train moved OF amid a cioud
OF smoke and Il shower of sparks. and
goes ''thundering along" toward Sche-
nectady. Among the passengers arr
proile-artist Brown and Judge j. l..
ellis. The latter gentleman has given
is graphic IA picture of the trip as the
artist has of the cars and engine. Says
Judge ellis:
1.-The train was COMPOSED of coach
bodies. mostly from Thorp and S?rague's
stage coaches, placed upon tracks. The
trucks were coupled together with
chains. or chain links. leaving from two
to three feet slack, and when the loco
motive started, it took up the slack by
Jerks, with sufficient force to jerk the
passengers, who sat on seats across the
top of the coaches. out from under their
hats. and in stopping they came to-
gether with such force as to send them
flying from their seats
'They used dry pitch pine for fuel.
and there being no smoke or spark
catcher to the chimney or smoke stack,
4 volume of black smoke, strongly i'm
pregnated with sparks. GOALS and Gin
ders. came pouring back the whole
length of the train. Each of the out
side passengers who had an umbrella
raised it As a protection against the
smoke and fire. They were found to
be but momentary protection, for /
think in the first mile the last one went
overheard. all having their covers burnt
off from the frames, when q general
melee took lface among the deck pas
sengers. each whipping his neighbor to
put out the fire. They presented very
motley appearance on arriving ut the
first station" At this point a success
full experiment was tired for the pur-
pose of remedying the terrible bumps
and Jerks that were endangering the
beaver hats of the d;guitaries, and ere
ating such panic among the second
story passengers. The three links in
each coupling having been stretched to
their extreme tension, rail from the
next fence was extended horizontally
between each pair of cars, and fastened
to its place by means of the packing
yarn used for the cylinders This
proved satisfactory, and after a run to.
Schenectady, where refreshments were
partaken of, the train returned to AL
bany. Mr.. Charles Francis Adams, Jr.,
has noted the fact that this was the first
rude and spontaneous device in the
direction of the modern buffer.
The incidents off the train" con-
tinueS Judge ellis, were quite as
striking as those on board. A general
notice of the contemplated trip having
been given, it excited not only the c1ri-
osity of those living along the line of
the road. but of persons at a distance,
causing a large collection of people at
all the interseeting roads along the
route. Everybody, together with his
wife and all his children, came in all
kinds of conveyances, and being as
ignorant of what was coming as their
horses were, drove up to the railroad as
near As they could get. only looking for
the best position to secure view OF the |
train. As it approached, the horses
took fright and wheeled, upsettfng bug |