Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-10-09
A Trip on the First Train.

Perhaps there isnothing in the line
OF discovery and improvement that has
shown more marked progress in the
fast century than the railway and its
auxiliaries. When we remember that
much less than century has passed
since the first patent for locomotive to
move upon track was issued, where
now we have everything That heart can
wish, and in fact, live better on the
road than we do at home, with but
thirty-six hours between New York
and Minneapolis, and a gorgeous parlor
bedroom and dining-room between
Maine and Oregon, with nothing miss
ing that may 60 to make lille rich
blessing, we are compelled to express
our wonder and admiration.
To Peter Cooper is largely due the
boom given to the railway business, he
having constructed the first locomo-
tive ever made in this country, and put
iton the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
The first train ever operated most
have been grand sight. First came
the locomotive, large Babcock fire ex-
tinQuisher on trucks, with smoke
stack like full blown speaking tube
with frill around the top; the engin-
eer at his post in plug hat, with an
umbrella over his head and bis hand
on the throttle, borrowing chew OF
tobacco now and then OF the farmers
who passed him on their way to town.
Near him stood the fireman, now and
then bringing an .armful OF wood from
the fields through which they passed,
and turning the damper in the smoke
stack every little while so that it would
draw. Now and then he would go fo,-
ward and rub pork rind on hot box
or pound on the cylinder-head to warn
people off the track.
Next comes the tender loaded with
nice, white birch wood, an economical
style of fuel, because the bark may be
easily burned off while the wood itself
will remain uninjured. Beside the
fire wood we find on the tender bar
rel OF rain water and tall blonde jar
with wickerwork around it, which con-
Trims small sprig of tansy immersed
in four gallons Of New England rum.
This the engineer has brought with
him for use in case OF accident. He is
now engaged in preparing for the acct
dent in advance.
Next comes the front brakeman in
plug hat about two sizes too large for
him. He also wears long-waisted
frock coat with a hustle to it and tall
shirt-collar with table-spread tie, the
ends of which hutter gayly in the morn
ing breeze. As the train pauses at the
"a. In t,.lyn l,n,N ri
the tool-box and nails on the tire Of the
fore wheel OF the coach The engineer
gets down with long oil can and puts
little sewing machine oil on the pit
man. lie then wipes it off with his
sleeve. .4.t
il IS now discovered that the rear
coach containing a number OF The d.
rectors and the division superintendent,
is missing. The conductor goes to the
last coach and finds that the string by
which the directors car was attached is
broken, and that grade being pretty
steep the directors and one brakeman
have no doubt gone back to the starting
place
But the conductor is cool. He re-
moves his bell-crowned plug hat, aud
taking out his orders and time card he
finds that the track is clear, and looking
ut lnrge, valuable Waterbury waoch
presented to him by a widow whose
husband was run over and killed by
the train, he sees he can still make the
next station in time or dinner. He
hiresa livery team to SO back after the
directors coach, and calling Call
aboard" he swings lightly upon the
moving train.
tits now ten O'clock and nineteen
weary miles stretch out between him
and the dinner station. TO add TO the
horrors of the situation, the front braSe-
man discovers that very tAtfsty boy
in the emigrant car has been drlnsing
from the water supply tank on the ten
der, and there is not enough left to car
ry the train. through Much time is
consumed in filling the barrel again at
spring near the track, but the con-
ductor finds ''spotter" on the train
and gets him to do i. He also induces
him to cut some more wood and clean
out the ashes.
The engineer then pulls out a draw.
head and begins to make up time. In
twenty minutes he has made up an
hours time, though two miles of hoop
iron are torn from the track behind
elm. He sails into the eating station
on time, and while themaster mechanic
tackes several OF the coach weeels over
to the machine shop to soak, he eats a
hurried lunch.
The brakeman here gets his tin lam
terms ready for the night run and fills
them with red oil to be used on the
rear coaclE The fireman puts fresh
baron-rind On the eccentric, stutfs some
more cotton batting around the axles,
nuts 4 new lynch-pin in the hind
wheels. sweeps the apple Feelings out
). the smoking car, and he Is ready.
Then cames the consluctor, with his
plug bat fall Of excursion tickets, ord
a. - SOS and time checks; he looks al