The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-10-08
HISTORY OF RAILRoAnlNo.
Gigantic Progress Made by 3 Very Useful
and COmfOrt-Giving Enterprise.


Perhaps there is nothing in the line
of discovery and improvement that has
shown more marked progress in the last
century than the railway and its differ
ent auxiliaries. When we remember
that much less than a century has
passed since the first patent for loco
motive to move upon track was is
sued, where now we have every thing
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 be-
tween Maine and Oregon, with nothing
missing that may go to make life a
rich blessing, we are compelled to ex-
press our wonder and admiration.
To Peter Cooper. is largely due the
boom given to railway business. he
having constructed the first locomotive
ever made in this country, and put it
on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad.
The first train ever operated must
have. been 3 grand sight. First came
the locomotive, a large Babcock fire
extinguisher on trucks, with smoke
stack like a full-blown speaking tube
with a frill around the top; the en-
gineer at his post in plug hat, with
an umbrella over his head and his
hand on the throttle, borrowing. a chevy
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 in an armful of wood
from the fields through which he
passed, and turning the damper in the
smOke-stack every little while SO that
it would draw. Now and then he
would go forward and put a p6fk=rind
on a 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 leconomi-
cal style of fuel because its bark may
be easily burned off while the wood it.
self will remain uninjured.. Beside the
irewood we find on the tender barrel
of rainwater and a tall, blonde jar with
Wicker-WOrk around it. which Contains
a 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 en-.
gagged in preparing for the accident in
advance,
Next comes the front brakeman In d
plug hat about two sizes too large for
him. He also wears a long-waisted
frOck coat with hustle to it, and a tall
shirt collar with table-spread tie, the
ends Of which f1utter gaY1v in the
morning Breeze. AS the train pauses
at the first station he takes a hammer
out of the tool-bOx and nails on the tire
of the fore wheel of his coach. The
engineer gets down with a long oil
can and puts a little sewing machine
oil on the pitman. He then wipes it
off with his sleeve,
1t Is how discovered that the rear
coach, containing a number of direc-
tors and the division superintendent,
is missing. The conductor goes to the
rear of the last coach and finds that
the string by which the directors car
was attached is broken, and that, the
grade being pretty steep, the directors
and one brakeman have no doubt gone
back to the starting point.
But the conductor is cool. He re-
moves his bell-crowned plug hat, and
taking out his orders and time card
finds that the track is clear, and, look
ing at large, valuable Waterbury
watch, presented to him by a widow
whose husband was run over and
make the next station in time for din
ner. He hires a livery team to go back
after the directors coach, and calling
''AIl aboard he swings lightly upon
the moving train.
1t is now ten o'clock, and nineteen
weary miles will stretch out between
him and the dinner station. To add to
the horrors of the situation, the front
brakeman discovers that a very thirsty
boy in the emigrant car has been drink
ing from the water-supply tank on the
tender, and there is not enough left to
carry the train through. Much time is
consumed in filling the barrel again at
a spring near the track, but the con-
ductOr finds a ''spOtter" on the train
and gets him to do 1t. 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
hour time, though two miles of hoops
iron are torn from the track behind
him. He sails into the eating station
ON time, and, while the master me-
chanic takes several of the coach
wheels over to the machine-shop to
soak, he eats a hurried lunch.
The brakeman here gets his tin Ian
terms ready for the night run and fills
two of them with red oil to be used on
the rear coach. The fireman puts a
fresh bacon-rind on the eccentric, stufs
some more cotton batting around the
axles, puts a new lynch-pin in the hind
wheels, sweeps the apple-peelings out
of the smoking car, and he is ready.
Then comes the conductor, with his
f1Il of ov011rcion
orders, passes and time-checks; he
looks at his Waterbury watch, waves
his hand, and calls 'tAll aboard" again.
1t is upgrade, however, and for two
miles the ''spotter" has to push behind
with all his might before the conductor
will allow him to get in and ride.
Thus began the history of a gigantic
enterprise which has grown till it is a
comfort, a convenience, a luxury, and
yet a necessity. 1t has built up and
beautified the desert. 1t has crept be-
meath the broad river, scaled the snowy
mountain, and hung by iron arms from
the canyon and the precipice, carrying
the young to new lands and reuniting
those long separated. 1t has taken the
hopeless to lands of new hope. 1t has
invaded the solitude of the wilderness,
spiked down valuable land grants,
killed cheap cattle and then paid a
high price for them, whOoped through
valleys, snOrted over lofty peaks, crept
through long, dark tunnels, turning
the bright glare of day suddenly upon
those who thought the tunnel was two
miles long, roared through the night
and glittered through the day, bring
ING alike the gloom to his beautiful
bride and the weeping prodigal to the
- J. - r.4A
You are indeed a heartless, soulless
corporation, and yet you are very es-
sential in our business.-BiU Nye, IN
Chicago Ne10s.
of German Universities.