The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1886-10-05
A TRIP ON THE FIRST TRAIN.
DY BILL ME-.

DT BILL ME-.
Perhaps there is nothing in the
line Of discovery and improvement
that has shown more marked pro-
gress in the last century than the
railway and it's different auxiliarics,
When we remember that much less
than a century has passed since the
first patent for locomotive to move
upon g 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 gorgeous
parlor, bedroom and dining-room
between Maine and Oregon, with
nothing missing that may 60 to
make life rich blessing, we are
compelled to express our wonder and
admiration.
| To Peter Cooper is largely due the
boom given to railway business, he
having constructed the first locomo-
tive ever made in the country and
put it on the Baltimore d Ohio
Railroad.
The first train ever operated must
have been grand sight. First came
the locomotive, a large Babcsck fire
extinguisher on trucks, with smoke
stack like full-blown speaking-tube
with a frill around the top; the en-
gineer at his post in plug hat with
an umbrella over bis head and his
hand on the throttle, borrowing a
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 IN
an armful of wood from the fields
through which he passed, and turn
ing the damper in the smokestack
every little while so that it would
draw. Now and then he would 60
forward and put pork rind on the
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 economi-
cal style of fuel because its bark
may be easily burned off while the
wood itself will remain uninjured.
Besides the frewood we find on the
tender a barrel of rainwater and
tall. blonde jar with wicker work
around it, which contains a small
sprig of tansy immersed in four gal
Ions 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 acci-
dent in advance.
Next comes the front brakeman in
a plug hat about two sizes too large
for him. He also wears long-waist-
ed frock-coat with hustle to it and
tall shirt-collar with table-spread
tie, the ends of which hutter gaily
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-ean and puts little sew
ing-machine oil on the pitman. He
then wipes it off with his sleeve
1t is now discovered that the rear
coach, containing a number Of di-
rectors and the Division Superin-
tendent, 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 place
But the conductor is cool. He re-
moves his bell-crowned plug hatand
taking out his orders and tims-card
he finds that the track is clear, and
looking at a large, valuable Water
bury watch, presented to hin BY a
widow whose husband vas run over
and killed by the train, he sees he
can still make the next station in
time for dinner. He hires livery
team to go back after the directors
coach, and calling "All aboard" he
swings lightly uponv the moving
train.
1t is now 10 O'clock. and 10 weary
miles stretched out between him and
the dinner station. To add to
the horrors Of the situation, the
front brakeman discovers that very
thirsty boy in the emigrant car has
been drinking from the water supply
tank on the tender, and there is not
enough left to carry the train
through. Much time is consumed
in filing the barrel again at spring
near the track, but the conductor
finds a "spotter" Oh the train, and
gets him to do it. He also induces
him to cut some more wood and clean
out the ashes.
The engineer then pulls cut =
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 him. He sails into the
eating station on time, and, while the
master mechanic takes several of the
coach wheels over to the machine
shop to soak, he eats a hurried
lunch.
The brakeman here gets his tin
lanterns ready for the night and fills
two of them with red oil to be nsed
on the rear coach. The fireman puts
flesh bacon-rind on the eccentric,
stufs some more cotton batting
around the axles. puts 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 plug hat full of excursion tickets,
orders, passes and time checks; he
looks at his Waterbury watch, waves
his hand and calls aAll abaard'
again. 1t is upgrade, however, and
for two miles the "spotter' has to
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