Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-24
EARLY RAIT.EoADlNG.
An Interesting Talk With the In
ventOr OF rhe Cowcatcher.


follows: On West Broad street, in this city
is a little shop known as the Novelty Iron
Works. The office IS a peculiar place,
strewn with models OF all kinds, and Just
opposite the door is a miniature locomo-
tive which served as working model tor
the engines originally placed on the Pan
anna railroad. The proprietor OF the es-
Enlistment, Mr.. l.. b. Davies, is the
owner and manufacturer Of this model,
and will tell the visitor that ii looks very
little as it did when he first made it, for as
improvements were added to locomotives
in general the little engine was changed,
and 1t is now just like those which pull
lightning expresses over trunk line roads.
1t is OF several horse power, and would yet
do good service in a small way.
Ms. Davies, an Old gentleman who sits
much OF the time in his Office studyi1g
books on mechanics aud designing pat
terms ;or iron work, is remarkable per-
son and has an interesting history. tie ls
the inventor OF the cowcatcher used on all
the passenger and freight locomotives In
the United States, except few ia yards.
Like great many other men OF inventive
genius, he never possessed the knack oil
handling the fruits OF his own work 80 as
to realize on them. and be has never re-
ceived a cent from his invention. Now
he is a comparatively poor man, while
railroad companies are yearly saved
many thousands OF dollars by the use OF
bis ingenious and simple device. In an
swer to the question, he said:
IL am not an Ohio man as far as na-
tivity is concerned, but | have lived so
long IN this State that consider myself
thorough Buckeye. | was born on farm
in kennebec county, Maine, near the city
OF Augusta, and followed the life of
farmer boy until was Il years OF age.
At that time left The farm. the work be-
ing distasteful, and obtained employ
with miiiwright at Bangor, where /
formed some idea of mechanics. l don't
know, but ii seems to me that | was ire
sstiblv drawn toward engineering, and
all through my life, whenever ! tried TO
leave the business, something brought
me back to it. After serving couple o +
years with the millwrlght | secured
position as assistant to the engineer
Of the old steamboat Byron. which
piled between Bangor and the mouth
of the Penobscot river. That was in 1885,
and steam boats were not as numerous
then as now. Boyiike, threw up my po-
sition and went 10 New York in search of
a larger opportunity, and was successful.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Sr., then owned the
steamboat Cleopatra. Seeing an adver-
tisement in paper that an assistant en-
gineer was wanted on this boat, | went
directly TO the old Commodore myself and
made application for the place. The old
gentleman was in MS library, and when
stated my errand he smiled in way that
| did not then understand. However,
after asking Inc some questions he told
me to meet him on board the boat
the next day. / was on hand, you may be
sure, bright and early. When the Com
mOdore came, about noon, he took me to
Mr.. Birdsall, the first engineer, and told
A. l1sA l. A.
laugh, which surprised me very mucn,
and then engaged me. After our first
trip the Commodore came on board, and
heard him ask now the boy got along.
The engineer told him | was doing very
well, as l could work the engine by hand
as well as he could. You know that boat
engines had to be worked from the dock
into the channel by hand, much time and
effort being required to avoid other YES
sells lying in ana near the ship"
''how did you happen to drift into rail-
road work." asked toe reporter.
Il was about to tell you. AT the end OF
one season on the Cleopatra | went TO
Detroit, Mich, where | secured a position
under Mr. Benjamin BrIsco, master me-
chanic of the road known as the Detroit
and Ypsllanti railway. woI ked as
machinist and patternmaker, and finally
was given charge OF a locomotive. Then
city then as ID is now.
subsequently | became an engineer
on the Little Miami railroad, temporarily,
as l thought when ! BEGAN, but 1t was
three years before | left the road. AT
that time the Little Miami was completed
only as tar as Milford, and nothing but
construction trains were being run. In
few weeks, however, It was completed
as far as Fosters and Nenia, when they
put on Two passenger trains. From
Aenia the road was pushed rapidly TO
Springfield, tae terminus OF the ilae, and
the first railroad in OHIO was completed.
The second road was that from Spring
field 10 sandusky, now part OF the In
diana, Bloomington and Western"
81 suppose raIlroadlng tnen was not
much as it is now" suggested the inter-
viewer.
''Well. should say it wasn't. Then
they used wooden rails strapped with
iron. Those straps would frequently
becom 90 &c and curi up and ri q through
the iiOoI q. jae cars, playing havoc among
the passengers. We had no telegraph
lines, but run by time card, and we're
compelled TO lie at q station where we
were due. no matter how late the train
coming the other way might be. Some
times we would be ahead OF time. On
such occasions, and with the general Oh
NceIs Ot the GOau on DOoru, we nave ire
quentlY stopped on the way to gather
DlackDerries and pawpaws, which grew
IN abundance between Fosters and Love-
land. IL must be remembered that in
those days no coal was used, but that
wood was eXcluslvely burned, ana the
passengers, while the crew vas 'wOOding
up would wander around gathering
1lnwers and berries Ia their season. In
these days Mr.. VIM. Hazen, of Yellow
Springs, and Dir. George smith, OF Gin
cinnati, both OF whom are still living,
were the only passenger conductors on
the road. and, as far as that is conceI ned,
in the state. IL would be interesting for
a travelling man OF this generation u be
carried back, in point OF time, TO those
tedays and TO all the crudeness Of arrange
ments and equipments with which the rail-
roads were provided. During the first wear
AFTER the opening OF the road we mad no
cabs on the engines, nor had we any tnaw-
pipes TO keep the pumps from freezing
while we stopped d. a station to take Ia
water. 70 tell the truth, we were NOT
always so lucky as TO reach a station be-
fore our supply of water ran out, and ia
such emergencies, which we're frequent.
we had 10 stop over creek and dip the
water into the tank with buckets, which
on a wintfy day would become hall
filed with ice. Instead o! thaw-pipes.
in the most extreme wintry weather
we took cottOn-waste, put il on the end
Of n stick. saturated IL with oil, and set