The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1888-09-15
PROGRESS IN PASSENGER TRAVEL


General Horace Porter, in the Septem-
Der number of Scribner's Magazine, has
an entertaining article on the pro-
gress made in railway passenger travel.
There are some facts IN it which will be
interesting to those who now and then
have occasion TO use the railway. Sixty
years ago the first locomotive engine
was used upon railway built for passen-
ger transportation. At the beginning
the locomotive was not given the mon
opoly in pulling trains, as now. 1t divid-
ed the honors with the horses, the two
::arces being used interchangeably. The
origin passenger car was good deal
Ii not wholly, like the old stage coach
Bat it was lot long before American
prog ess discarded this old and inoon-
yenisnt style and adopted the long car,
which is now the model on which all
passenger cars are constructed. The
public were not at fret incliued TO look
with favor upon the new style Of loco
motive transportation. The Legislature
OF Pennsylvania, especially, opposed the
idea and refused 10 grant any railroad
charters for several years subsequently,.
The railways then were not what they are
now. There were so baggagemen up to
1845. Each traveller at the end of
journey was required to ge. out his own
baggage. The dust nearly suffocated one,
and the sparks from the locomotives al
most put ont the eyes of the travellers.
The cars were lighted at night by tallow
candles and heated in winter by close box
stoves which transformed a car into
veritable oven. There were no hand
brakes and the passenger was iolted
about in a mercilesa manner. In
1851 an improved and efficient hand
brake was adopted. In 1869 the air
brake, operated and controlled by
Since then the progress in railroad trans
portation has been rapid. Improved
couplers were invented and adopted
which prevented the cars from running
one on top of the other in case OF col
lision. The bell cord, connecting the
engineer and con luctor or any passen-
ger, was brought in use. improvements
in the switch, in the use OF the telegraph
. in despatohing trains, and in other de-
tails Of railroad management, added 10
the safety as well rs 20 the comfort OF
ha ,.l.s 4,,l l.
gained was his luxury. In 1886 berth
cars were put upon the railway from
Harrisburg 30 Philadelphia. This primi-
tive sleeping car was very rude indeed
The steamboat company had set the ex-
ample. They fitted up sleep
ing apartments for their passen-
gers. In 1S4S there was further i'm
provement in this direction. Finally, in
due time and in a natural way, the pres
ent luxurious sleeping car grew out of
the old berth ears. But the sleeping car
was not the climax of railway travel.
The hotel cars is nearly at the top.
man now days on one of these cars can
eat leisufely and with perfect comfort.
The very apex of railway improvements
is seen in the vestibuied train where one
can walk from end to end without going
ont of doors, and where the electric lights
turn night into day. This development
or if you may prefer to call it evolution,
in the methods of transporting travellers
by railway is good exampleSof the pro-
press of all the branches of industry In
the United States. |