Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-09-13
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 travei.
There are some facts in it which will be
interesting to those who now and then
have occasion to use the railway. Sixty
wears 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 dlvld-
ed the honors with the horses, the two
forces being used Interchangeable. The
original passenger car was q good deal
If not wholly, like the old stage coach
But il was not long before American
progress discarded this old and lncon-
venient style and adopted the long car,
which is now the model on which all
passenger cars are constructed. The
public were not at first inclined to look
with favor upon the new style of loco
motive transportation. The Legislature
OF Pennsylvania, especially, opposed the
idea and refused to grant any railroad
charters for several years subsequently.
The railways then we're not what they are
now. There were no baggagemen up to
1916. Each traveller at the end of a
Journey was required to get out his own
baggage The dust nearly suffocated one,
and the sparks from the locomotives al
most put out the eyes of the travellers.
The cars were lighted at night by tallow
candles and heated in winter by close box
stoves which transformed car into a
yeritable oven. There were no hand
brakes and the passenger was jolted
about in a merciless manner. In
1851 an improved and efficient hand
brake was adopted. In 1869 the air
brake, operated and controlled by
the engineer, was first introduced.
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 3uotor or any passen-
ger, was brought in use. Improvements
in the switch, in the use of the telegraph
In despatching trains, and in other de-
tails of railroad management, added TO
the safety as well as to the comfort of
the passengers. The next object to be
cars were put upon the railway from
Harrisburg to Philadelphia. This prini-
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 1913 there was a further i'm
provement in this direction. Finally. in
due time and in natural way, the pres
ent luxurious sleeping car grew out OF
the old berth cars. But the sleeping car
was not the climax of railway travel
The hotel cars is nearly at the top. 4
man now days on one Of these cars can
eat leisurely aud 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 trans porting travellers
by railway is a good example of the pr
gress of all the branches of industry II
the United States.