Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-01-18
AMERICAS FIRST RAILWAY.
The Mechanical Curiosity Out OF
Which Grew the Modern Locomo-

|
Magazine, writes Of the beginning of
railways in this country:
Penrose and Bennett at this date
| QS3D had been students OF that
pioneer manual training school in
America which was established few
years previously by Robert Dale Oven
at New Harmony, Ind. Bennett, absent
from the school on some trading or
peddling excursion into Kentucky, had
discovered the "plant" at Louisville.
and, returning to New Harmony told
Penrose OF it. This plant was a
steam locomotive, passenger car and
track-and aggregation Of machinery
of most striking and captivating
features. They had information Of two
tramroads existing in the United States.
one in New England and the other in
the south, but no knowledge OF any
steam railway.
The two students, Penrose, about
twenty-five, and Bennett, twenty-three
years Of age, determined to purchase
the steam novelty and exhibit it about
the country as speculation; the latter
accordingly returned to Louisville TO
secure it. This he did, paying is own
err, who was probably its constructor,
5000; and thereupon the predecessors
of Vanderbilt and Gould entered upon
the ownership of, if not the first, at
least one Of the earliest OF the steam
railways OF their country.
Their property included shares, roll
ing stocks, right OF way and franchises.
IT seems almost unnecessary to suggest
that the later appendage of the railway
were then non-exis .ent, even in dreams.
The pride and pomp OF the modern
system, the pass, the porter and the
Pullman coach; the circumstance of
"long and short haul" mortgage and
receiver were unknown. Bennett, with
out embarrassment, transported his
acquisition to New Harmony. The
| locomotive, car and track complete
weighed somewhere from / 200 to l 800
pounds. The engine is described as
having a high-polished copper boiler.
A description of Stephenson's Eng
lish engine of the previous year, in a
letter from the bright pen of Mrs Fran
els Kemble Butler, may be taken as apt
ly illustrating the state of the art re-
specting steam land locomotion at this
time; though the letter perhaps de-
|
Penrose and Bennett. Under date Of
August 26, 1880, she writes:
1--WE were introduced TO the little en-
CINE that was to drag us along the rails.
She (for they make these curious little
fire horses all mares) consisted of a.
boiler. stove, a platform, a bench, and
behind the bench a barrel containing
water enough To prevent her being
thirsty for fifteen miles-the whole ma
chine not bigger than a common fire,
engine. She goes upon two wheels.
which are her feet, and are moved by
bright steel legs called pistons. Theses
are propelled by steam, and in proper
ton as more steam is applied to the up
per extremeties (the hip joints, l SUPP
pose of these pistOns, the faster they
move the wheels. The Goals, which are,
its oats, are under the bench, and there's
was small glass tube affixed to the boil-
err which indicated by its fullness orr
emptiness when the creature wanted!
water"
The American effort was less preten-
tious. The circular or elliptical track
upon which Penrose and Bennett ran
their machine was movable and adjustI
able, or was subsequently made so in
order to allow of its being readily set
up in large hall or upon oren grounds.
A hall as long as possible and at least
twenty feet in width was required for
that method of adjustment; but wbeni
set up out Of doors the space of exhibit
ton was usually still more ample.
This was certainly the quaintest train.
run since Stevenson attached his first
locomotive to the old stage-coach, the
Queen Charlotte" and dragged 1t as
a passenger car. The coach of our ex-
perimenters, holding two persons, was
evidently an adaptation OF old-fashion-
ed sleigh, with high, straight back. but
with its dashboard much exaggerat-
ed-probably needed defe. 'e of the
passengers against cinders and smoke
They started in the fall of 1881,
"about September" upon their project
ed journey, which, after circuit, ma
turally took general direction toward
New Orleans, then the important CEN
ter OF western traffic.
OF this machine and the journey to
exhibit it, Mark Penrose, now eighty
three years of age, a member of the
Society of Friends, residing at Sterling.
H., says, under the date, I'D month,
30th, 1887"
Il believe this to be the first locomo-
tive ever run on rails in the United
States.
William p. Bennett first found it in
Louisville. Ky. From there he went
back TO New Harmony and told me
about We concluded to buy it, SO
Bennett returned to Louisville to make
the purchase, paying $500 for it. He
then returned with it to New Harmony.
where we set it up and ran it for few
days, then started out to exhibit it,
having n conveyance from place to
place. We first went to Vincennes,
then to Terre Haute, Lafayette. Indian
apolis and Richmond; then to Dayton
and Cincinnati, Ohio, exhibiting at
many smaller towns on the way. At
Cincinnati we bought skiff and went
down the Ohio river. AT the canal at
Louisville we set it up in garden, I'm