Sharp County record., 1890-10-16
The FIRST RAILROAD.
Chat with a Cincinnati Haa Who was
Present at Its Beginning.

i
spadeful Of earth dug FOR the frst rsIl-
ruad projected in the United States and
IN fact In the world.
'Tfhas Grss spade'ui was cast mp By
Charles CarrofL Of Carrollton, Nd" ," said
Mr.. Eilbreth- r remember the day
very we'll. It was ne Fourth Of July,
lses, in Baltimore, and 15 was Sor The
baltimore and Ohio railroad J saa say
that saw the first spadefal Thrown up
for the first railroad ever projected not
only in the United States but IA ihe
world. remember that Charles tar
t5ti. 9f CarroIIton, made the address that
Asy. And he was very old man. He
sp6ke from an improvised platform
There -tsre perhaps 1900 people pres
ent Such d h1n would have drawn Il
great crowd any vaY, and perhaps as
many, or more, cane to see and
hear him than becas4s OF any
particular interest in the e1snt Peo-
pie we're rather redalous S the
scheme and sharply criticized 5ssh it
and the men concerned in its proIec fssn.
7 said that this was the first railro9f
projected, and speak truly As early
"a 1925 people in Baltimore began to
talk about a railroad toward the west
OF course, there was a good deal Of talk,
az there always is about such things,
and IL was ls2s before 10 was begun In
the meantime little road, twelve miles
long between Stockton and Bowling
ton, in England, had been built, per-
haps about 1926, but history will verify
that. I mention this to show that,
though the idea Of road was first pro-
iected in this country, they had one
running before we did. That road, |
believe, is part Of the Liverpool and
Manchester line. There had been tram
ways in England before this period, and
one or two in New England.
II can remember that Carroll made a
graat speech, and then he came slowly
down Of the platform, and, taking the
spade handed him, threw up the first
spadeful IL was for the setting Of the
cornerstone, or memorial Of the event.
Carroll himself, Of course, did not real
ize the possibilities opened by that act.
! do not remember what be said on that
day in his great speech, bat fancy that
with all his powers and eloquence he
did not picture the splendidly equipped
trains that daily thunder over the noun
talns upon steel rails and rock-ballasted
beds. No, there was no parade on that
day in honor Of the event, az there
would be now. To-day there is assur-
ance in those things. In that yesterday
Of long ago it was an experiment. The
whole thing was ridiculed, as it was, and
its projectors were considered fools FOG
their pains,
mo. There we're no locomotives
thought OF then. The road was finally
completed to Ellicott's mills, about
twelve miles from Baltimore, and tho
coaches and wagons we're pulled by
horses. The rails were fixed on the
edge Of granite blocks. This did not do
very we'll and change was made 10
what they called sleepers. There were
no crossties. The wagons we're pulled
by four horses.
''WelL somewhere about 1880 Stephen
son had been inventing an engine. I
believe he called it a propeller, and he
finally received permission to try the
propeller on the Stockton and Bowling
ton railroad. His engine made the
twelve miles In three hours and halt
Then Peter Cooper, who had heard OF
this engine OF Ssephenson's thought he
could improve upon Ii. And he built
his engine. II was brought down to the
little Baltimore road to be tested.
Then people began to be more inter-
ested, but we're more incredulous than
ever. recall the scenes and much OF
the talk What! does that Yankee lu-
natic expect to put machine on the
road that will propcl itself and pull a
load as we'll? Why, it Is folly, ridicu-
Ious, theg declared. But they did see
it do Just what that Yankee funatic said
1t would, and II did it wonderfully WE'LL
The model OF IL Ia carefully preserved
yet.
"Well, In about five years the road
was completed from Baltimore to Fred
erick. There we're only two routes TO
the Great West then-ono from Phila.
delphia, by way OF Pittsburgh, and from
Baltimore to Wheeling the other and
then by boat down the Ohio."--Cincin-
natl Times-Star.