The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-05
EXPERIMENT TO rERFEor1oN.
The Story of the Locomotives Growth
Su%ccinctly Told.

The Story of the locomotives Growth
Succinctly Told.
"rhe. invention of the Locomotive" is
the title Of the latest publication issued by
TIE passenger department Of the Union
Pacific railroad. Freight and Passenger
AGENT Wilson, of the Helena office, has re-
ceived a number of copies, and those who
take an interest in the subject are invited
to call and procure one. The work Is pro-
fusely illustrated, showing the first loco
motive and train. and then the progress
made down to No. 1927, one of the big
Union Pacific locomotives, the weight of
which is fftv-two tons. 1t has five feet
ton inch drivers, and eighteen BY, twenty
six cylinders. The story told IN me oooK
is a most interesting one. The hrst rail
road constructed IN the United States Tor
t Baltimors i Ohio, in 1897.
The first locomotive constructed in this
country WAS built in the summer Of 1881 BY
Peter Cooper, and was called the Best
Friend" In the beginning, no one dreamed
of steam upon the road; horses weFe to do
the work, and even after the'line was COM
Melted to Frederick, relays of horses trotted
the cars from place to place. When steam
made its appearance ON the Liverpool d
Manchester railroad, it attracted great at
tention here. But there was this difficulty
about introducing All English engine on an
American road. An English road was viz
tually a straight road. An American road
Ind curves sometimes of as small radius as
200 feet. There was not capital enough in
the United States applicable to railroad
pu poses to justify engineers in setting
nature at defiance. For a brief season it
was believed that this feature of the early
American roads would prevent the use of
locomotive engines. The contrary was
demonstrated by Peter Cooper. Mr.. Cooper
was satisfied that steam might be adapted
to the curved roads which he saw would be
built in the United States, and be came to
Baltimore. which their possessed the only one
on which he could experiment, to vlndicats
his belief. He had another idea, which was
that the crank could be dispensed with, in the
change from a reciprocating to rotary
notion: and he built an engine to demon
strate both articles of his faith. The
machine was not much larger than the
handcars used by workmen to transfer
themselves from place to place; and, as the
writer's now recalls it's appearance. the only
wonde is that SO apparently insignificant
a continuance should ever have been re-
garded as competent to the smallest results.
The boiler of Mr.. Cooper's engine was not
as largs as the kitchen boiler attached to
many a range in modern mansions. 1t was
OF about the same diameter, but not much
moro than half as high. 1t stood upright
in the car and was filled above the furnace,
which occupied Lu6 lOWoF SeCtIOH, WILL SeI-
teal tubes. The cylinder was but three and
one-half inches in diameter n speed was
gotten up by gearing. No natural draugEt
could have been sufficient to keep up steam
in SO small a boiler, and MIR. Cooper used,
therefore, Il blowing apparatus driven by a
drum attached to one of the car wheels,
over when passed a cord that in its turn
worked a pulley on the shaft of the blower.
And this was the first locomotive for rail-
road purposes ever built in America, md
this was the first transportation of persons
by steam that had ever taken place on this
side of the Atlantic.
cooke City q Montana Mineral Railway
Pamphlets entitled "Cooke City d Mon
tana Mineral Railway Transportation Com
pany" have recently been extensively Cir
culated. The pamphlet contains q state
ment that at a meeting of citizens and mine
owners at Cooke City on July %, 1891, reso-
lutions we're adopted favoring the plans OF
the COMPANY. The last issue of the Liv.
ingston Enterprise contains a card signoG
by forty-ons citizens of Cooke City denying
that any mass meeting endorsing the COM
pany was held, and adding:
1--WE further declare that we and q large
majority of the PEOPLE of Cooke City are IL
favor of what is known as the segregation
of that portion of the National park which
is north of the Yellowstone river and Sodt
Butte creek.
"We further declare that in the even
that congress is not disposed to make the
segregation above suggested, then we ie-
specttully ask that congress grant a RICH
of way up the Yellowstone river to tn,
mouth Of tho east fork thereof, thence III
tho sand east fork to this mouth of Sod
Butte C eek. thence up Soda Butte crsek tt
Cooke City, to that railroad compan,
which will construct said railroad at tn
EARLIEST possible time, giving suitable guar
antees therefor"