The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-06-17
OLD SEVENTY ONE.
INTERESTING REcoLLEcTIoNs OF AN
OLD TIME ENGINEER.

Mon of Considerable Influence.
"If old Josh Martin was here to see TINT
beauty, he'd just go crazy" said q veteran
ex7railroad engineer, who remembers many
interesting things about the early days of
railway transportation in this country,
speaking of the magnificent new giant loco
motive the Erie railway engineers built for
exhibition at Chicago. "And yet old Josh
would say. just as sure as you live:
"'She's daisy, but I'll bet she amt a
marker 'longside of old Il when you come
right down to diggin in for work.
Now, there's story for you-old IL
She made the big fortune of the Swinburnes
of Paterson, or rather old Josh Martin
made the fortune with old H. Yet all that
Josh ever got out of it was a pretty fair
gold watch, and when he died n few years
ago. over ~ years of age, he was making
living on switch engine in the Erie yards
at Jersey City.
Fifty years ago the Rogers locomotive
works hadn't made Paterson famous all
over tho world, but they wero laying the
foundation for their fame and fortune. One
of the first practical locomotive builders in
this country was the late School Commits
sioner Swinburne Of Paterson. He began
business in small way soon after Rogers
had started his locomotive works, and the
two engine builders became bitter rivals in
business. The Erie was then in operation
only between Permont and Middletown
Both Rogers and Swinburne had turned out
locomotives for the road. Two of the orig
lnal locomotive engineers on the Erie were
Josh Martin and Cad Lyman. Josh believed
that the Swinburne engines were the best,
and Cad declared that they were no good.
The Rogers engines, he held, were the only
ones that could be depended on.
In 1849, when the Erie was opened to
Binghamton, Josh Martin was put ON run
between Port Jervis and that place, and
much against his wishes was placed in
charge of Rogers locomotive. That loco
motive was named the Oneida, but Josh
called her The One Idea,' because he said.
she only had one idea, and that was that
she couldn't make the run on time. A year
after that the company ordered n new ell
g1ne from Swlnburne, although the officers
of the Eric then were more in favor of the
Rogers make
ITO remove the impression from their
minds that he couldn't build as good q 90
connective as Rogers, Swinburne did most
of the work on this engine with his own
hands. She was known as the II, and when
Swinburne delivered her to tho company he
made the request that Josh Martin be Sc
lected to run her. But, no, sirl The COM
pany put her in charge of Cad Lyman, who
was on record as n determined enemy of the
Swinburne machines. Cad took the loco
motive, but after every run reported that
she wouldn't do. He couldn't make time
with her and must have n Rogers machine
Josh Martin as regularly reported that he
couldn't make time with his Rogers loco
motive and begged to have the II trans
ferred to him; but, instead of that, II was
taken off of regular duty and put to work
on gravel train.
well, that WAS an awful slap in the face
for Swinburne, and the treatment of the {
just about broke Josh Martins heart He
kept begging for chance at her, and Swim
burne kept urging Josh's plea, and at last
Mike Brant, the master mechanic of the
road, got tired of these opportunities, and
he told Josh to take II and 60 to with
her if he wanted to. All the old boys will
remember Mike Brant and how he could
swear. That was all Josh Martin wanted.
He told Swinburne to take the old gal back
to the shop and overhaul her and see what
allied her. There wasn't a thing the matter
with her, and Josh changed his Rogers ell
CINE for the II and was as happy as a lark.
After making his first run with her he sent
his report in. This was the way it read:
" The ole gal is n hummer Had all l
could do to keep her from making the run
an hour ahead of time.'
You can imagine how much of n feather
that was in Swinburne's cap, but it wasn't
anything to what Josh and the II did for
him II few months later That little Job
not only saved Swinburne, but it set him
up in business and gave him the boost that
made the half dozen million dollars he
left when he died.
Tad Lyman was running n Rogers Ell
gine, and when the road was to he opened
al flan
Dunkirk in May, 1861 he was notified that
he was to pull the first excursion train.
He started from Piermont with it. Presi-
dent Fillmore, Daniel Webster and all the
great men OF the day were on the train,
and the famous old Dodworth's band fur
nished the music. There were eight or nine
cars in the train, and it was all Cad and
his engine could do to pull it. They were
more than hour late when they got to
Port Jervis, and that wasn't hardly start
on the trip.
Charley Minot, the superintendent of
the road, was on the train, and when he got
to Port Jervis he ordered Josh Martin out
with his pet II to take the train OH if he
could. Well, did he? think he did He
whirled that train, with the most distin
guished lot OF passengers aboard that ever
sat at one time in q railroad train OH this or
any other continent, along the precipices of
the Delaware valley in way that scared
everybody almost to death. And well it
might. He made the run to Narrowshurg.
"a miles, in 35 minutes. and when he got to
Deposit. 30 miles, he had made up the lost
hour He landed that excursion in Dun
kirk safe and sound and full of joy and
other things, and Swinburne's fortune was
made And Josh got present of gold
watch. That's why say that if old Josh
was here and should see this big beauty the
boys have made, he'd say:
She's daisy, but I'll bet she amt a
marker 'longside of old II when you come