The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-05-30
OLD SEVENTY ONE.
INTERESTING REcoLLEcTIoNs OF AN
OLD TIME ENGINEER.


How Josh Martin Laid the Foundation OF
the Great swinburnc Fortune with En-
gine 7i--A Time Whom Engineers We're
Men Of Considerable Influence.
IF old Josh Martin was here to see that
beauty, he'd just go crazy" said veteran
eS-railroad engineer, who remembers many
interesting things about the early days or
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 II when you come
right down to diggin In for work.
Now, there's story for you-old III.
She made the big fortune OF the Swinburnes
Of Paterson, or rather old Josh Martin
made the fortune with old II. Yet all thht
Josh ever got out of 1t was q pretty fair
gold watch, and when he died a few years
ago, over 70 years of age, he was making a
living on switch engine in the Erie yards
at Jersey City.
Fifty years ago the Rogers locomotive
works hadn't made Paterson famous hi
over the world, but they were laying the
foundation for their fame and fortune. Cine
of the first practical locomotive builders In
this country was the late School Commits
sioncr 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 Piermont and Middletown.
Both Rogers and Swinburne had turned but
locomotives for the road Two of the orig
inal 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.
"ln 1910, when the Eric 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. Ayear
after that tho company ordered new EN-
CINE from Swinburne, although the officers
OF the Erie then were more In favor oil the
Rogers make.
TO remove the impression from their
minds that he couldn't build as good 10
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 the company he
made the request that Josh Martin be So
lected to run her. But, no, sirl The com
pany put her in charge of Cad Lyman, who
was on record as determined enemy bf the
Swinburne machines. Cad took tho loco
motive, but after every run reported that
she wouldn't do. He couldn't make time
with her and must have Rogers machine
Josh Martin MS regularly reported that he
couldn't make time with his Rogers loco
motive and begged to have the II trans.
ferred 10 him; but, instead of that, NJ was
taken off of regular duty and put I'd work
on gravel train.
well, that was an awful slap in the face
for Swinburne, and the treatment of the n
just about broke Josh Martins heart. He
kept begging for chance ut 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 Il and go tp with
her If he wanted to- All the old boys will
remember Mike Brant and how hs could
Il. ear That was all Josh Martin wanted
He told Swinburne to take the old GIL back
to the shop and overhaul her and sde what
allied her. There wasn't thing thematter
with her, and Josh changed his Rogers en-
CINE for the II and was as happy as lark
After making his first run with her he sent
his report in. This was the way 1t read:
The ole gal is n hummer. Had all
could do to keep her from makingtbe run
an hour ahead of time.' ..
You can imagine how much OF a feather
that was in Swinburnos cap, but ii WASH t
anything to what Josh and the Al did for
| him 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. .-@
Cad Lyman was running Rogers en-
| gine, and when the road was to ba opened
/ all the way through from Piernout TO
Dunkirk in May, 1851, he was notified that
he was to pull the first excursion train.
! He started from Piermont with 81. Presi-
dent Fillmore, Daniel Webster and all the
great men OF the day were on the train,
and the famous old Dodworths band fur
nished the music. There were eight or nine
cars in the train, and it was al Cad and
his engine could do to pull it. They were
more than hour late when they got to
Port Jervis. md that wasn't hardly start
on the trip. ..z.5
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 on If bt
could. Well, did her think he did. He
whirled that train, with the most distin
guishet lot Of passengers aboard That evei
sat at one time in railroad train on this OIL
any other continent, along the precipices Of
the Delaware valley in II way that scared
everybody almost to death And we'll il
might He made the run to Narrowsburg
81 miles, in IS minutes, and when he got t,
Deposit, 90 miles, he had made up the los
hour. lie landed that excursion in Dun
kirk safe and sound and full of joy anC
other things, and Swinburne's fortune wa
nude And Josh got a present of gol,
watch. That's why | say that IL old Josl
was here and should see this big beauty tn
boys have made, he'd say:
She's daisy, but I'll bet she amt
marker 'loDgside of old II when you com
right down to diggin in for work. "-Nev
York Sun. -
An Old Way of Sending Money.
I w Allan mn OH ,,arbl,unt fro,,