The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1894-05-05
JOHN BULL ON ITS WAY WEST.
The Triumphant Passage of an Old Engine
Through New Jersey.

The first locomotive that ever drew
a railroad train in America. the John
Bull, left the Jersey City station of
the Pennsylvania railroad at 10:16
Monday morning bound for Chicago.
Behind it were two passenger coaches
having on board a party of guests.
The crew that handled the train
had been selected from the veterans
of the service. 1t consisted of w. t.
Bailey, who has been on the road
since 1859; "Gigtop" Brakeman Jonas
Hager, who was appointed in 1849;
Rear Brakeman Thomas Gallagher,
who first served in the same capaci-
ty in 1S49; Fireman John w. San
ford, who began his railroad career
in 1855, and Engineer A. E. Herbert,
who held the same place on old John
Bull early in the fifties.
The engine John Bull was brought
to this country by Robert L. Stevens
in 1851, and in 1853 it began to run
regularly on the Camden and Am
boy railroad. In the sixties the old
engine was side tracked at Borden
town, N. ]. 1t remained there I'M
til placed on exhibition at the cen
tennial exposition at Philadelphia,
after which it was returned to Bor-
dentown, where it remained until
1888, when the Pennsylvania rail
road company secured it and gave it
to the United States to be placed on
exhibition in the National museum
at Washington.
One of the passenger coaches was
used as chicken coop by a farmer
near South Amboy, and the other
was found several years ago covered
with rubbish in a New Jersey lum-
Der yard.
The queer train was an object of
interest to thousands of people who
lined the tracks from Jersey City. to
Philadelphia In every town it passed
through the houses were decorated
with bunting and flags, and nearly
every inhabitant was at the station.
Thousands of school children, to
whom a holiday was given in order
that they might see the train, were
massed along the tracks in the diff
ferent towns on the route, and the
cheers of the shrill young voices
could be plainly heard above the rum
BILE of the train.
At Princeton about 300 students
took possession of the train for about
Is minutes, making the old cars ring
with their college cry. When the
train was released by them, they
covered the track 80 thickly with
money to be mashed by the wheels
for souvenirs that the engine could
hardly move the train over it. This
was kept up by the people all along
the line.
From Jersey City to Trenton, the
entire width of the state, the train
ran more or less on coins. These
coins ranged from pennies to So so
and SIS gold pieces. At Trenton the
rails were covered with all sorts
of coins for a distance of nearly 300
yards. AS the train ran slowly
along crowd Of men and boys fol
lowed it on a run, and reaped good
harvest by snatching up the more
valuable coins before their owners
could reach them. Three young
Princeton students, who had three
pretty maidens with them, only sue
ceeded in finding two out of the six
S. gold pieces they had carefully laid
on the rail near their feet. In half
an hour battered pennies, nickels
and 10-cent pieces were selling on
the streets of Trenton at from so
cents to 81 each.
Owing to various delays it was :55
p. m. when the train entered the
Broad street station in Philadelphia,
l hour and Is minutes behind the
schedule time.
The coming of John Bull and the
two antique green cars which had at
tracted so much attention ON the
route had been announced in the
evening papers, and by the time the
train arrived in the station there
were 10000 men, women and chill
dren struggling to see it.
The entire time occupied by the
run from Jersey City to Philadelphia
was z hours and 35 minutes-New
| York Sun.