The record-union., 1896-07-26

ease in palace or sleeping car and
watch the panorama as the train glides
over mountains through valleys or
around sharp curves, and listen to the
oeadened clickety-click of the wheels
speeding over the joints in the rails;
but unless one hears an occasional
chug! chug! from the locomotive he is
liable to doze and dream dreams with
out even giving a thought to the pow
erful machine which moves the train,
or to the man whose hand is on the
throttle
The evolution Of the locomotive has
been truly wonderful, and a long road
has been Travelled from the horse which
pulled the first passenger railway coach
between Stockton and Darlington, Eng
land, on the 9th of September, 1926,
and the motor power of to-day
Then in 1896 the Liverpool and Man
chester road was commenced and under
the stimulus of premium of 81. 800 Of
fered by the company, Stephenson,
Ericsson and other mechanics devised
the locomotive power which was in time
destined to revolutionize the CONNER
clal relations of the world. The road
was not opened until September 10.
nation was coming to the front. Grid
ley Bryant, a civil engineer, in 1925
projected the first railroad in America,
and it was carried to completion in 1896.
It was four miles long, including
branches, and was designed for carry
ing granite from the quarries of Quincy,
Mass, to the nearest tide-water, and is
still known as the Quincy Railroad.
signing the first portable derrick, also
thought out and completed the first
turntable ever used in the world,
which, by the way, is said to be still in
a remarkable state of preservation.
The next venture in railroads in the
United States was the line from the
coal mines of Mauch Chunk, Pa, to
the Lehigh River finished in January,
1897. Gravity was used as the motor
power, though the length of the road
was so great that mules were pressed
into service to draw the empty cars back
TO the mines But 1t was later in the
same year when the Delaware and Hud-
son Canal Company sent Horatio Allen
to Europe with orders to buy three loco
motive steam engines. Allen was par
TALLY successful buying one machine
from stephenson, Tie G@ulSOu VI Ills
time, and another from Foster, RaS-
wick & Co In the meantime the canal
company had built a line Of road from
the mines at Honesdale to the terminus
Of the canal, and in the summer of 1879
the first railway steam locomotive was
started in the United States, forestall-
ing John Bull even at his own trade.
This locomotive had four wheels,
-
steam blast, and was considered, as 1t
really was at the time, wonder
It was in March, 1927. when the Leg
islature of the State of Maryland grant
ed charter, modelled upon the old turn
pike charter, to the first railroad COM
pany ever authorized to carry on gen.
eral transportation business. The capi-
tai stock was S500,000 and both the
State and city of Baltimore were au-
thorized to subscribe to its stock.
The road, now known as the Balti-
more and Ohio, was begun July 4, 1923,
and work went steadily along, horse
power being employed for motor power.
But Peter Cooper was at work on an
engine of which he expected great
things. and when 1t was completed in
the summer of 1880 he drew a car load
ed with directors of the road from Balti-
more to Ellicott Mills. now Ellicott
City, twenty-five miles, at the rate of
eighteen miles an hour. CoOperS was
the first locomotive built in America,
and the first successful one ever built
anywhere else, but could the ghost of
the great Peter walk through the pits in
repair shop No of the locomotive ma
chine shop in this city, he, too, would be
obliged to ponder over the evolution Of
the locomotive, and wonder If perfection
had yet been reached.
And though there is plenty of room for
comparison between this clanl1ing, un-
covered. light weight, low-wheeled,
eighteen -mile-an-hour locomotive of Pc
ter Cooper's and the powerful machines
of to-day, nothing has been discovered
which can forever stand the dash and
beat-the wear and tear-the mighty
xulse throbs which impart TO the loco
motive its life. In fact, the life of the
locomotive built at the present time is
not as long as that of the one built a
dozen years ago. and the reasons are
obvious.
Formerly the amount of steam pres
sure demanded seldom exceeded 125
pounds to the square inch, while to-day
the pressure runs from 80 to $50
pounds. As a consequence, the strain is
greater on the boiler than formerly, and
the greater the strain the greater the
tendency for the seams to start and the
rivets to become worn and loose. Then
in those days, a dozen years ago. when
an engine was sent cut the engineer
usually carried orders TO clean the
track" and provided he did so, time"
was not considered particular object.
If his locomotive was overloaded he
took his time in making the run and If
he was ten hours behind no very search
ing Investigations were made. Then
prior to 1881 there were no brakes upon
the drivewheels Of the locomotive. and
the grind and strain and wear conse-
auent upon them was unknown.
But to-day each locomotive is care
fully graded and the weight on the drive
wheels. and size Of the wheels the size
of the cylinder and the number of
pounds of steam pressure are all care
fully computed, and upon that computa-
tion is based the load the machine is TO
maui and the speed to be attained and
kept. And while the engineer is not
now required to hitch every loose car
along the line onto his train, he is re-
ou4red TO make the weight of his train
up to the grade of his engine and haul
his load over his division on schedule
time
In all things organic sit is the pace
that kills" and a locomotive is no ex-
ception to the rule. So it happens that
where speed is required regardless OF
a. 1d xr-hp