The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-10-12


raaI connection but what they had woul
have been wen constructed. The Man
chester and Liverpool. the second Ems
lish railroad opened, illustrates THU
When opened. it approached very near
" to those attainments OF engineerin
skill which characterize the best rail
road construction Of today. Georg
stephenson, who had invented the Eng
lish locomotive. also. carried out th
building Of its road bed, and in thi
road, with its underground tunnel, it
nigh embankments, it's deep cuttings
us lofty viaduct and buoyed road be,
across the quaking boys OF Chatmoss
ne achieved distinction as an engines
that was second only to the greater
glory OF his mechanical inventions.
But America, although she was neces.
sarily at first sloY in developing the
resources which were essential to per-
feet railroad construction and eouip.
ment, and did not possess the accumu-
lated wealth o. the nations OF the
mother country, Was, nevertheless, be-
hind no nationin the realization of the
economic value Of this new method OF
transportation. Sixty-five years ago
the great mass of our people never
dreamed, wonderful as they believed
the railroad to be, of the tremendous
| achievements of today. But few great
| minds then foresaw the true signif1
canoe OF this new factor in human
methods. They recognized that "team-
ing and the canal system must give
way before this new force as soon as the
pubic needs demanded that speed and
convenience should replace the old
Time delays and discomforts. The men
VINO have made New York city the great
commercial metropolis of the country
and who through the Erie canal and the
waters of the Hudson, mad led to their
city the produce and resources Of tho
great central and lake region. then
known as "the West" saw their COM
mercial supremacy threatened by the
new idea of railroads and steam trans
portatlon. Nor did they see their dan
ger more quickly than did their enter
prlslng rivals, the seaport cities of Bos-
ton, Philadelphia and Baltimore, per-
celve their opportunities. The Erie |
canal, striking to the very heart Of the
continent on the line of least elevation
ABOVE the ocean, had up to that time
settled the question as to which of the
great Eastern cities should become the
natlonal port of entry and the great
center of this new conti
nent. And even New Orleans. reaching
Win us long arms of the Mississippi
ana the Ohio, as we'll as the cities of the
atlantic seaboard, felt the diversion Of
lie stream OF western trade from them
o New York. In fact, the great trunk
Inc OF the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
vas projected in an effort to recover
MS lost trade. But between Baltimore .
no the then West, stretched the rug !
ed barrier of the Alleghanies. and the +
nglneering skill and capital Of those }
avs was hardly sufficient to at once r
this diffculty Philadelphia. r
'o' actuated by the same motive to re- "
over lost commerce, was baked by the i
ame great mountain wall. and even | Fl
oston seemed to be then hemmed in by l.
lie previously supposed insuperable f;
arr1er of the Berkshire Hills. We :,
40" mat after season Baltimore. ir
nlladelphia and Boston finally cot b,
'er and through these great mountain re
lrrlers' but before they could ac- 70
mpllsh these victories over nature the &C.
eat trunk line on the Erie railroad. di
adlng directly to New York, was COM ii,
enced, and New York won in the 70
'uggle for commercial supremacy, bu
q the foundations were laid for her ba
ture financial sway. =,
We have not time to trace in detail, "r
fortunes of the American railroads ra
oosH Tue many and disconnected of
'ces OF short lines which began in dill
Il 10 spring up all over the country. tn,
as evidence of the number and me
Imperative insignificance of these vel
total railroad mileage of the coun- bu
was only 229 miles, there were no ces
than 81 separate railroads in the me
OF pennsylvania alone. Commo- gle
e Vanderbilt made the New York ant
ltral out of II different lines. The roa
re multitude of little railroads ex- eac
a elsewhere and continued to exist lev
II the consolidation of railroads (of raj
ch we shall briefly speak later be- ma
!, by which a few great systems alb ma
BED In various ways the many short less
ma weaker systems. Take any of in
great railway systems of TODAY lex cali
Ing, perhaps, some of our land grant anJ
Isl and trace it's history back into was
past and we are amazed at the num- ind
OF small railroads is has swallowed
this work of consolidation is still
lg on.
1ClOut wQ9rufno | ASOs