The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-26

fury find the evolution of the railroad
complete? Certainly the progress
which has been made since the build
ing of the first transportation line, in
the mechanical and physical features
of our rail lines, is something to marvel
at.
What variety of ingenious mechan-
zeal appliances have been contrived to
nlest the necessity and requirements Of
the times, What a host or aggregation
of brains and skill are required to man
age and operate the great railway
properties Of modern timesl So, rail
reading is indeed a science.
However, it is not the writer's inten-
ton TO journey to the profound depths
of this subject, but remain, rather. on
the more picturesque highway of nov
city.
In 1928 Charles Carroll laid 1.-The first
stone" for the Baltimore & Ohio Rail
road company. This was the first rail-
road constructed in the United States
for general purposes of transportation.
Stone sleeperS in lieu Of ties were used
the time. Carroll was then 90 years
old. and whether he was present on
this occasion in the capacity Of chief
engineer or given the spikelesS job as
a mark Of distinction is not clearly
stated. Be this as it may, it is safe to
say that if he was boss Of construc-
ton he could find only an occasional
job as a stone mason now. And, as
horses were the motive power on the
first line for several years, were Carroll
to show up today with an inclination TO
follow the business of railrOading on
the track, he would have to forget the
Whoa, BilP' Of his times and labor in
peaceful oblivion under the tuneful or
der of Jerry be tagging the thrains- y
Giant Strides Forward.
What giant strides forward have
been made since CAROLS time in that
simple physical feature, the grade or
roadbed! What gentle gradients, re-
narkable curves, leading from one tan
gent to another with a mathematical
precision that almost hurts the eye
and attests the skill of the construction
engineer.
The stone sleeper passed hence in its
infancy; the iron rail has been retired
by the pOnderOus seventy pound and
heavier rails Of today. The wooden
trestle has given way to the demands
for additional safety, and the iron
bridge has taken its place. No stronger
illustration indicative of the progress
in the roadway of our rail lines can
perhaps be found than is contained IN
a letter c. A. Walker. the genial gen
eraI agent for the Chicago & North
western, once wrote to an inCuiring
station agent on a new line. The agent
for the new line desired TO know what
new and fresh inducements he should
announce to prospective passengers Tor
taking the Chicago & Northwestern, all
reference to time or speed being con-
r
new position. Mr.. Walkers reply was:
''TeI them the Chicago & Northwestern
uses embalmed ties, keeps the roadbed
/ sprinkled and grows shade trees on
both sides Of the track"
3 Imagine the traffic officials of the
Mohawk Valley railroad, in 1881, con
veying to the patrons of their line the
idea of such eXtravagant comfort
( While il may be that nature is acct
dentalIy lavish along the lines Of the
Chicago & Northwestern, 1t is fact
that this line, as well as the Burling-
ton, are embalming ties to save them
from an untimely end. The Union Pa
cific for several years has been pick
/ ling more or less, and the Oregon Short
Line has been sailing some. Sprinkling
of the roadbed. however, has not yet
come into general use west of the Mis-
souri, river. For this purpose a by
product of petroleum is used, which Is
not ignitible, and a spraying device
1 scatters the fluid sufficiently to lay the
dust. This spraying may TO some eX-
/ tent account for the alleged shade
along the line above mentioned, by
I performing the twO-fOld service Of lay
ing the dust and keeping the trees free
. from the ravages Of the caterpillar
/ the locust and the cOndling moth.
: The greatest progress. however, Is
: shown in the mechanical department OF
our railways. In 1880 the first loco
motive constructed in this country was
/ built by Peter Cooper and was called
1.-THE Best Friend" It weighed less
/ than a ton. The ties of friendship WITH
/ this locomotive soon ceased, and today
+ it would compare about as taYOrably
as a peanut rooster with the present
! huge and complicated models Of perfect
workmanship.
/ The trial trip of this midget was
made on the pioneer line, the Baltimore
6, Ohio, and Cooper forced il to a speed
of eighteen miles per hour by reckless
" sitting on the safety valve and
keeping il down, without mourning g
calamity to himself or the board Of di-
rectors, who accompanied him. I'm
I agine Cooper's product side by side
I with a 10G-tOn compound locomotive OF
one of the 125-ton mountain creepers Of
( today
Progress in Locomotives.
I On the record of mechanical achieve
/ mentS in locomotive building the name
of Baldwin is pre-eminently inscribed
/ Baldwin followed Cooper. and was
/ building locomotives as early as 1888
/ Today the Baldwin locomotive works
| turn out masterpieces of mechanical
skill, whose perfection is recognized a
! home and abroad.
/ In 1925 Woods. a writer "On rail
/ roads wrote as follows: Nothing cal
! do more harm to the adoption Of rail
( roads than the PRONUNCIATION of such
nonsense as that we shall see locomo-
| tive engines travelling at the rate o.