Sunday morning globe., 1901-10-20


furnish the motive power Fine specimens
of horseAesh they were; big, brawny-
limbcd. wer.fed, and 900 The very pink of
condition for drausht work. They would
need all their str myth before the day was
over for there were some troublesome
hills along the route over which tine pom
derous iron horses were to be pulled.
Upon arrival at MartinsburS Mr. Longust,
"a swdrthy, wiry little man, looked about
him until his eye fell upon "a big locomo-
tive standing oua side track near the round
house.
That's the fellow we we got TO begin ON.
Go iu, boysl" Inc shouted
And then the skilled men and laborors
began to work, using an expedition pos
sble, for no one could say how soon they
might be interrupted by The enemy. First,
the tender was uucouplcd, then the engine
was raised by means of jackscrcws and
stripped of an The parts that could be re-
moved, such as sid and piston rods, valves,
levers, lamps, bell, whistle, and sandboX.
AN the wheels were taken off except the
l3nge drivers at the rear The stripping
was done 20 Tighten weight, secure greater
ease in handling, and for the better
preservation of the runniuggear
When this work had been completed.
what had a few minutes before been
splendid iron Pegasus was helpless inert
mass, a mere she'll dcformed and crippled,
and ready to submit to any indiguity even
to that of being hauled over "a country road
by the flesh and blood horses whose Office
IL had SO long usurped. The next step was
TO swing the prize around until it hung
poised in the air at right angles with the
tracks and TO replace the missing forward
wheels with q heavy truck, made especially
for the purpose, furnished with iron-shod
wooden wheels and fastened TO- the engine IS
bumper by am iron bolt serving as a Inch
pin. When the jacks were removed the
engine rested ON the langc drivers and the
wheels of the truck powerful chain
formed the connecting link between the
locomotive and the team of horses. This
chain was fastened to the single double,
and 'fou'ble" trees by means of which the
horses pulled. The arrangement was very
ingenious. and insured steady and united
effort Tire horses went four abreast, and
the forty, when strung along in pulling
position covered the entire width Of the
road and over one hundred feet Of its
length Probably no similar team had ever
before been seen on an American road.
When all was in readiness, a teamster
mounted one Of each four horses, Longust
gave the signal, the crack Of ten whips rang
out, and the locomotives novel trip was
begun. The offstart was merry and inspir-
ing enough to such Of the townspeople as
happened TO be in sympathy with the
movement and to the small boy, who was
as usual present in force, 1t was an event
kueeuly enjoyed and long to be remem-
bered, an experience to be treasured along
with that Of donniug the initial pair of long
trousers; but to the sturdy band Of workers
who had the prize in charge, the trip was
anything but a holiday jauut.
The time made varied according to the
state Of the weather and the roads, the con-
dition Of the teams, and various other
causes. Sometimes the whole distance to
Winchester, eighteen miles was made in a
single day, while at others only three or
four miles would be covered in the same
time. The average time for the entire trip
TO Strasburg, thirty-eight miles south of
Martinsburg was three days. Often the
macadam covering of the road would break
through under the unwonted weight and let
the iron monster down into the soft earth.
Then there was hustling. The indispensa-
bic jaCkscrews came into use, and timbers
were placed under the wheels, until after,
perhaps an hours work a fresh start could
be made. On levels, where there was good,
solid road, and all went well, the teams pro-
ceeded at fast walk up the hills they
generally went faster, because it was only
by a good running start that they could get
to the top at ALL As it was the big horses
had TO strain every muscle In ascending the
grades
Before the first trip was made prospect
ing party went over the route and examined
the bridges on the line of the pike In
most instances these were not equal to sup
porting heavy locomotive and it was neces-
sary TO 90 into the woods, cut timber and
strengthen them for the unusual burden,
One of the hardest problems to solve was
that of ofregulating the speed in descending
hills. Just what the cyclist does for his
wheel with his little spoon-shaped brake,
the men in charge of the locomotive did for
that uuwieldly mass Of iron, for had it once
got beyond control ON a sharp down grade
nothing could have saved the horses or
anything else that happened to be in the
way. After considerable experiment and
thought. the alI-uscful jackscrew was again
called into requisition and used as a brake
being fastened 10 the engine frame ana
placed sidewise against the driving-wheel
and tightened or ioosencd as the necessity
arose by a man who rode ON the engine. IL
is hardly needful to add that this mans po-
sition was no sinecure.
The tenders were conveyed to Strasburg
ia the same manner as the engines, eight
horses being employed TO the team. Cars
were not So much Ia demand as engines but
a number of these were taken In the same
manner. They were not only used after
ward for transporting war supplies on the
roads, but served the immediate
purpose Of carrying the detached portions
of the locomotives
When the engines reached Suasburg,
they were placed on the tracks Of the
Gap road, which had the same
gauge as the Baltimore and Ohio-fve feet,
eight and a half inches--by the process em-
ployed In taking them from the rails at
and the tenders having been
they were hauled, by means Of
other steam power, over the road mentioned
and the Orange and Alexandria and Virginia
Central roads to Richmond the detached
parts remaining in the cars AT Richmond
hey were assembled and kept until all had
been brought from the limo of the p.1fin,,ro