The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1902-10-10


came along in charge. They were
Joseph Ilnddcn aud Theodore lsa-
worth. The last named was the
father Of Mr.. Theodore S. Raworth.
present secretary of the Sibley Man.
atAc'uring Company. These men
were the first to run engines over the
ilrsE ral'roli in the South. This
de'cription of the early method.
shows them to have been primitive
in the extreme.
The first cars were equipped with
sails. This sounds in newspaper
t"lk, like ''pipe Dream" but it is a
fac, The Object of the sails was to
help the engine in case a favorable
tr'ezs should spring up from behind.
After making several trips along the
line, it was found necessary to have
headlight of some kind. After a
deal Of thought and consideration,
the superintendent provided fiat
car with a dirt floor. This was
coupled on in front Of the engine, and
piled with llghtwool knots. Just
before the train was ready to pull out,
these were set on fire, and negro
was employed to keep the fire gong.
One can we'll imagine the inconven-
leIce to the engineer. 1t took q
vsry few minutes for him to be thor
ougtlJ J smoked.
The authorities Of the new enter
prise we're at first very limil about
increasing speed. Eight miles was
considered fast enough, as the lives
Of tic passengers had to be consid.
cred. AT meeting of the directors
of the read, some time after it had
been in oTera ion, it was proposed
that an increase ofspeed be attempted.
The proposition, however, met with
Little encouragement. The more rro-
gressive members then rose and de-
livertd an argument in favor of his
proposal. lie believed that ten
miles an hour could be obtained, and,
if more improved machinery could be
purchased, even twelve miles an hour
could be reached. Not noticing the
astcnished looks of the assembly, the
speaker argued on, and ended his
speech with the amazing assertion
that fifteen miles an hour would
some day be possible.
After the meeting there was serious
t'lk among the directors of sending
their friend to an asylum for the IN
sane, a. the heavy responsibility of
helping direct the road had evidently
unbalanced his mind. One of the
mos. unique occurrances in the early
history of the railroad was the first
slt aga gainst it to rec,ycr damages.
In these days there we're no section
hards to keep the road clear of grass,
and as the interval between trains
was two or three days in length, the
track was generally so over grown
with weeds that it was indistinguish-
able at any distance. One day q
luckless negro-as hundreds Of his
kin have done sincs-lay down upon
the track to sleep. Probably he
thought the train had passed the
day before. Alas, for him, it was
some fifteen miles away, and fast
bearing down upon him. The grass
was thick and tall, and in less than
two hours the engine had passed over
the fa.ed slave before the engineer
knew he was on the track.
Ills owner, farmer, living near,
probably one of those who had so
vigorously protested against the build
ing Of the road, Immediately began
suit fur the killing of his live stock.
Damages were never recovered, how
ever, thejudge ruling that the slaves
death came from no fault of the en-
gineer, as the grass along The road
va, too tall for anyone to be seen
who might be sleeping upon the track.
AS stated before, The present road
between Charleston and Aiken, lies
upon the old route, but in the year
1852 that portion of the road be-
tween Augusta and Aiken was en-
tirely rebuilt and the route changed.
Up to 1852 the deep cut which runs
through Aiken did not exist. The
trains ran from Charleston. straigh
into Aiken, and there encountered
one of the greatest difficulties of the
long trip. The grade from Aiken
to the vallty below was too short and
steep for even modern engine to at
tempt. But the engineering corps Of