Perth Amboy evening news., 1903-12-26
o OF EDLSON'S
FIRST TROLLEY LINE.
j. S. cIarksOn Tells Interesting Tale Ofhe FIRST Attempt a.
Electric ransportaton-- Rails Were Charged and People Re-
ceped Many Shocks.

While an Evening News reporter
was awaiting the advent of the Wood
bridge Township Committee one night
recently, he engaged in conversation
with a venerable old gentleman, +. }.
CIarkson, who, like himself, had
come to hear again the oft repeated
trolley wrangle. The committee n
the representative Of the trolley COM
panv however, made no undue haste.
The talk turned to trolleys in gene
raj and finally to one in particular.
This was the first trolley line and
though it proved a failure IN the first
experiment a description Of the hrst
of electric railways was in itself an
interesting tale and not to be under
valued. Mr.. Clarkson was associated
with the great wizard Thomas A.
Edison when the latter was i'll his
early days at Menlo Park. BE assisted
him with the construction OF the fam
Gus trolley line from his laboratory at
Menlo Park to Pumptown passing
north of Metuchen. This route is
still discernable as an old railroad.
Old residents are fond of showing
strangers the course and telling Won
aerful tales of the first experiments.
gMr. Ciarkson said Edison.had trou-
BILE with the road from the outset.
Enough, in fact, to discourage "A less
ambitious soul. The first difficulty
was in keeping the electricity where
it was supposed to stay. As ile old
gentleman said: There We"
thousand places for it to escape Ina
only one to charge" The rails were
taken up by two men and veneered.
After this they were baked ana re-
laid. The result was an absolute fail
ure. The veneer wore off after one or
two trials.
The rails were highly charged with
cement and at the old Dark Lane cross
ing many contacts with it made the
country people wary. Some would
place boards over the track making an
lmpromptu bridge for their horses to
cross. This was after several of the
~equines received small shocks and ran
away. People were careful in cross
ing.
Mr. GARRISON telIs n amusing
gSffeH care was not taken.
NE nd, @ farmer, placed his his feet
on one rail and leaning over, touched
the other. A circuit WAS formed and
the mans yells were loud and lusty.
Mr.. Clarkson ran to his assistance but
the man was not hurt. Anger at the
force was the prevailing feature in
him. He wanted to know why. Mr..
Clarkson took a stand on q dry tie and
touched n rail. No circuit was
formed and he felt no shock. The
uninitiated must try again. inf rtu-
nately he found a circuit and
SHOCKED. He made dire threats and
made Off with out asking for more
light. Mr.. Olarkson says Edison had
not yet perfected his a when he left
his employ.
An instance of the wizards modes
ty : given the narrator. He told
of the many men who tried ito talk to
Ellison on the car subject. He says
the inventor would leave in his shirt
sleeves and run as though life de-
pended upon it. At time a deleg-
alton from Newark caught their quar-
ry almost unawares but he crawled
through a window and escaped.
"But," said Mr.. Clarkson, she has
outgrown that now"
OF Mr.. Edison's son Mr.. Clarkson
says: ""Ihe last time l saw Tommy
Junior he was walking up that blasted
trolley road in the boiling sun, bare
headed with a dried suntish i'll one
hand and a jack knife in the other,
swearing Ike a pirate at losing his
line"