The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-01-26

O9eSoo Oh Inc con1p6hy. and even 20 the
very Umen OF his death. ne was I'm
firing In hin enthusiastic inxsr.G n
Its welfare. While addressing the .ey-
iskfure OF South Carolina ON q Ques-
ton OF the policy Of the road. he fell
n leaving his speech Unfinished
h Is perhaps no more interesting
character Connected with the hfsDJ
or h Wilmington ralroaG than Cap
tain James knight. who Was without
inteTrnissaon In the service OF b CON-
pany Tor more than three score year-
a remarkable term Of service, and one
perhaps without a parallel. In 1856 a
banquet. In the large waiting room at
the depot. was given him by the com-
pany in celebration OF the fifriern an
mversary OF his entrance into tie ser
VIC Of b road; but he Eved many
years aIter IN active service as train
maste and in the fullest enjoyment
on the respect and confidence Of his SUI
perior officers. He was for a long time
engineer: and every one
knew Jim Knights" peculiar blast CT
the whistle in those days Of hand
brake n hong brake signals
, Wfse. w sas ue ens'R Rnaw So; AXE Ike
vines whistle; which suggests the re-
nectSon that the one connecting link
or the Old regime with the new Is Cap
tain John F. Divine. DOW assistant
general superintendent of the Ariantc
Coast Lin He has spent a long Hfe
N the service OF the company: and Is
now after the lapse Of many yeaIU still
ho1ored for his unbroken record OF
probity. merit and devotion to his du-
ties He has risen through all the
~gradationS of service On an engine up to
the Office OF general superintendent, and
Is still active and vigorous in the work
of his office.
These facts display the unbroken
policy Of the company. to retain and
honor a faithful Official. In the mid
OF the changes and removals in the Of
hces OF other railroads, there lis a sta
bility about those of the Coast Line"
which Is a pleasing reflection TO every
n in n service.
The Wilmington and Weldon raflroad
was, at the time OF its construction, the
longest single railroad in the world
This fact has been declared by oompe-
tent authorities. 1t Is also one Of the
oldest; there being yer few wh2Se
organization and construction antedate
1t. AS Was the case with nearly all
OF the early railroads. that were nor
what would be called nowadays tram
roads" the Wilmington and Weldon
railroad was built of strap iron spiked
to wooden rails. Such construction
was subject to a peculiar accident,
oAS%h AN1Np Cp dk A0
Of h iron bar would lift up. usually
after the locomotive passed over, and
the wheel of the car following woufi
pass under the uplifted end. instead Of
owe it, causing the iron to run up
through the floor of the car ard work
great damage. Such occurrences were
not very in%frequent on the railrods 50
built.
The first general offices OF the COM
r9nu were na3r the ga ct rn an6 nf tina
present passenger train shed; and the
freight dapOt was on the site of the
new waiting room. Freight ard pas
sengerS were delivered across a bridge
spanning the ravine, where the present
bridge now stands; and pear lis centre
was a fruit and confectionery stand
kept 10y an italian named Luciani.
Through freight and baggage was
transferred by wagons down to the
wharf. and was either carried by steam
ers of the line to Charleston or. Later.
ty the Wi1ningto and Manchester r9il-
"a whose depot was across the river.
During the war, the Wilmington and
Weldon railroad was perhaps the mos
important one in the South 1t was
the principal connecting n between
Richmond. the Confederate capital. and
the larger part OF the Southern States.
1t transported more passengers and
freight to and from Richmond and the
principal seat of the wal tina any
other railroad Over it were carried
the freight and invaluable cargoes
brought by the blockade runners into
the port Of Wilmington for h main
enance of the Confederate Army in
Virginia and elsewherea and over il
passed, in the other directiop, large
numbers OF and sick soldiers
from thu fbattlefiefds, returning to their
homes. There a in consequence q
society of ladies in Wilmington. who
detailed some of their number nearly
every day to meet the trains n a
for these disabled and suffering soBdisrs.
In this connection, it is somewhat in
~tereSting to note that scientific e n
even stevenson himself. the maker OF
the first locomotive. expressed IN II
conviction that it would be found al
most Impossible to rum railroad trains
faster than twenty miles an hour, on
account Of atmospheric resistance.
Have their spirits been disturbed by
the modern departure from their learn
ed prediction?
ANDREW ]. HOWELL, IR.