The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-07-28
Railroad History.

OF the past hundred years. 1t Is
hard to realize that there are per
sons living right here in McCon-
nellsburg who came into this
world before a single mile of rail.
road had been built IN the United
States.
The oldest railroad IN this coun
try is the Baltimore IL Ohio, hav-
ing been continuously IN exist
ence since 1927, the year 1t receiv
ed its charter. The first rail o.
this road was laid on July "a,
1928, by Charles Carroll, the last
surviving signer of the Declara
ton of independence.
Several short railroads were in
existence previous to this time,
but they were small private enter
prises. What may be consider
ed the first railway build in the
United States was from the gran
ite quarries of Quincy, Mass, to
tidewater, length of five miles,
which was completed IN 1927. 1t
was built to supply the granite
for the Bunker Hill monument,
and was made of wooden rails
laid on granite sllls, with a strap
rail of rolled iron.
The second railroad was begun
IN Janaury, 1927, and completed
IN May of the same year, and ex
tended from the coal mines to
the Lehigh River at Mauch
Chaunk, Pa, a distance of nine
miles. The loaded cars passed
down the incline by gravity, and
the empty cars we're drawn up
by mules. The rails were of tim
ber, covered with strap of iron.
In 1928 the Delaware & Hudson
Canal Company constructed rail
way sixteen miles long from Its
coal mines at Honesdale, Pa, the
termination CT the canal, to trans
port the anthracite coal to tidewa
ter.
These private roads were fol
lowed rapidly by the Baltimore &
Ohio, the Mohawk q Hudson, the
South Carolina, the Camden &
Amboy, the Ithaca & Oswego,
and the Lexington & Ohio, which,
at the close of the year 1880, had
ninety-two niles built and 463
miles projected or under construc
tlon. All of these roads were
built for and operated by horse
power.
Ten years after this, IN 1910,
there were 28I6 miles of railroads
in the United States, since which
time railroad building advanced
rapidly, and In 1909 there was In
operation in the United States
230,0S4 miles of railroad, with
second tracks and sldings amount
ing to 103,691 miles additional.
The original design of the Bal
timore & Ohio Railroad was as a.
road from tidewater to the Ohio
river. The road originally con
sisted of iron-plated wooden rails
and speed of nine miles an hour
was considered very wonderful
in those days. To-day the ninety
miles between New York and
Philadelphia is covered in ninety
minutes. The journey to Chlca-
go from New York, Oil miles,
takes less than twenty = four
hours; from Chicago to San Fran
CISCO, eighty-nine hours, and to
cross the entire continent from
New York, four days and eight
hours.
The speed of American expires
ses was, fifteen years ago, from
thirty to forty miles an hour. 1t
has now been raised to consider.
ably over forty. Less than forty
years ago Jules Verne wrote his
entertaining romance, "Aronnd
the World IN Eighty Days" He
was thought TO have exceeded all
bounds of possibility; at that time
the clrcumnavigation of the globe
neyer had been accomplished in
less than l2l days. In 1873 it
was done in 100 days. Eventual
y, an American performed the
feat in ninety days, aud in 1891 a
Miss Blsland Nelly Bly, lowered
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