The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-01-04

trains. The cars were cTOWueu diiu :
had difficulty in getting a~cconInoua-
tions. There was no sleeper ana the
messengers for Tien-tsin and Pek1ng
were forced to sit up all night. 10
avoid this, I stopped Off at Shanhalk-
wan, where the road goes through the
Great Wall, and took the day train
on the following morning.
| haikwan is we'll built and fairly we'll
managed. The conductors and train
men are Chinese, as are also the sta-
ton masters and laborers. The dis
trict through which we went is IN
tested by ~brigands, and we had SOL
diers on the cars as Well as at the
stations. Landing at Shanhaikwan,
we were in China roper and from
thence on to Tien-tsin we rode over
the first railroad successfully operated
on Chinese soil.
China's First Railroad.
The first track ever laid in this
country, was a little stretch OF twelve
miles, runnlng from TO the
port Of Woosung, on the Yangtse-
Kiang. 1t was constructed in 1875
by a British at q cost OF
500, 900, and was operated but a few
weeks. Nix native officials were op-
posed to railroads, and they tried to
keep out this opening wedge. me
story goes they paid a coOlie $100 to
ALLOW himself to be run Yer by the
cars and killed. At any rate, the man
through himself in front of the ears
and was taken out, mangled ana e.
Upon this, a mob tore up the road,
and the officials decided it should be
abolished.
The railway from ShanhaikWan TO
Tientsin, or rather that part Of it from
the kaipino coal mines to IlentSIn.
was constructed about ten years later,
being started as a tramWay, with cars
hauled by horses, and finally changed
to a steam railroad. h scheme was
packed by Lii Hung Chang and WI
Ting-fang, and it's original capital was
$3.50, 900. The English engineer in
charge was w. c.. Kinder, who until
now has had the control of the great
coal mines at Kaiping and practically
of the Observation-Disclosures
railway system. When Mr.. Kinder
changed his horse road to steam he
was afraid to order an engine from
| abroad, for fear that the a%nti-pro-
gressive officials would object. So he
made up a locomotive out of scrap iron
and used it. This locomotive is still
kept in the shops at Kaiping. 1t is Ia
beled "Rocket Of China" and it should
have a place in any national museum
which the empire may build. Later
on locomotives were ordered from the
United States and after some years one
was built at Kaiping. When the latter
was being painted the Chinese work
men decorated the smokestack with
two big eyes. Upon Mr.. Kinder being
asked NV they did 50 the men re-
piled:
Engine must have eye. No have
eye no can see. No can see, how can
Walkee?"
Nevertheless, Mr.. Kinder blotted the
eyes off the engine.
How the Boatmen's Union Held Up
Lii Hung Chang.
This first line originally came from
Kaiping to the Pei river, being used
for carrying coal down to the Taku
at the mout of that stream, where
it was afterward extended to Tien-
tsin, and bv the orders of Ii Huns
Chang a fine bridge of stone and steel
was constructed to bring the tracks
across the river into the city. hi
was just about completed when the
trade unions Of junk and boat men OBJ
jected and raised such a fuss that Ii
gave out an order that the bridge
should be destroyed. He gave up the
project of bringing the road into the
citv and located his depot on the op-
posite side of the river. That same
depot still stands. l landed there dur
ing my recent stay at Tien-tsin, but
was able to cross on a bridge which
had been made over the Peiho. This
old Kaiping-Titen-tsin road is now q
mart of the Imperial railways Of north
China. 1t has been extended to Pei
king and forms one section of the
trunk line to Europe. The road was
built with capital borrowed from
Great Britain, the original loans
amounting to about $12, 10000 TIL.
construction was managed by the Chi
nese government and the entire cost
was only a little over $22,OOO.OOO o,
about $4,000 a mile. It's net profits
have already been 5 $1,000, 900, or about
$4,000 cold per mile, and that within
a space of ten years. The road has
an immense freight traffic, and il
handles about half the trade of Tien.
tsin.
Good Passenger Accommodations.
have recently traveled over the