The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-17
ME- 0RIES Of ANTE
BELLUM RALEIGH
locomotives Then Only
One-Fifteenth Their
Present Size
SLOW SPEED OF TRAINS
Interesting Re~collectiOns Of the Time
When Raleigh was Yet a Village
Passenger Who Wanted ~Cowcatcher
Rcanoyed-Other Incidents Of That
Time.
BY n. W. WEST.

BY n. w. WEST.
My ancient friend, Col. John Mich
OILS. told you something about Raj
eigh some months ago. / was here
fifteen years before he came to town.
I am today probably HI Oldest citi-
zen having lived here about seventy
five years, and in the same house
sixty-fve. Colonel Nichols said the
stage drivers blew bugles announcing
their arrival. They blew very long
tin horns called stage horns. The
stage coaches left the east entrance
to the Guion Hotel, now the Agri-
cultural Building and State Museum.
The coaches carried nine passengers
three in front, three behind and three
in the -niddle-the swing, as it was
called. The coaches were usually
hauled by four gray horses, for the
reason that they were cheaper than
other colors. A gray horse usually
gets flea bitten when he begins to
grow old. and is ugly.
The stage for Greensboro, n. c..
was driven by Hey Harvard, whose
son was killed by my side at a little
affair in Maryland. Manly's Battery
was fighting Pleasanton's dismount-
ed cavalry. Part of a regiment Of
Jeb Stuart's cavalry was our support.
Ny friend says there was only one
dray in Raleigh. That vas so for q
little while. The dray was owned by
Ruffin Tucker, drawn by a mule with
q negro slave as driver. Later on Syl-
Vester Smith put on another Tray
drawn also by a mule. The driver
was Uncle Abraham, who belonged to
Mr. Smith ronoJlnof hearing the
little girls hollering when the dray
passed. Put on your bonneas, girls.
or old Abe will carry you OF IN his
dray." These draymen would some
to the depot (Raleigh * .iaston)
striving to back up first to tbs: n
delivery door. The draymen endeav-
ored to get as many single packages
as if they could get, say twenty pack
ages or more, one package to one
person, drayage was five cents each
package, the load sometimes amount
ing to one dollar or more. One mori-
ing Sylvester Smiths dray was found
with most OF the spokes cut out OF
the wheels. rendering it Useless Tor a
time. l always thought Mr.. tuck
er's negro did it. 1t was not proved.
To scatter a little, the stages first
stop going to Greensboro was at Nor
~risville, about twelve miles from mere.
Stage left at 4:30 p. m. Here the
passengers had supper and the horses
were changed. The stages made
about ten miles an hour. The stage
house and stables at Morrisville was
kept and owned by Mr.. Alfred Nor
ing, the father Of our esteemed cItl-
zen Frank O. Moring, Of this city.
The stage for Fayetteville lett a. the
same time as the stage for Greens
boro; first stop was at B~arclaysVllle.
about ten or twelve miles; hanse
horses and supper.
The trains on the Raleigh & Gas
ton ran any kind Of a way; had a
schedule, but could never Keep it'
The four engines were named spit
fire." Tornado Volcano and
Tempest" They were about ten
tons. Think of it. They are now
built to weigh one hundred and fifty
tons. The first engine to make a rec.
ord for speed was the ROCKET.
built by George and Robert Stephen
son, competing with three other en-
gines. The run was IRON Liverpool
to Manchester. The average speeu
was 10 miles per hour; made for q
few miles 81 miles an hour: weighed
6 1-2 tons. Those on the Raleigh <
CASTOR Railway-four engines eacn.,
had on in front a 'cOW-catcIleI'
made Of / 1-2-inch iron points sharp
ened; cow-catcher shaped similar to
a fender on a street car. When they
caught a cow it required the com
bined efforts of the train crew, en-
gineer, fireman, conductor and brake
man to get the animal Off. II It was
a bull. the conductor sometimes had
to call on the passeng rs to neip
pull the animal off.
Mark Twain, travelling in NORTH