Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-09-19
Ehrnittg Ul1at.

It will be Just eighty years to-mor-
row since the first locomotive punea
into Harrisburg. The railroad. which
is now known the world over as the
Pennsylvania system, sent its frst
train to the State Capital from Mid
dletown on September 20. 1885. The
Pennsylvania, the Reading, the Cum
berland Valley and the Northern Gen.
trail railroads with their immense en-
gines and huge trains have been SO
much part of our lives that 1t Is hare
to realize that it was only back in the
days when Martin Van Buren was
president that the first train came In
to the city which is now one of the
division terminals of four great rail-
roads and in touch by rail with every
state in the Union and every prov
1nce in Canada and such parts or
Mexico as are traversable by the iron
horse. The arrival Of the first loco
motive with a train naturally made
tremendous stir in Harrisburg. Gov
ernor Joseph Ritner and the State Of
ficials and their families went down to
the First ward below Paxton street to
see the train come in and Christian
Seller and. Jacob Shoemaker, the bur-
gesses, We're on hand to extend their
welcome to what was the start of a
traffic of which they little dreamed.
The old newspapers say that the first
which was the old name of Middle
town and was run over the Harris
burg and Lancaster railroad. 1t later
became the Harrisburg, Portsmouth,
Mt. joy and Lancaster and some of
the old securities are held about here
yet. The locom otive was taken from
Columbia, which was connected with
Philadelphia by rail, by canal boat to
Middletown as it was some time later
before the two down the river bor-
oughs were linked by the tracks. The
engine was of the type known as the
John Bull, which we saw at the va
| rious expositions, and pulled three
! cars. Just what were the feelings of
| those forefathers and forem others OF
ours as they lined. the railroad from
about Tuscarora street to Paxton fur
mace can be imagined. 1t was not
| long, however, before they became ac-
customed to trains for the railroad
was built through to Lancaster and in
1887 the Cumberland Valley bridge
| was opened and trains came here
from up the valley
| And by way of the contrast of
eighty years 1t may be stated that
there are now ESQ trains arriving and
| departing from Harrisburg every day
OF this number 234 are on the three
roads which form the Pennsylvania
system and sixteen on the Philadel-
phia and Reading. Forty-two trains
come into Harrisburg over the very
line traversed by that old locomotive
of 1885. And forty-three depart on
the same route.
Failure on the part of a Cumber-
land Valley postmaster to get his mail
pouch on the morning train has been
explained. He had his own idea of
how a post office should be run. Not
long ago. this postmaster was put in
| charge of small office along branch
line south of the Mason and Dixon
line. Every day a mail train, coming
north in the morning was expected
to throw off a mail pouch; and take
one on. The railway mail clerk in
charge tossed off the pouch on sched-
ule time, and made ready to grab the
bag from the rack as the train passed
the station. For two weeks there was
no pouch to take on. One day the
train stopped at this station. The
postmaster was there. The clerk
thought 1t would be good time to find
out why no mail was coming out of
that particular town. The postmaster
was called to the mail car and asked:
How is 1t you have no mail for
u.s." The answer came back: Don't
you tell me how to run my post office
know my business. When I get
enough mail to fill pouch, I'll have 1t
out on that pole for you to snatch off,
and no sooner"
OF course there was no argument
with this rural official and his case
was reported to the proper authori-
ties. Later on an inspector turned
up in that town. Now the mail is NOV
ing more regularly.
Ex-senator James L. Adams, of AL
llegheny county. who was here yester-
, day on business at the CaDitoI was
the chairman of the committee of the
whole when the first school code was
considered in the House. He was la
ter elected to the senate and was a
member of the San Francisco exposi-
!, ton commission