The Carbon County news., 1929-08-01

fact that it was an English-made locomotive.
rather than an American product. which made
the historic run whose centennial is being colo
DRAFTED IN Pennsylvania this year. The "pageantn
narrative continues.
Enghsh engines came to America through the
action of the proprietors of the Carbondale rail-
ROAD, the coal tramway of the Delaware g. Hud
son Canal company. Through their civil engineer
Horatlo Allen. whom they sent to England thew
ordered three locomotives one of them with
rveted hues of large size from Foster , Rastricls
and company, of Stourbridge and tbe other t,yn
with WI tubular boilers from Stephenson and company
" NeWcastle- on-Iyne The Stourbridge Lion
was operated at Honesdale by Horato Allen on
august y, 1929 The locomotive proved so heavy
70 lons) hat 1t was pronounced unsafe on the fral
bridges and trestes of the Carbondae railroad and
was discarded. This trial however was tba 60
@ @.me practicable locomotive upon perma-
iieht rallroad track in America and Allen although
II was the only time he ever ran an engine bas
the distinction of being the first American loco
motive engineer. The Stourbridge engine reoei,,oa
us name from a painting of lions head on tho
front of the engines boiler The Lion storad ~
a shed by the Carbondae railroad was picked to
pieces by souvenir hunters and what was too baayy
TO carry away was eventually sold by the railroad
Tor old iron. Later the historical value of ths
engine caused search for its parts some being re-
covered. The two engines built by Stephenson and
Company, arrived somewhat later Tbev were
@ stored IN an iron warehouse in New York City, ex-
hiplted occasionally, but never used These an
gines were similar the Stephenson Rocket
ana II they had been given trial at once they
would have had the istorical place now assigned
TO the Rocket itself for the latter did not make
its famous trip until October a. 1929
The first railroad constructed in America with a
oehhlte ann or carrying passengers and freight
was the Baltimore & Ohio 1t was chartered in
1927, and the laying of the rails began on July a
1879, charles Carroll, the only living sgner of the
Declaration of independence, lifting the first show
elful of earth The first section of 13 miles, from
Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills, was opened in Nav
1851 The promoters experimental with various
sorts OF power. One fiat car fitted with a
treadmlll operated by horse Upon its trial trip
this contrvance upset by stray COW on the
tracks and the device condemned Another ex-
pertinent was made with sailcar the Meteor
sailboat wheels
Peter Cooper the next inventor to offer ideas
to the Baltimore Ohio railroad; he was in
fuenced in part by the fact that he owned some
land value OF which would be enhanced if this rail-
road proved success. Cooper built tiny steam
locomotive with boiler about the size of those
that now stand by the kitchen stove and with fues
constructed with gun barrels other parts were
proportionaely small and crude. This engine was
called the Tom Thumb. With it, Cooper made
few trial runs upon the partially finished railroad
in 1890
With the data secured from his small model
Cooper reconstructed the Tom Thumb and oper
ated it again on August 28 1890, over the full IA
miles of the road, attaining speed of four miles
an hour pushing with "a passengers few
days later there was a challenge between the
Tom Thumb and horse-drawn car over the
double track from Ellcott's Mills to Baltimore
The gray horse led at the start but the locomotive
caught up with it and passed it, then belt slpned
and the horse reached Baltimore first During the
following year horses served as a motive power
on the Baltimore & Ohio
Although the gray horse had defeated Tom
Thumb, the Baltimore 4 Ohio officials believed
that the steam locomotive was worth further