Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1953-09-04
Railroad Display
Is One OF Best
At Our State Fair

A million dollars worth of early
and modern railroad equipment is
being exhibited at the Ohio State
Fair in Columbus, in connection
with the states SesQuicentennial
observance, the Ohio railroads an
nounced today.
Arranged by a. committee rep
resenting IA railroads operating
in the state, the exhibit is located
on a Pennsylvania Railroad spur
track between the 18th Street en-
trance to the state Playground
parking lot. The track exhibit is
the first of its kind in Ohio and
the first assembly of old and new
equipment from various railroads
since the Chicago Railroad Fair
of 1948-49.
OF prime interest to railroad
historians and enthusiasts is the
four old locomotives-the Pennsy-
lvania Railroads John Bull, +"
built in 1881; the Baltimore and
Ohio's Lafayette" built in 1887;
the New York Centrars 1899"
built in 1892 for the purpose of
establishing a rail speed record,
and the Chesapeake and Ohio's
"Old 377" of 1900 vintage.
The John Bull" was built in
England and placed in service as
the first locomotive on the Cam
den and Amboy, now part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, on No
vember II, 1881, at Bordentown
N. J. -' '..' F. ''.
The Lafayette" was the first
B. and o. locomotive having q
horizontal boiler. Built by William
Norris and Company of Philadel,
phia, the engine has a APO wheel
arrangement and sometimes is
called "one-armed Billy" because
of its single drive-rod. With tn
Lafayette" the B. and o. vii
exhibit a double-deck Inlay car
built in 1882 and closely fesemh
ling a stage coach in design, an,
a four-wheel open freight cal
known as a flour barrel car" be
cause it was used for hauling bar
rels of flour from Ellicott City t
Baltimore in the early 1905.
Engine $780," which cost onl
$4,000 when built 81 years age
set a world speed record of 112.
miles per hour on May 10, 1885,
between Batavia and Buffalo
New York while pulling the En-
pire State Express. This locomo
tive, with 86-inch drive wheels
especially designed for speed
went into retirement so years age
The Chesapeake and Ohio 1877
is distinguished by a high smok
stack, square headlight and point
ed cow-catcher. It was saved fror
the scrap pile when the C. and c
decided to repair and repaint tn
engine into a museum piece.
The cost of reproducing thes
antique pieces of rail equipment
by methods used when they wer
constructed, cannot be estimated
The cost of modern equipment t
be displayed approximates 81, 600
600. ~ ~ .- e.~.#
The Erie Railroad and the Mic
kel Plate Road will exhibit new
all-steel cabooses equipped wit
train radio, permitting communi
cation between cabooSe and loco
motive on a freight train and from
caboose to wayside. Erie's caboos
is bay window type used on tha
road for the first time last year
The Nickel Plate caboose is
cupola type with hardwood floor
modern fittings and shatter-proo
glass. Both are. designed to pro
vide. safe and comfortable office
on wheels for the train crews.
Other modern equipment o.
display will include New Yorl
Central diesel road switching 10
comotive of 1900 HIP, built i
1852 at a cost of $125, 900;
streamlined air conditioned, re
clining seat passenger coach an
a sleeping car with four doubl
bedrooms, four compartments an
two drawing rooms from tn
Pennsylvania Railroad, and
Chesapeake and Ohio moderr
streamlined coach. w
Free copies of a new, condense
history of the Ohio railroads, pre-
pared especially for the Sesqui
centennial observance, will be dis
), tributed to visitors at the railroa
track exhibit. The 28-page book
let, printed in two colors, descrit
es the development of rail trans
! portation in the state and the cor
! tribution of the railroads to tn
: Ohio economy.
JILL MARKHAM
IMPROVING
Jill Markham, ds.Ighter of Nj
+. and Mrs. Thomas Markham,