Wonders and curiosities of the railway; or, Stories of the locomotive in every land

Front matter

Shelf.. K.3i.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WONDERS AND CUEIOSITIES

CHAPTER I. Introduction 1-6

Sidney Smith and the Solan Goose, 1. The Womb of the Dragon, 2. Balaklava-eharge of the Locomotive, 3. Poetry of the Train, 3. Anecdote of the Ameer of Afghanistan, 3. The Railroad a Good Democrat, 3. The Feats of Steam, 3. From Cologne to London, 4.

CHAPTER IL

"Grasshopper Engines," 6. The Cornish Monster and the Clergyman, 6. " Na-noth-nothing to pay, my de-dear Mr. Devil!" 7. Road-engines with Legs, 8. "Owd Neddy's Quaker Line " (the Stockton and Darlington), 8. First Railroad Passenger Car in the World, 9. First Steam Passenger Car (George Stephenson's), 10. The "Puffing Billy" and the Burning-glass, 12. Quaint Early Signals, 12. The Darlington Jubilee of 1875, 13. The Railroad Train of Thomas Gray, 14. Snapped Legs and Bursting Hearts, 15. A Thrill of Annihilation ! 16. Downfall of the Bonifaces, 16, Eating a Stewed Engine-wheel, 16. George Stephenson before the Parliamentary Committee, — Roars of Incredulous Laughter, 17. Stephenson's Victory at Rainhill, 18. Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad, —

VI CON"TEIirTS.

The First Railway Accident, 18. Fanny Kemble's Locomotive Ride with Old Northumbrian George, 19 (note). The First French Railway, — " Triomphe merveilleuse ! " " Plaisir inconnu /" 20. A G-routy Englishman, 21. Old Samuel Breck of the Corps of Silver Grays, 23. Railway . Mania of 1836, 23. " Wily, Slily, Gammon and Bubble! " 24. Railway Mania of 1844, 24. Spinsters and Scrip, 25. Speculations of a Fascinating Marchioness, 26. The Debate of the Crack Engineers, 28. Railway Magnate Hudson and his "Umbrageous Scrip," 28,

Chapter III

The Fiest American Railroads . _ _ . . 30-68 Oliver Evans's Steam-wagon on Wheels, 30. His Remarkable Prophecy, 30. Dr. Darwin's Fiery Chariot, 31. Mother Shipton a Myth, 31. Colonel John Stevens's Railway on Posts, 32. Old "Granite Railroad" of Quincy (first in America), 33. First Snow-plough, 34. First Revolution on : American Soil of the Driving-wheel of a Locomotive, 86. Peter Cooper, the "Father of the Locomotive System in America," 39. Peter Cooper building his Engine, the "Tom Thumb," 39. Baron Krudener and the Sailing-car, 39. The " Cowed" ■ FAitors, 39. Race of the "Tom Thumb " and the " Gallant Gray," 44. The " Flying Dutchman," 46. A Negro Fireman sits on the Safety-valve of the "Best Friend," with Unpleasant Results, 46. Silhouette-artist Brown snips out a Quaint Picture of the First Railroad Train in the North, 47. Thundering along toward Schenectady, 48. Wood-sparks, Burnt Umbrellas, and Merrywoful Deck-pass'?ngers, 50. Stampede along the Road, 51. Ludicrous Trial- trip of " Old Ironsides," 52. Old Car, "Victory," 54. A Novel Track-illuminator, 54. Pounding down "Snake-heads," 56. Old Custom of Registering Names

CONTEISTTS. Vll

of Railway Passengers, 56. The Early Railroads of Massachusetts, 57. Edward Everett Hale's First Locomotive Ride, 57 (note). Thick-headed Legislators, 59. Boston and Worcester Railroad, 59. First Locomotive-whistle in Ohio, 62. The Lexington and Frankfort Railroad in Kentucky, 63. Its Queer Little Locomotive with Iliekory Brooms in Front, 63. First PufE of a Locomotive on the Prairies, 65. Charge of a Bull upon the Engine, 66. General Semples and his Prairie-locomotive, 66. View of Old Car on the Michigan Central, 67.

Chapter IV

Trunk Lines, 68. Colossal Statue of Columbus, hewn out of the Rocky Mountains, 68 (note). "The Strong, Light Works of Modern Engineers," 69. Longest Railroad in the World, 69 (note). First Railroad out of Chicago, 70. Union Pacific, — The Spinning of the Iron Thread, The Steady Tramp across the Plains, The Last Spike, 70. Central Pacific, — The Battle with the Sierras, 71. An AA^alanche of Earth, 72. Southern Pacific, — Tank-cars, Red Apaches, Sand-storms, 73. The Mexican Central, — " Viva la Republica de Mexico ! " 73. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway, the Iron Poem of the West, 74. Railway Exposition at Chicago, — Old Curiosity Shop, Electric Railway, 75. Nightbattle with the Indians on the Union Pacific, 78. Anecdote of the Tenderfoot Engineer, 79. Trains running the Firegauntlet, 80. Waterspouts on the Plains, — Lost Train, Buried Locomotive, 80. A Wonderful Hail-storm, 80. Snow-ploughs, — Charge of the Harnessed Engines, 82. Trains lost in Snow-storms, 83. . The New Time-standard, 87.

Vlii CONTEIS'TS.

CHAPTER V. The Locomotive iisr Slippeks 90-101

The Three-elephant Team in Ceylon, 90. "Change Cars for Nazareth ! " 90. The Steam Wagon in the Land of Roses, 90. The Locomotive in the Sunrise Land, — the Mikado opening the First Railroad in Japan, 91. How the " Japs " take to Steam Travel, 92. The First and Only Railroad in China,

— Disturbing the Spirits of the Earth and Air, 93. India, — Attack of an Elephant upon a Locomotive ; A Military Cordon of Stations; Feathery-foliaged Telegraph-poles ; Novel Sleeping Cars; The Chota-hazare; The Railroad a Castedestroyer; Uproar of the Natives at a Station ; The "Fragrance of a Monkey-house " ; Scarlet Turbans and Grinning Teeth, 94. Africa, — Balconied Cars; Tipped into the Nile; Prayer-carpets ; The Imperturbable Old Turk ; The Mishmisli, 98.

CHAPTER VI. A Mosaic of Teavel . 101-114

Russia,-^ Sumptuous Two-story Saloon-Cars; Clean, Bright Restaurants, 101. Travel in Norway, 102. Sweden, — The Arcadia of Travellers by Rail; Paul du Chaillu and his Wonderful Dinner, 103. Germany, — No Broken Rails ; The Conductor in his Little Watch-tower ; FiveHours and Fifteen Beers from Cologne to Mainz ; The Jolly Buffets, 104. Spain,

— Take your Time ; ' ' Quien quiere Agua? " Fruit Vendors, 106. France, — The Missis of Mugby Junction relates her Travels, "The Universal French Refreshment Sangwich busts on your Disgusted Vision"; Train-lunches, 107. England, — Shadowing a Thief in Woman's Apparel*; Features of English Cai's ; Description of the Underground Railways of London, Gigantic Subterranean and Subfluvial Tunnels, Weird Gliding of the Noiseless Trains, 111.

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER VII. A Handful of Curiosities 114-125

A Locomotive on Sled-runners, 114. Railroads on the Ice, 115. A Railroad in the Tree-tops, 115, The Old Fremont and Maumee Road, 115. Wooden Railways, 116. Bicycle Railways, — The Steam Caravan at Aleppo; A Two-wheeled Locomotive in New Jersey, 118. Toy Railroads, 118. A Submarine Railway, 119. The Marine Railway of Captain James B. Eads, — Transfer of Ocean Vessels aei-oss the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by Rail, 119. Atmospheric Railways (Compressed Air the Motive-power), 120. A Flying Locomotive, 121. Cars Propelled by Sails, 121. A Travelling Telegraph-office, 122. The Dynograph-car, 124.

CHAPTER VIIL

Mountain- Eailwats 125-145

The Locomotive a Good Climber, 125. The Gravity Road of Honesdale, — Magically Propelled Cars, 125. Old Switchback Road, 126. Old Portage Railroad aci'oss the Alleghany Mountains, — "One of the Wonders of the World," 127. All Aboard for Pittsburgh via Horse-car, Canal, and Inclined Plane! 128. Old Mountain-top Track of Virginia, 129. The Mt. Washington Railroad, 129. The Rigi Roads,— Up the Swiss Mountains by Rail, 130. The Mount Desert Railway, — bolted to the Solid Ledge, 131. Up Mt. Vesuvius by Steam-power, — Appalling Steepness of the Track, Cisterns dug in the Solid Lava, Road insured against the Volcano ! 132. The Magnificent Tunnels, Viaducts, and Snow-sheds of the Alpine Railroads, — Whirling through Mountains in Corkscrew Fashion, — Cattle as Small as Ants on a Tablecloth,— St. Gothard and Mt. Cenis Tunnels, 134. The Hoo-

X CONTENTS.

sac Tunnel, — History of its Construction, Its Cost, Terrible Accident in the Central Shaft, Five Miles of Solemn Gloom, Torpedo Signals, 138. The "Wonder of the Andes Mountains, — A Railroad among the Clouds in the Empire of the Ineas, The Highest Track on the Globe ; Gorge of Los Infernillos, Tuflel de la Cima ; Thrilling Descent in a Hand-car, 141.

CHAPTER IX. The Vertical Eailway -_-.-._ 145-158

The First Freight Elevators in the World, 146. The Seven Boxes of Sugar and the Air-cushion of Albert Betteley, 147. Otis Tuft's "Vertical Screw Railway" in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 148. Great Curiosity of Visitors, 149. The Huge Spiral Shaft and its Wheels, — The Brakes and the Fluid-- retarder, 149. The First Rope Elevator, 151, Hydraulic Elevators, — Soaring of the Wingless Bird in Paris, 152. The Old Spy-glass Elevators of the New York Post-office, 153. Accidents, — Decapitation of a Negro, etc., 154. The Serio-comic Air-cushion Experiment at the Parker House, Boston, 155. Air-cushion P'eats at Chicago Exposition of 1880, 156. The Architectural Grandeur of recent City Buildings due to the Vertical Railway, 15G.

Chapter X

The Lightning Haknessed — Tramways _ . _ 158-178 Electricity, the Coming Motor and the Benefactor of the Poor, 158. Around the World in a Train of Flying-cars, 159. Tissandier's Electric Air-car, Paris, 1883, 159. Prof. Werner Siemens, the Father of the Electric Railway System, 159. The First Electric Locomotive in America, 159. The Berlin Roads, — A Horse strikes Lightning with his Shoe, 160. Runaway Car in Paris, — Hop, Snap, Flash ! 161.

CONTENTS. XI

The Splendid Old Genie at Work in the Mines of Saxony, 161. By Lightning to the Giant's Causeway, 163. Edison's Enchantments at Menlo Park, — His Electric Locomotive, 162. Leo Daft's Electric Locomotive, the Ampere, on the Saratoga, Mt. McGregor and Lake George Railroad, 165. The Low-tension Current entirely Safe, 165. Pull of the Electro-magnets, 165. Electric Railways in London, 166. In the United States, 168. The First Street Car, 169. Old Harlem Line in New York, 169. "Whoa!" Crash! 171. The Cambridge Horse Railroad of Massachusetts, 172. L' Americain, 172. George Francis Train and his Grand Street-railway Banquet in Liverpool, 172. The Trumpeters of Buenos Ayres, 173. The Cable Railroads, 173. The Elevated Railways of New York, 174. Brick Viaducts of London, 174. Grease Splashes, Burnt Coats, and Rapid Transit, 176. Quaint Report of the Massachusetts Legislators in 1827 on a Bicycle Railway with "Sidelings," 176.

Chapter XI

The Functions of the Railway in War . _ 178-189 Railways, the Delicate Nerve System of a Country, 178. The Great Railroad Riots of 1877, 178. The Railway a Precarious Reliance when within Reach of the Enejuy, 179. A Lapteal Tube for Sherman's Army in its March to the Sea, ■ 180. The Strade Ferrate in Italian Wars, 180. The Hospital-trains of Germany, 181. Our Sanitary Commission's Railway Ambulances, ]81. The Military Railway Organization of the German Army, 182. The Lack of such an Organization in France, 182. The Practice-railway of the German Corps, 183. General Sherman again, — The Construction Corps during his Atlanta Campaign, — Whistle of the Yankee Locomotive, 184. Story of the Capture of a Locomotive by Twenty-two Picked Soldiers, — Their Wild

Xll CONTENTS.

Railway Dash, Capture, and Subsequent Adventures, 185. An Armored Railway Train in Egypt, 188.

CHAPTER XII. The Luxuries of Travel 189-199

Mr. Breck and his Little Jeremiad, 189. The Travelling Coach of Napoleon I, 189. Contrasted with the Imperial Suite of Railway Coaches employed by Napoleon HI and the Empress Eugenie, 190. The Travelling of the Queen of Sheba and Queen Victoria, — The Royal Night Train from Windsor to Balmoral, 191. Senator Sharon orders out his Wagon for a Drive over the Continent, 191. Vanderbilt's Flying Palace, — A Hundred Miles in a Hundred Minutes, 192. The "Railway Age" Car a Marvel of Beauty, 193. Invention of Sleeping and Palace Cars by Woodruff, Wagner, and Pullman, 193. The Mann Boudoir Cars, 195. Smoking Cars, — Adventure with Two Feminine Meerschaums, 186. Speed, — The Fastest Trains of Europe and America, 196. A Train stopped by Mushrooms, 198.

Chapter XIII

" Staym-ingynes, that Stand in Lines," 199. "Grip and Go," the Requisites of a Good Locomotive, 199. Camel-backs and Moguls, 199. English and American Engines Compared, 199. The Crimson Plume of the Locomotive Funnel, 200. A Cunning old Hawk flying in the Smoke, 200. jr Appetite of the Fire-steed, — Dishes he Eats, 201. Grooming the Locomotive and Oiling up his Joints, 201. The Midnight Ride of an Engine-Cleaner, 202. Asleep on a Locomotive, 203. Trials of Locomotive Engineers, 203. Heroic Death of Engineer Joseph A. Seeds, 204. Railway Yarns

CONTENTS. Xin

« of the West, 205. Chased by a Locomotive, 206. A Locomotive's Tour through a Depot, 207. Fight for an Engine by the Seaside, — A Merry Tug of War, Steam versus Mules and Men, 208.

Chapter XIV. •

The Making of a Steel Rail, 212. Gauges, Broad and Narrow, 213. A Railroad Ten Inches Wide in Massachiisetts, 214. Stations, or Depots, — American Barracks versus Italian Frescoes and Orange Trees; Fountains, Flowers, Damask Curtains, and Oil Paintings in European Stations, 214. Something about Railroad Signals, 216. The First Telegraphic Signalling (on the Erie Road), 217. An Accident in 1841, 218. The Train-despatcher in his Den, 218. The Block System, 220. Automatic Electric Signals, 220. The Old Train StafE and Ticket System in Great Britain, 221. The Signal and Interlocking Towers and Cabins of London, one of the Wonders of the World, 221. Sixteen Hundred Trains a Day at Clapham Junction, 223. London enmeshed with Labyrinthine Curves, 224.

Chapter XV

The Manufacture of a Car-wheel, — The Silver-diamond Filaments of the ' ' Tread" ; Swinging the Hot Wheels into the Annealing-pits, 225. Paper Wheels, 226. The Miller Coupler, Buffer, and Platform, 226. Description of the Westinghouse Brake, 227. The Baby Elephant and the Air-brake Rope, 228. Invention of the Conductor's; Bell-rope, 228. Electric Signal-bells on Cars, 229. Lighting Cars in Europe, — Edison's Incandescent Lamps, and Phosphorescent

XIV CONTENTS.

Paint, 330. The Eastman Non-freezing Car, 230. History and Description of the English and American Postal-ear Systems, 231. Story of the Expressrcar Business, 232. Railroad Tickets, — their Invention in England, Description of the Delicate and Curious Machinery used in Printing them, First Use in America; Coupon Tickets, first used on the Baltimore and Ohio Road; The Cheap Excursion Ticket, 233. About Conductors, — Fight of a Man with a Railroad, 237. Embezzlements and Spotters, 238. Petty Thieving by Railway Employes in Eui'ope, — Appropriating Wine and Fat Dairy Cheeses, 239. Dare-Devil Train Robbery, 239. "In as Nice a Little Trap as ever I saw," 241. Heigho! a Man inside a Box, 242. Train Robbery in Missouri, 242. Conclusion, — Shortcomings of the Railroad; Its Future, 243.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

" The Experiment " 9

George Stephenson's Passenger Car ..... 11 Thomas Gray's Idea of a Railroad Train ■ . . . 13 First American Railway (The Granite Road) . . 34

The " Stourbridge Lion " 37

Peter Cooper's Locomotive 40

The " Best Friend " .45

The " De Witt Clinton " and Coaches .... 49 First Railroad Train in Pennsylvania .... 53

The ." Victory " 55

Old Railway Time-table 60

Michigan Central Railroad Car, 1848 .... 67

The "Arabian" , 76

A Locomotive on Sled Runners 114

Logging Railway Train 117

Sailing Car (Kansas Pacific Railway) .... 123

Mount Vesuvius Railway Car 133

Waterman's Elevator 147

The First Passenger Elevator 149

Edison's Electric Locomotive 163

The Daft Electric Locomotive . 167

The First Street Car in the World .... 169

Armored Railway Train 187

Interior of the " Railway Age " Car .... 193

XV

Brakes were hugged about the wheels, All the cranks a stillness kept, Shadows on the polish slept.

And the demon under seals Quiet lulled the murmuring ire Of our iron heart of fire, Till we chafed it into toil, Gave it blast and gave it oil.

Now we nurse a mad delight.

Dash the iron leagues behind, Horse a wrath and drink a wind, Run outrageous through the night. ***** Water boil and Are burn In the oily steaming urn; Let the fire and water waste.

They that tarry wind and tide, Safely to the harbor ride ; Ruin cracks the skull of Haste.

Best though life may be in action.

Action is not all in all; Till the track is clear for traction

Stand we, though the heavens fall ; Stand we still and steady, though From the valve the vapor blow.

From the fire the fuel go.

Who shall dare to antedate By a step the step of Fate?

—E. W. Ellsworth. xvi

WO^DEES A]^D OUEIOSITIES OF THE KAIL WAY.

CHAPTEEI.