NOVEL INCIDENTS ON EARLY RAILWAYS.
RAILWAY movements are at all times invested with deep interest
to those who are responsible for results, and the operations on
some of the early lines were peculiarly exciting on account of
the lack of experience, the absence of a number of the appliances
and safeguards which have since been considered indispensable,
and the crude nature of the tracks, locomotives, and cars.
An English Engineer forcibly says that "the railway of
the present day is in principle what it was at the outset; but
it differs in detail from the original as much or more than the
skewer that fastened the dresses of the ladies in Queen Elizabeth's
time from the pin of the present day, or the carpets of this era
from the rush floors of that. The progress has been gradual, but
not slow."
SOME OF THE ORIGINAL DEFECTS
grew out of the peculiar circumstances under which the primitive
lines were called into existence, and the ends they were designed
to serve. One class of roads was intended mainly to carry freight
for the owners of the line, and if this purpose was served other
matters were of comparatively little importance. This remark applies
to the early coal roads, and even on the Philadelphia and Reading,
which also engaged extensively in other business, it is stated
that there was a period when coal trains were given the right
of way in preference to passenger trains. There were also some
roads, belonging to private companies, which commenced operations
under a system like that adopted on the railways built by the
state of Pennsylvania, viz., the companies did not aim at furnishing
either passenger or freight cars, and only supplied the roadway
and motive power. This limitation had an effect analogous to that
arising from the application of a similar principle to turnpikes,
inasmuch as the company might, in various contingencies, become
anxious to reduce expenses, even at the risk of subjecting rolling
stock to unnecessary wear and tear. A number of important lines
were built partly with aid, more or less liberal, from state or
city governments, which was given chiefly for the purpose of drawing
trade to some particular centre, and if this object was promoted
in a satisfactory degree other shortcomings were usually condoned.
OPPOSITION ENCOUNTERED.
In addition to the usual forms of opposition which many modern
railways encounter, special causes of distrust and hostility existed
when the entire undertaking was novel. In portions of Pennsylvania
the fear that the use of horses would be greatly restricted was
a leading incentive to active antagonism. In other places champions
of pre-existing canal systems desired to prevent rivalry. There
were some localities in which the adverse influence of rich stage
proprietors was keenly felt, and their efforts to crush a dangerous
and destructive competition materially increased the difficulties
of some of the early projectors. In some instances stage routes
and appurtenances that had been sold for large sums soon ceased
to be profitable after competing railways had been completed.
There was also a considerable number of substantial and conservative
citizens who opposed the innovation on principle, although they
reaped a large share of the benefits conferred. Josiah Quincy,
in discussing this phase of the pioneer railway movements, describes
town meetings which passed resolutions denouncing projected lines
as incalculable evils, and be says that "the believer in
railroads was not only to do the work and pay the bills for the
advantage of his short-sighted neighbor, but, as Shakespeare happily
phrases it, 'Cringe and sue for leave to do him good.'" In
Mr. George W. Smith's additions to Wood's Treatise on Railroads,
published in 1832, he says that on the Baltimore and Ohio "an
unfortunate cow (according to the inveterate habits of these animals)
crossed the road when a train was passing, and persisted in the
attempt to arrest the progress of the car. The melancholy fate
of this proto-martyr of the opposition, excited great commiseration
among some of the canal advocates, who bewailed her untimely end
in many a newspaper article. On the South Carolina Railroad a
negro placed himself on the top of the safety valve of the locomotive
engine during the absence of the engineer; it proved no seat of
safety to him; and, resenting the indignity, blew poor Sambo sky-high."
DEFECTS OF THE TRACKS.
The plan of constructing railways on stone sills, which had
been adopted in England, led to a serious derangement of the tracks,
and materially increased some of the difficulties of early operations.
The frost cracked and broke many of these solid foundations, and
the position of others was shifted, so that a new system of construction
became necessary. All the early devices were very defective, but
the stone from which so much had been expected proved even less
satisfactory than the supporting wooden rails or stringers, which
quickly decayed or wore out.
The practice of sanctioning sharp curves was resorted to with
extraordinary frequency, particularly on lines which were to be
run by horse power at the outset. The chief reason for this course
originated in a desire to avoid the expense required for the construction
of tunnels, bridges, and deep cuts or high embankments, but the
influence of citizens who favored the adoption of particular routes
for the promotion of private purposes was also an important consideration.
An account of an early road in Kentucky says that "it is
very crooked, because the engineers who surveyed it were averse
to crossing streams on bridges, so they went around the streams,
alleging that it was an advantage to have the road crooked, so
the conductor could look back, and see that his train was all
right."
As flat iron bars were used as a substitute for iron rails
on a very large proportion of the mileage operated they furnished
a fruitful source of anxiety and danger, and caused delays and
accidents of one kind or another, some of which were of a decidedly
serious nature. An early conductor reports that on the line with
which he was connected "it frequently happened that the strap
rails would get out of place and curl up at the ends, forming
'snakes' heads.' Every train carried a good sledge-hammer, and
whenever it passed over a loose rail and left a snake's head in
its wake, the conductor had to stop the train and hammer the loose
rail into place." Sometimes a snake head would fly up, and
the rail would go through the car and shatter it. Occasionally
a passenger would get hurt. "Snake heads" were as prominent
a feature of early railroading as snags in steamboat operations
on western rivers. The relative lightness of the locomotive and
rolling stock, and imperfections of the track, made derailments
or jumping the track comparatively common. The cars were, at the
outset, destitute of springs, brakes, and buffers, and such appliances
were only supplied and improved by comparatively slow degrees.
DIFFICULTIES ON EDGE RAILROADS.
While the roads supplied with edge rails were decidedly superior
to those on which strap rails were used, serious and constant
difficulties arose on them, particularly from the keys or wedges
used to keep the rails in proper position in the chairs becoming
loose; from the tendency of the stone blocks on which the chairs
were placed to be shifted, and alternately elevated or depressed
by frosts or other atmospheric changes; from the danger that rails
would be broken; and from the frequency of tracks spreading, on
account of the relatively small number of ties used. It was part
of the system pursued on the Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad,
while edge rails were used on it, to have track walkers constantly
at work, by day and night, who were specially charged with the
duty of tightening the keys used in the chairs. Each mile was
assigned to a man for such operations during the day, and a man
for night service. He carried a leather pouch containing keys,
so that substitutes for those which were lost or broken could
be supplied, and a long-handled hammer, to be used in tightening
keys or wedges when they were loosened.
In regard to the effect of the stone blocks and scarcity of
ties, the superintendent, Joseph B. Baker, in a report for the
year ending November 30th, 1855, says: "Every exertion has
been made to keep the old portion of the south track in passable
condition, and it is a source of satisfaction that we have been
enabled to strengthen it, so as to allow the passage of the large
and increasing business now thrown upon it. If the old rail (edge
rail) had not been made of the best iron, it would have been impassable
long since. Wherever it was possible to put in additional cross-ties
between the stone blocks, both in straight lines and curves, it
has been done, and as long as the frost does not affect the ground
the track will be reasonably safe, but in hard-freezing weather
the cross-ties are disturbed, and the stone blocks remaining permanent,
the rails are thus raised from the blocks, lessening the bearings,
and sometimes causing the rail to break when the train comes upon
it.
The same effect is produced when the frost leaves the ground,
the bearings being merely reversed, the rail resting upon the
blocks, while the cross-ties sink below. This operation has been
going on for the last twenty years, the engine making a waved
line of the rails, and the repair men making them straight again,
and it is no wonder that they cannot be relied upon for carrying
with safety the present trade."
HOW ROADS WERE OPERATED BEFORE TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
WAS AVAILABLE.
As telegraphic communication available for railway service
was not established until about 1850, various methods were adopted
for ascertaining the location of belated trains and relieving
them. On roads on which comparatively extensive movements were
made a locomotive was kept ready for the use of relief parties
at all hours of the day and night. The preparations for any probable
emergency were as complete as possible, but it will readily be
seen that the absence of telegraphic communication materially
increased the difficulties of operation, inasmuch as the first
duty, when delays occurred, was to start on a voyage of discovery,
and it was necessary that all appropriate preparations for the
commencement of such explorations at any moment should be constantly
in a state of readiness. This system was in force on the Columbia
and Philadelphia Railroad. When a passenger train failed to make
its appearance at about the proper time (there was no strict schedule,
but engineers of passenger locomotives were expected to be as
expeditious as possible), a locomotive and crew were dispatched
to its relief, and similar steps were taken when freight trains
were delayed. The task was entered into with a spirit similar
to that which animated the volunteer firemen of the olden time.
The crew generally consisted of eight or ten persons, who carried
with them whatever was deemed necessary to repair an injured locomotive
or return it to the track if it had been derailed, and as there
was danger of a collision if proper precautions were not taken,
some of the crew were sent ahead when curves were approached to
see whether progress could be safely continued. After the belated
train was reached, if the difficulty arose from derailment, then
much more common than at present, the usual phenomenon was developed
of passengers acting under the supposition that they had a much
better understanding of the proper method of returning a derailed
locomotive to the track, than the men who devoted a large portion
of their lives to such labors. If the detention was caused by
derangement of any portion of the engine temporary repairs were
made as quickly as possible.
PRIMITIVE SIGNALS.
In the absence of the telegraph, and the lack of any established
system of signaling, novel methods for conveying information were
devised. It is said that the New Castle and Frenchtown had a primitive
telegraph system in operation as early as 1837. A description
of it says that "the poles were of cedar, quite like those
now in use, and had cleats fastened on them, forming a sort of
Jacob's ladder. The telegraphing was done thus: The operator would
go to the top of the pole forming his station, and with his spy-glass
sight the next station in the direction of the approaching train.
If the train was coming, and the signal showed a flag, it meant
all is well. If a big ball was shown, and no train in sight, it
signified an accident, or delay of the steamboat. These signals
were methodically exchanged until an understanding was had from
one end of the road to the other."
The methods of communicating intelligence from one part of
the train to another, and of giving warnings or signals from the
locomotive, have been greatly improved. One of the early engineers
on the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore says that on that
road, before whistles were applied, "signals of danger, &c.,
were given by raising the valve stem on the dome with the hand,
and allowing the steam to escape with a sudden, loud, hissing
noise."
One of the first conductors on the Philadelphia, Germantown
and Norristown says: "The manner of stopping trains then,
in contrast to the modern system of simply pulling a bell rope,
was something altogether novel. The conductor ascended a ladder
to the roof of a car, and then ran forward to within hailing distance
of the engineer, to whom he imparted the signal verbally. There
was a great deal of briskness required of a conductor in the old
days, and running along the tops of cars on a dark night was not
as comfortable a task as one might wish for. There were no bell
ropes, and the steam whistle had not been thought of." He
also says: "The first practice of railroad signals that I
remember was a system of conveying a sign to the engineer by a
movement of the fingers. For instance, if I wanted to stop at
the Falls I held up one finger; Wissahickon, two fingers; Conshohocken,
three fingers, and so on."
On another road a device was used which enabled the engineer,
by running up a flag on the tender, to notify brakemen that they
should apply brakes.
DEFECTIVE BRAKE POWER.
Many troubles or inconveniences arose from defective brake
power. At one time the chief reliance was upon the activity of
the engineman in checking the speed of the locomotive, but this
was often insufficient. It is stated that on the New Castle and
Frenchtown Railroad the braking of the train when near the stationFrenchtown
or New Castlewas done at the signal of the engineman by
raising his safety valve. Then the old colored servants (slaves)
would rush to the train, seize hold and pull back, while the agent
would stick a piece of wood through the wheel spokes.
Of the primitive brake power on the Philadelphia, Germantown
and Norristown one of the early employees of that company says
that "the speed of a train was slackened by what was termed
a foot brake, operated by the pressure of a man's foot on a spring
and lever." A New England writer refers to "those dear
old hand-brakes, which gave one, when approaching his station,
such a jolly stirring up and never let up until he was landed
wide awake on the platform." There was always rude jolting
when trains stopped or started, and it frequently was tantamount
to a shock scarcely less severe than would be caused on a superior
modern train by a collision.
It is said that the primitive buffers on the New Castle and
Frenchtown "were formed of the side sills extending past
the end of the car, these ends being cushioned with hair covered
with sole leather."
SUBSTITUTES FOR LOCOMOTIVE HEAD-LIGHTS.
Horatio Allen states that when the South Carolina Railroad
had one hundred miles of track prepared for use, operations over
such an extensive line were then unprecedented. In making prospective
arrangements for this unusual undertaking one of the first things
that occurred to him was that the locomotives would have to run
by night as well as by day, and in the absence of a head-light
he built an open platform car, stationed in front of the locomotive,
a fire of pine knots, surrounded with sand, which furnished the
requisite illumination of the route traversed. On some of the
other lines no substitutes for head-lights were used. But night
trips were, as far as possible, avoided, and it was considered
a hardship when the carrying of mails necessitated them, and when
no extra compensation was given for such service.
One of the current items of newspaper intelligence in August,
1840, was the following: "The Boston and Worcester Railroad
Company are preparing a very bright head-light with powerful reflectors,
to be placed in front of a locomotive, which is to run on that
road after night. The transportation of freight by night is a
very material gain in point of time, and diminishes the chances
of collisions, while the slow rate of travel enables a locomotive
to draw heavy loads without injury to the road."
HORSE POWER VS. STEAM POWER.
During the period when transitions from horse power to locomotives
were progressing, and some of the locomotives were not very reliable
or powerful, there was considerable diversity of opinion in regard
to the merits of the two motive powers. At that time stage-coach
operations had been brought to a high state of advancement, and
there were occasional trials of speed, in which, on account of
a temporary disability of the locomotive or other causes, the
iron-horse was beaten. Such an incident occurred in a trial of
Peter Cooper's locomotive, on the Baltimore and Ohio, and there
are reports of similar contests elsewhere. As the number of locomotives
was very limited, the disability of an engine was, in some instances,
followed by a temporary resumption of the use of horses.
SLAYMAKER'S BULL.
Reports of an incident on the Philadelphia and Columbia Railway,
in which the right of way was contested by an irate bull, were
widely circulated, and for years this singular conflict and its
results were often referred to as typical of the resistless power
of the locomotive. The story, as told by Henry Willis, a gentleman
who claims to have been a witness of the occurrence, is as follows:
"One mile east of Leaman Place, a farmer named Slaymaker,
whose barnyard was at the foot of a thirty-foot embankment, had
a three-year-old bull, that showed its approval of railway matters
by bellowing in the most unearthly manner at each train, much
to the amusement of the passengers. I had occasion to go to Parkesburg
early one morning, and with this intent took the four o'clock
early freight, which was made up of twelve open cars, each loaded
with four hogsheads of whisky, manufactured by Benjamin Herr,
of Manor township, Lancaster county. Slaymaker's bull heard the
engine coming, got on the track, and headed for the enemy. I was
on the engine at the time, and feared going over the embankment.
I called to the engineer to open the throttle wide. The engine
darted forward, and the bull met the enemy sooner than expected,
and was hurled to the bottom of the embankment. Cowcatchers were
not in use then; simply a bumping block. Ever after the bull would
shake his head and bellow, but he gave us a wide berth."
IMPECUNIOSITY.
There are doleful accounts of the pitiful state of impecuniosity
to which some of the lines were reduced. Cash being exhausted,
and receivers' certificates not having been invented, when operations
proved unprofitable there was no basis for credit. An early employee
of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown, which subsequently
became one of the most profitable short lines in the country,
reports that be was obliged to buy grease to oil the axles with
his own money. An old engineer on a New England road "relates
how men were sometimes put on the tender, with a saw-horse and
saw, to cut the wood to make steam for the trip, because there
was no supply on band, and no money and no credit to buy any.
It is said that an official once gave up his gold watch as security
when a train was seized for debt while en route."
Poverty, or lack of means, was a chronic complaint with so
many of the early lines, that if a few notable successes had not
been scored, and if state and city governments had not rendered
timely aid to some of the most important enterprises, the rapid
extension of the system would have been jeopardized. It is probable
that the life of a considerable number of unprofitable lines was
only perpetuated, because, after large sums had been expended
upon them, investors and creditors of various grades concluded
that it was better to make additional advances, even at the risk
of losing the amount of the new outlays, than to sacrifice the
entire capital.
PAUCITY OF FREIGHT TRAFFIC.
One of the noticeable features of early operations on northern
lines was the small amount of freight traffic. It was, relatively,
easier to attract Passengers than to obtain consignments of merchandise
or staple products, except on roads that traversed coal-mining
districts or cotton-growing regions. Of a prominent Massachusetts
road it is reported that a motion was made at an annual meeting
to let the privilege of carrying freight on its lines to some
responsible person for $1,500 a year. Of freight operations on
the Baltimore and Ohio a report dated October 1st, 1831, stated
that on thirteen miles of road in operation since the previous
January, only 5,931 tons of freight had been carried. During the
same period 81,905 passengers had been carried.
The following statement of the early business of the Camden
and Amboy Railroad, located on one of the best natural routes
in the country, inasmuch as it was the leading thoroughfare between
two of the most populous cities of the United States, indicates
at once the paucity of freight traffic (which was partly due on
this line to high charges and partly to the existence of convenient
adjacent water routes), and the small amount of traffic of any
kind that could be procured:
At it comparatively early period of the operations of this
road it was considered an important event when the demand for
cars to move freight increased to a requirement for forwarding
90,000 pounds in a single day.
A serious obstacle to immediate success on many of the early
lines arose from the extent to which the practice of dispensing
with the aid of common carriers of any kind in land movements
had been rooted in many communities. Aside from the travel on
stage routes, and the hiring of teams to carry merchandise over
a few leading thoroughfares, nearly all those who wished to make
journeys or move merchandise used their own teams or borrowed
horses or vehicles.
EMPLOYEES OBTAINED FROM STAGE ROUTES.
Of the antecedents of the employees selected as trainmen on
a number of the early railways, and especially those constructed
in New England, Mr. William S. Huntington says that many of them
had previously been connected with stage-coach operations. He
says: "Some were employed is conductors, others as station
agents, baggage masters, firemen, etc., etc. Their former occupation
made them robust and their training gave them that keen, attentive
watchfulness which admirably fitted them for their new calling.
They were called upon to fill every conceivable position in operating
railroads. They were promoted from time to time, and firemen soon
became engineers, baggagemen were soon collecting fare, conductors
were made superintendents, engineers were promoted to be master
mechanics, and so on through the whole list, and as fast as railroads
were built the stagemen were called upon to operate them. There
was a great deal of ignorance in railroad management in those
days, but not as much nonsense as there is now."
There was peculiar propriety in recruiting employees from the
stage routes, as they were the principal sufferers in the way
of losing previous employment by railway operations. In some localities
staging was combined with railroad operating by companies who
made it part of their business to take up or put down passengers
at any convenient point in the towns or cities near their termini.
This was done in Boston and Albany and probably other places,
the system being applied to passenger traffic that is applied
now to light freight traffic by the express companies which act
in co-operation with railway companies.
EARLY LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEMEN.
On some lines great difficulty was experienced in obtaining
reliable locomotive enginemen. On account of the exposure to which
they were subjected before cabs were furnished, and comparatively
low wages, few machinists who understood engines cared to continue
in the business. Smart young blacksmiths were found to be the
best class to select from by some roads. In other districts young
men trained as farmers, and accustomed to miscellaneous farm labors,
but not experts in any class of mechanics, proved most serviceable.
The duties imposed were in several respects peculiarly responsible
and onerous, inasmuch as the engineman was expected to understand
the machine he was operating sufficiently well to give directions
for a considerable proportion of the requisite repairs, which
were often made by men who had no other training than as blacksmiths.
Instances of defective knowledge on the part of some of the inexperienced
enginemen were by no means uncommon, and occasionally ludicrous
blunders were made, but, as a rule, a better comprehension of
the locomotives used was then necessary than is requisite now,
on account of the marked improvement in systems of repairing;
and if a train was derailed it frequently became the duty of the
engineman to set matters right without aid from a wreck train.
Transport Systems
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