Lexington and Ohio Rail Road Company -- History; Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company -- History
of the Cars turned over and if the burthen Cars had been substantially
railed round or if only passenger cars had been used or all had been
drawn and not pushed, nothing serious would have been the consequence.
Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon the Engineer. Although under
considerable headway he stopped almost instantly and much sooner than
a stage with horses could have been halted. May we now be permitted to
make a single suggestion or two to the Manager of the Rail Road?
1st--The number of passengers to go in each Car should be limited.
Huddling numbers on the top is extremely hazardous.
2nd--Unless a wire sieve is fastened over the top of the chimney of the
engine we shall soon have some dwelling house, barn or other building
near the road burnt down or the Cars themselves set on fire.
In conclusion we hope that the feeling of our citizens will not be again
excited by the occurrence of such a painful and heart-rending accident
as the one over which a number have been called to mourn, as we are
confident that by proper management and strict attention it may be
easily avoided."
* * * * *
Now let us consider this first locomotive engine ever used on the
Lexington and Ohio Railroad. This locomotive was invented by Thomas
Harris Barlow (who afterward became world-famous as the inventor of
the Planetarium) and was constructed by Joseph Bruen at his machine
shops which stood near the corner of Water and Spring Streets.
That wonderful little locomotive is described by one who saw it with his
own eyes, who rode behind it often, and who knew the men who invented
and constructed it quite intimately. The old gentleman I refer to was
Samuel D. McCullough, who was born in 1803 and who wrote his diary,
which is now in the Lexington Public Library, in 1871.
"Mr. Thomas Harris Barlow was born in Nicholas County, Kentucky, (says
his son, Milton, in a letter to me) August 5th, 1789, and resided in the
State of his birth till the last year or two of his life and died in
Cincinnati June, 1865."
I shall condense Mr. Milton Barlow's short biography of his father,
which states that he had but a common school education. He was an
industrious and even a hard working student of mechanism for which he
had a wonderful natural gift, and which induced Col. R. M. Johnson to
appoint him principal Military Artificer in his Regiment. He was under
fire in the Battle of the Thames (1812) where he distinguished himself
for coolness and bravery. After his intermarriage with Miss Lizzie West
he turned his attention to erecting flour, saw and other mills and
building and overseeing their steam motive power. In 1825 he removed to
Lexington and opened a machine shop.
"I remember myself all which followed and give my own recollections.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account