Scientific American Supplement, No. 832, December 12, 1891Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 832, December 12, 1891
Various
Science -- Periodicals
The road from Bordentown to Hightstown was completed by the middle of
September, 1832, and from Hightstown to South Amboy in the December
following. The "deep cut" at South Amboy, and the curves of the track
there, gave the civil engineers great trouble.
THE FIRST AMERICAN STANDARD TRACK.
The laying of the track through the "deep cut" led to an event of
great importance to future railway construction. The authorities at
Sing Sing having failed to deliver the stone blocks rapidly enough,
Mr. Stevens ordered hewn wooden cross ties to be laid temporarily, and
the rail to be directly spiked thereto. A number of these ties were
laid on the sharpest curves in the cut. They showed such satisfactory
properties when the road began to be operated that they were permitted
to remain, and the stone blocks already in the track were replaced by
wooden ties as rapidly as practicable. Without doubt the piece of
track in "deep cut" was the first in the world to be laid according to
the present American practice of spiking the rail directly to the
cross tie.
THE LINE OPENED BETWEEN BORDENTOWN AND SOUTH AMBOY.
Among the memoranda compiled by Benjamin Fish, published in his
memoir, I find the following:
"First cars were put on the Camden and Amboy Railroad
September 19, 1832. They were drawn by two horses. They took
the directors and a few friends from Bordentown to Hightstown
and back.
"On December 17, 1832, the first passengers were taken from
Bordentown through to South Amboy. Fifty or sixty people went.
It was a rainy day.
"On January 24, 1833, the first freight cars were put on the
railroad. There were three cars, drawn by one horse each, with
six or seven thousand pounds of freight on each car.
"Freight came from New York by steam boat to South Amboy. I
drove the first car, John Twine drove the second car and
Edmund Page the third one. We came to the Sand Hills (near
Bordentown) by railroad, there loaded the goods on wagons (it
was winter, and the river was frozen over), arriving in
Philadelphia by sunrise next morning. The goods left New York
at 12 o'clock, noon. This was done by the old firm of Hill,
Fish & Abbe."
Immediately after the road from Bordentown to South Amboy was
completed, and as late as the summer of 1833, passengers were brought
from Philadelphia to the wharf at White Hill by steamboat, and from
there were rapidly driven to Amboy. Two horses were hitched to each
car, and as they were driven continuously on the run, three changes of
horses were required, the finest horses obtainable being purchased for
this purpose. The time consumed in crossing the State (thirty-four
miles) was from two and a half to three hours.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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