The building of railroads in this country had fairly begun when Elias Hicks passed away in 1830. Projects had been under way for some time, and certain Friends in Baltimore, then the center of railroad activity, had become interested in the enterprise. In a letter to Deborah and James P. Stabler,[73] written in New York, Sixth month 28, 1829, Elias expresses himself quite freely regarding the matter. He says: "It was a cause of sorrow rather than joy when last in Baltimore to find my dear friend P. E. Thomas[74] so fully engaged in that troublesome business of the railroad,[75] as I consider his calling to be of a more noble and exalted nature than to enlist in such low and groveling concerns. For it is a great truth that no man can serve two masters, for he will either love the one, and hate the other, or hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The railroad in this case I consider mammon." [73] Deborah Stabler was the widow of Dr. William Stabler, the latter being a brother of Edward Stabler, of Alexandria, the well-known preacher, and close friend of Elias Hicks. Deborah was a recorded minister. James P. was her son. He was chief engineer of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad in its early construction, and was the first general superintendent and chief engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio, and built part of the line from Baltimore to Frederick. He was the author of a small pamphlet entitled, "The Certain Evidences of Practical Religion," published in 1884. He resided at Sandy Spring, Md. [74] Philip E. Thomas, for many years sat at the head of the Baltimore meeting. He was the son of Evan Thomas, of Sandy Spring, who was a recorded minister. Philip E. was an importing hardware merchant, a most successful business man, and the first president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In the construction and operation of that line of railroad, he was associated with the leading business men of Baltimore. He was for many years an elder of Baltimore meeting. [75] The railroad thus referred to by Elias Hicks was undoubtedly the section of the Baltimore and Ohio which ran from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills, a distance of 15 miles. It was begun in 1828, and opened in Fifth month, 1830. Horses were at first used as motive power. This was the first railroad built in the United States. The following is an extract from the same letter: "It afforded me very pleasing sensations to be informed of dear James' improvement in health, but it excited some different feeling when informed that he had taken the place of Assistant Superintendent of the railroad company, a business I conceive that principally belongs to the men of this world, but not to the children of light, whose kingdom is not of this world; for when we consider that there are thousands and tens of thousands who are voluntarily enlisted in works that relate to the accommodation of flesh and blood which can never inherit the kingdom of heaven."