A CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY OF RAILWAYS IN THE

UNITED STATES TO 1850

CHAPTER I

THE RAILWAY ENTERS CONGRESS: PLANS AND

PROJECTS

THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVEMENT FOR RAILROADS*

Within the first three decades of the nineteenth century, the modern system of steam railway transportation was born. It did not come full-fledged, however, nor was it without forerunners. In England, as early as the sixteenth century, ways were fitted with flagstones in order to lessen friction. Later strips of wood were used; these in turn were reinforced with strips of iron, till in 1776 a tramway of iron rails was constructed. During the eighteenth century there were experiments with steam locomotion in France and in England. But, roughly speaking, only after 1800 were economic conditions ripe for the change, and then the genius of Stephenson appeared. There were numerous experiments with steam traction, on railways and common roads, and men like Cugnot, Murdoch, Trevithick, and Blankensop are worthy of note. In 1813, it was discovered by Blacket that the adhesion of wheels to smooth rails was sufficient for locomotion. Nine years later the tramway from Hetton colliery, where Stephenson worked, was equipped with a locomotive. In 1825, on the Stockton and Darlington railroad,

The author is indebted to the Division of Transportation of the Carnegie Institution for a grant which has made the prosecution of this work possible.

steam locomotion for commercial purposes began, and in 1830 the historic Liverpool and Manchester railroad was opened.

Now, not only the men of science and engineers, but the great mass of the English people were stirred and interested in these experiments and achievements. What, then, could be more likely than the dissemination of this interest? The seed was with

England, but it soon fell upon American ground.

This ground was well prepared. In the first place, the big idealism of Americans was already developed. The great West, with its swelling population, was the background, and the acquisition of Louisiana and the expedition of Lewis and Clark gave large vistas to people and statesmen. Again, and more directly, the need of unity and tangible bonds among the states was keenly appreciated. To this end, comprehensive schemes of internal improvement were very early proposed. Washington saw the importance of artificial highways to the Northwest Territory. As early as 1796, Zane was assisted by a congressional appropriation in opening a road in Ohio.2 In 1802 and 1803 funds were granted the state of Ohio for roads.3 Under Jefferson a national system of internal improvements was begun in the Cumberland Road (1806); and in 1808, Gallatin made his famous report. Ten years later the Erie canal was begun.

Thus, not only was the ground well prepared for large schemes for improving transportation, but the government, state aud national, was already trained in its part of assisting such enterprises; and it is not strange that among the earliest mentions of railways in this country are those that are found in congressional documents.

LATROBE'S REPORT

In the American State Papers there appears a communication made to Gallatin by Benjamin H. Latrobe, in 1808, and included in the former's report upon internal improvements just men

tioned. This is the first document relative to railways that appears in the records of Congress. The unique position in time of this report warrants a full discussion of its contents.

"In the question proposed to me by you," says Latrobe, "the subject of artifical roads was comprehended; but being informed by you that the canal companies of Pennsylvania and Maryland had transmitted to you ample accounts of their undertakings, and as in their works, experience has taught a system and mode of execution of the most perfect kind, I have refrained from adding anything to the information thus required. It has, however, occurred to me that a few remarks on railroads might not be unacceptable to you, especially as the public attention has often been called to this sort of improvement, and the public mind filled with very imperfect conceptions of its utility." These misconceptions on the part of the public, he states, were based on reports of enormous loads drawn by a single horse on railways in England, and consisted in supposing that such a system might soon be generally adopted in this country. For two reasons this supposition seemed vain: on a railroad only carriages expressly constructed for that purpose could be used, and in order to lower cost of transportation sufficiently to justify the construction of railroads, a density and concentration of traffic was necessary that must be lacking in the United States. "The sort of produce which is carried to our markets is collected from such scattered points, and comes by such a diversity of routes, that railroads are out of the question as to the carriage of common articles."

Three exceptions, however, were allowed to this general inexpediency: railroads might pay expenses in connection with coal mines and granite quarries; they might be used as a temporary expedient in overcoming difficult parts of artificial navigation; and they might make possible long lines of communication otherwise impracticable.

The report contains a full description of the form of railway best adapted to this country.

Thus there are several points of significance in this document.

See below, p. 195.

In the first place, it appears that the public mind was considerably exercised over the subject of railroads and their utility. As is implied at the beginning of this chapter, the agitation for railways did not begin about 1830, but at least twenty years earlier.

In the second place, in the report there are brought out some ideas of economic interest. No mention is made of steam, the horse being the only means of locomotion referred to. Clear expression is given to the principle according to which density of traffic is so desirable, but no account is taken of the possibility of developing that density of traffic,-a possibility soon to be so liberally discounted in this country.

It is interesting to note that the exception concerning coal mines and quarries was soon justified, among the first railways in the United States being that laid from a granite quarry in Quincy, Mass. (1826), and another from the coal mines at Mauch Chunk, Pa. (1827).8

OLIVER EVANS-HIS OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS

It is a coincidence that the next distinct factor in the development of transportation in the United States which affected Congress directly had some connection with Latrobe. During the year 1800, an American inventor, by name Oliver Evans, in seeking support for his schemes, approached Mr. Latrobe, and communicated to him the plan of a steam engine which he proposed, among other ends, to use for propelling carriages and steamboats. Latrobe pronounced the idea "chimerical" and absurd, saying that Evans "was one of the persons seized with the steam mania, conceiving that wagons and boats could be propelled by steam engines." This is in keeping with

It seems that the earliest railroad or tramway in the U. S. was in Boston in the year 1807. In 1809 Thos. Lieper, of Delaware county, Pa., constructed one from his quarry. These were very short and the rails were of wood. (See Ringwalt, Development of Systems of Transportation in the U. S., p. 69.) These are railways in the generic sense of the term only.

Brown, W. H., Hist. of First Locomotive in America.

8 Ibid.

This date is not certain. See Niles' Register, III, Addenda.

the point just noted, that Latrobe did not consider steam in his report to Gallatin, and it illustrates the attitude of the great majority at this time.

Evans, however, was an exception. As early as 1772 (or 1773) 10 when he was apprentice to a wagon-maker, he became filled with the idea of propelling wagons by other than animal power and soon turned to steam. In 1786 he petitioned the legislature of Pennsylvania for exclusive right to use his improvements in flour-mills, "as also steam wagons." His petition was granted as to the mill machinery, but no notice was taken of his transportation ideas. On presenting the same petition to the Maryland state legislature, and explaining "the elastic power of steam," together with his mode of applying it to wagons, it was granted on the ground that it would do no harm!

From this time on, Evans tried continually to interest others, but found few who could understand, and "no one willing to risque the expense of the experiment." His encounter with

Latrobe was typical.

In 1804 he actually propelled by steam a scow mounted on crude wheels," and a year later published a book describing his steam engine and giving directions for applying it to boats, and "carriages on turnpike roads." He obtained a patent for his mill improvements in 1808, and much litigation resulted from his attempt to maintain his rights.

Of greater importance as a direct influence upon Congress, however, was an open letter which Evans addressed "To Members of Congress" in 1816, through the columns of the National Intelligencer.12 In this article he recounts his services and his trials, and concludes by asking each member to put certain questions to himself, one being: "What will the annual amount of the benefit be, when my Columbian engines shall be applied to work many thousands of mills, manufactories, carriages on railway or smooth roads, boats on the great

10 He gives both dates: Niles' Register, III, Addenda, and X, 213.

"By order of the Phila. Board of Health, he constructed a sort of dredge for "cleaning docks." The machine being in a flat or scow, he added whee's, the axle-trees being merely of wood, and propelled the whole to the Schuykill river, which he navigated by means of a paddle wheel.

12 See Niles' Register, X, 213.