History of York County, Pennsylvania : from the earliest period to the present time, divided into general, special, township and borough histories, with a biographical department appended, Part 67

Author: Gibson, John, Editor
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Pennsylvania > York County > History of York County, Pennsylvania : from the earliest period to the present time, divided into general, special, township and borough histories, with a biographical department appended > Part 67

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From the description of the Conewago Canal above, and of the Susquehanna and Tide-water Canal herein given, it will be observed that the first canal in Pennsylvania, and one of the last to which much general importance was attached, were built in York County.

THE CODORUS NAVIGATION.

A company received a charter in 1825, and soon after constructed a canal from York to the mouth of the Codorus Creek, at the Susque- hanna, a distance of eleven miles. Of this dis- tance three miles consisted of canal and eight miles of slack water. It was soon after built and put into effective operation. Boat loads of lumber and coal were brought to York over this route, and it promised to be an important adjunct to the business interests of the town. For a time an immense business was done, but the construction of the York & Wrights- ville Railroad and in 1849 the York & Cum- berland Railroad to Harrisburg, caused the value of the Codorus navigation to diminish, and it soon after ceased to be operated.

HISTORY OF RAILROADS.

According to the statistics of 1883, the State of Pennsylvania had 10,056 miles of railway, being exceeded by no other State except Illinois, New York coming third on the list, with 7,215 miles. The topography of Pennsylvania is not naturally favorable to their construction, as it requires great engi- neering skill to surmount some of the difficul- ties. It does not possess the treeless plains which invite railroad operations, like the West, at small cost, but, on the other hand, the surface here is broken by mountain rang- es, cut by broad rivers, and much of the State is covered by forests. Yet the unbounded re-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY.

sources of the great State has brought forth the business energies of capitalists so as to have surmounted all those difficulties, until every important interest is supplied with rail- road transportation. Of the vast number of miles of railway in Pennsylvania, York conn- ty furnishes 180. Our State, though, early in the history of American railroads became prominent in the construction of them. All efforts at the internal improvement of the State, for the purpose of transportation, met with an encouraging support by the enter- prise of our people. Under the head of ca- nals it will be observed that the first one in the United States was built in Pennsylvania, and that, too, for the navigation of the Sus- quehanna, within the limits of York County, at York Haven, being completed in 1797. Turnpikes, canals and railroads have in large numbers been constructed in Pennsylvania entirely without government aid.

INVENTION OF RAILROADS.

Railroads made of wood, called tramways, were used in the mines of England to trans- port coal from the pit's mouth to place of shipment as early as 1630, at Newcastle-on- Tyne, built by a man named Beaumont; wagons transporting coal were drawn over this road. They soon became common in England. In 1738 the first rails, made wholly of iron were put into use and a flange was cast on the outside of the rail like the rails of the present city passenger roads. The flange was soon changed to the inside of the rail. In 1789 flanges began to be cast on the wheel instead of the rail. William Jessop, of England, made this invention. In 1801 the English parliament passed the first legislative act ever made, authorizing the "Surrey Iron Tramway," nine miles long.

RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES.

In the year 1800, an experimental tramway was set up in the yard of the "Bull's Head Tavern," on Third Street, Philadelphia. It was done by Thomas Lieper. The rails were wood, being oak scantlings, four feet apart, supported on sleepers. The road was only twenty-one yards long. One horse could haul 10,696 pounds on this track. In 1807 Silas Whitney built a railroad on Beacon Hill, near Boston, Mass., to haul down gravel. In 1809 a tramway was laid in Delaware County, Penn., by John Thomson, father of J. Edgar Thomson, late president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was sixty yards long with rails of wood, four feet apart. This experiment was successful, and led to

many others. A road one mile in length was built at the Crum Creek stone quarries in the same county, and was used for nineteen years. In 1818 a similar road was built at Bear Creek Furnace, Armstrong County, Penn., and one at Nashua, N. H., in 1825. The first road of more than local note was Quincy Railroad, in Massachusetts, built in 1826, and used for transporting granite. It was four miles in length. In 1827 a railroad was constructed at Mauch Chunk, in Car- bon County, from a coal mine to Lehigh River, a distance of nine miles. On this road, loaded cars descended by gravity, and were drawn back empty by mules. The rails were made of wood, strapped with iron. None of the roads mentioned thus far were used to convey passengers.

INVENTION OF LOCOMOTIVES.

James Watt, of England, perfected his in- vention of the steam engine in 1769. The properties of steam had, however, been known from time immemorial. In 1804 the first locomotive was used upon the Merthyr Tyd- vil Railway, in Wales, by Richard Trevithick, who was a foreman in a tin mine in Cornwall, England. This engine would only answer for a level surface. George Stephenson worked upon his invention from 1814 to 1822, when he successfully introduced the use of locomotives on the railroad of the Holton colliery in England. He then became chief engineer of the Stockton & Darlington Rail- road, and constructed a coal road twelve miles in length, over a rough country. Inclined planes were used in some places to be worked by stationary engines. On the other parts of the road locomotives were used. The rails were rolled fish-bellied, and weighed twenty- eight pounds to the yard. Some cast-iron rails were used; one of Stephenson's engines would run twelve miles an hour. On Octo- ber 10, 1825, the first passenger car ever used in the world was put on this road. At first it was drawn by one horse. Several were built and then attached to a locomotive the same year.

The first locomotive in the United States was run on the road connecting the Delaware & Hudson Canal with its coal mines at Carbondale, Penn .; the length of this road was sixteen miles. It was completed in 1829. On this road, August 8, 1829, the locomotive "Sturbridge Lion," built in England, was successfully run by Horatio Allen, on a trial trip. It was found to be too heavy for the railroad, and therefore was not afterward used. A part of it is still in existence in Carbondale.

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PUBLIC INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

In 1828 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began operations in Maryland, and the same year the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad in South Carolina. This was the beginning of important railroad enterprises in America. The Baltimore & Ohio Company intended to use horses to draw the cars on their road. It was supposed that the sharp curves, which were unavoidable in its construction, would preclude, the use of steam engines. Peter Cooper, the great philanthropist, of New York City, then owned considerable property in Baltimore, and became wonderfully inter- ested in the progress and success of rail- roads. He voluntarily offered to construct a locomotive that would round the curves of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. When thirteen miles of the new road had been con- structed in 1829, Mr. Cooper experimented without success, but on August 28, 1830, his new locomotive, " The Tom Thumb," made a satisfactory trip. This was the first locomo- tive built in America, but it was a mere toy. Its boiler was very small, and the tubes were made of gun barrels. It burned anthracite coal, and ran thirteen miles in an hour and a quarter. It was only an experiment and was never put into practical use. Horatio Allen, mentioned above, induced the South Caro- lina Railroad Company to use locomotives, and employed E. L. Miller, of Charleston, to superintend the construction of one for trial, which was done in the West Point foundry, on Beach Street, New York City. It was completed by October, 1830, and put on trial November 2, of the same year. The experi- ment was claimed to be a success, and the engine was used for a time. On June 17, 1831, the negro fireman ignorantly weighted the steam, when the boiler burst and injured several men. This locomotive, called the " Best Friend of Charleston," is claimed by some to be the first successful engine built in America. The company, however, contin- ued to use horse-power after the explosion, and in the meantime offered a premium of $500 for the best locomotive by horse-power. This premium was awarded to C. E. Detmold, who invented a horse-power working on an endless chain platform, like the powers now used for threshing. "The Dewitt Clinton," a locomotive made in New York was put into successful use on the Charleston Road, Au- gust 9, 1831, which was but a short time after " The York" gained its prize on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

FIRST RAILROADS IN PENNSYLVANIA.

The State legislature passed an act March 31, 1823, granting to John Stevens and

others permission to build a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia. The original company did not accomplish anything, and the State afterward completed it. The canal to Columbia was not yet built. The object of the contemplated road was to divert the trade, which came down the Susquehanna at that time in keel-boats to Columbia, from go- ing to Baltimore.

On January 4, 1831, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company issued an advertise- ment to the inventive genius and me- chanical skill of the country, offering liberal inducements for the production of locomo- tive steam engines. It was the first proposal ever issued in the United States for locomo- tives of American manufacture. Four thous- and dollars were offered for the best engine delivered for trial on or before June 1, 1831, and $3,000 for the one adjudged the next best. One of the most important requirements was that the engine must burn coke or coal and consume its own smoke. During the summer of 1831, in response to this call upon American genius, three loco- motives were produced upon the railroad, only one of which, however, was made to answer any good purpose. This engine, called "The York, " was built in York, at the establishment of Davis & Gardner, on the west side of the Codorus Creek, and was the product of Phineas Davis. It was accepted as the best, which gives to York the undoubted claim of having con- structed the first locomotive ever built in the United States, that burned coal and was put in active use on the railroad. After under- going some modifications it was found capa- ble of conveying fifteen tons at fifteen miles an hour, on a level portion of the road. It was employed on that part of the road be- tween Baltimore and Ellicott's mills, and gen- erally performing the trip to the mills in one hour with four cars, the gross weight of which was about fourteen tons. The engine was mounted on wheels, like those of the common cars, of thirty inches in diameter, and the motion was obtained by means of gearing with a spur wheel and pinion on one of the axles of the road wheels. The curva- tures were all traveled with facility by this engine. Its greatest velocity, for a short time on the straight parts of the road, was thirty miles per hour, while it frequently attained that of twenty miles, and often traveled in curvatures of 400 feet radius at the rate of fifteen miles per hour. The fuel used in it was anthracite coal, which answered the purpose well; but the engine weighing but three and a half tons was found too light

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY.

for advantageous use on ascending grades. The performance of this engine fully con- vinced the board of directors of the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad and its engineer corps that locomotive engines could be used suc- cessfully on railways having curves of 400 feet radius, and from that time forward they began to be used in this country. To Phin- eas Davis, of York, then, was due the credit of successfully introducing the use of loco- motives that burned coal, in America. He soon afterward became manager of the com- pany's shops, and to him Ross Winans, En- gineer Knight and John Elgar (the inventor of switches, turn tables, chill bearings, plate wheels, etc.), is due the honor of solv- ing most of the problems which presented themselves first in connection with the great system of railroad travel and inland transpor- tation. The first steel springs used in this country were placed upon "The York, " Davis' locomotive and tender, in September, 1832. As an experiment it demonstrated their utility in regulating the motion and greatly diminishing the jar and consequent injury to the road. This experiment, under the superintendence of Phineas Davis, led to another, that of placing steel springs on burden cars, by which it was found they admitted one-third more loading without any increase of damage to the road or car. Three years after Davis ' first experiment, th eBalti- more & Ohio Railroad had but three engines in use: " The York," "Atlantic," and " Frank- lin." In 1834 a number of new ones were added. "The York" is still in existence and is kept as a relie by the Company.

After the death of Phineas Davis, which occurred by accident, ou September 27, 1835, Messrs. Gillingham and Ross Winans took charge of the car shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Company, and continued the manufac- ture of locomotives and railroad machinery so successfully commenced by Mr. Davis.

THE NORTHERN CENTRAL RAILWAY.

This railway is now one of the most impor- tant and most valuable lines which crosses our great State. It extends from the city of Baltimore to Canandaigua, N. Y., and is the only line that passes across the entire breadth of Pennsylvania in a northerly and southerly direction. It is the grand highway of travel from Baltimore and points south to Niagara and the lakes. From York Haven to Williamsport it follows the Susquehanna river. It has contributed greatly to the ma- terial interest of Pennsylvania and especially to York County.

The Baltimore & Susquehanna, now a part

of the N. C. R. W., starting at the city of Baltimore and extending to the Pennsylvania line, was chartered by the legislature of Mary- land on the 13th day of February, 1828, and organized as a company on the 5th of May following, with a board of directors whose names are now historic. This is the oldest part of what is now known as the N. C. R. W. On the 9th of August, 1829, the one hundredth anniversary of the passage of theact creating "Baltimore-Town," this rail- road was begun, being thus one of the first roads completed in America.

THE YORK AND MARYLAND LINE RAILROAD.

The legislature of Pennsylvania, in March, 1832, passed an act to extend a road from York to the Maryland line, to join the Balti - more & Susquehanna Railroad, to be com- pleted. that far, under a Maryland charter. In some respects there were objectionable fea- tures in the act of 1832, and it was not until November. 1835, that a satisfactory arrange- ment was entered into between the legislative body and the stockholders of the road. Rail- roads at this time were in their infancy. Outside of military operations, civil engi- neering had not developed into a science which . may explain the cause of some mistakes that arose in the construction of these two roads. The southern division, the Baltimore & Sus- quehanna, was completed to the Relay House, and opened July 4, 1831, and to Owing's mills in 1832. It was the first railroad cor- poration in this country to undertake gradi- ents of any considerable magnitude: a grade of eighty-four feet to the mile for two and seven-tenths miles was overcome, which, in that early day, was considered a marvel. The first locomotive used was imported from Liv- erpool, England. It was ordered in March, 1831, but a vessel to bring it over could not be obtained until six months later. It was the third locomotive put into successful oper- ation in America that burned anthracite coal. Phineas Davis' engine, made at his foundry in York, and described elsewhere in this work, was the first. The railroad was completed to York in August, 1838. A few years before, a survey had been made and a new corporation formed called the Wrightsville, York & Get- tysburg Railroad Co. A line was completed from York to Wrightsville in 1840, and for a number of years was operated in connection with the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railway, which then included York & Maryland line. There was then a continuous line from Balti- more to Philadelphia by way of York and Columbia, joining the Philadelphia & Colum- bia at the latter town. At Columbia the road

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PUBLIC INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

from York communicated with the canal at that point, giving a complete route of traffic from Baltimore to Pittsburgh-another great point gained in the history of internal improvements in Pennsylvania.

THE YORK & CUMBERLAND RAILROAD,

Extending from York to York Haven and thence along the Susquehanna to Bridge- port, was completed in 1850-another impor- tant event. This gave a direct line from Bal- timore to Harrisburg. The legislature of Maryland, ou the 10th of March, 1854, and the legislature of Pennsylvania, on the 3d of May following, passed a joint act, which read as follows: "An Act to authorize the consolidation of the Baltimore & Susquehan- na Railroad Company with the York & Mary- land Line Railroad Company, the York & Cumberland Railroad Company, and the Susquehanna Railroad Company by the name of the Northern Central Railway Company." It will be noticed the word "railway" is used, a name common to all roads in England, but rare in America. By its extension north in- to New York State, it now passes through rich agricultural and mining regions, and has become a great and important line for the transportation of coal, petroleum, grain and live stock, and, with its connection at Harris- burg with the Pennsylvania railroad, consti- tutes most of the main line to the west, with all the advantages of through passenger and freight traffic. During the civil war it was the main line for the transportation of sol- diers and army supplies from the West and North to Washington and "the front." Hun- dreds of regiments passed over this route. Originally there was but one track. About fifteen years ago a double track was complet- ed as far north as York. It is intended soon to extend it to Harrisburg.

The Baltimore & Susquehanna Company, which was organized on the 5th of May. 1828, elected the following directors: George Winchester, Charles Ridgely, S. C. Larkin, Thomas Wilson, James Smith, Justus Hoppe, James B. Stansbury, Thomas Finley, Hugh W. Evans, James L. Hawkins, Robert Pur- viance and John Kelly. George Winches- ter, a distinguished citizen and lawyer of Baltimore, was chosen the first president. In March, 1828, Gen. Swift examined the topog- raphy of the country between Baltimore and the Susquehanna River by way of York, for the purpose of directing a survey of the pro- posed railroad, of which he afterward proved to be the projector and manager in the con- struction. G. McNeil and G. W. Whisler were . engineers from 1827 to 1830; Maj.

Isaac R. Trimble was chief engineer in 1834, and surveyed the road to York and continued in service until 1837. J. M. Goldsboro af- terward became engineer and managed the construction of the road from York to Har- risburg. The following is a list of the pres- idents of the several companies from the time of their organization to the consolida- tion into the N. C. R. W.

Of the Baltimore & Susquehanna, includ- ing York and Maryland Line. George Win- chester, James Howard, Alexander Nisbet, Charles Howard, R. M. McGraw, R. C. Wright, G. W. Hughes.

Of the York & Cumberland: Thomas C. Hambly 1848 to 1850; Eli Lewis, 1850 to 1852; John Herr, 1852 to 1854.

Of the Susquehanna, which was above Harrisburg: William F. Packer, 1852 to 1853; Hon. Simon Cameron, 1853 to 1854.

Upon the consolidation of the above roads on December 9, 1854, the following is the list of officers and directors of the N. C. R. W. thus formed: President, John P. Ken- nedy; secretary, Robert S. Hollins; treas- urer, John S. Leib. Directors: R. C. Ma- son, Francis White, W. H. Kiegler, Simon Cameron, Michael Herr, R. M. MaGraw, Lloyd N. Rodgers, W. E. Mayhew, William F. Packer, John Herr, William McPhail, Eli Lewis, Zenus Barnum, Johns Hopkins.

The successive presidents of the Northern Central have been as follows: John P. Ken- nedy, Zenus Barnum, John S. Giddings, A. B. Warford, J. Donald Cameron, Thomas A. Scott, George B. Roberts.

Robert Bruce became the first general agent of the railroad company at York. On May 12, 1846, James Hopkins, of Baltimore, suc- ceeded and was assisted by his two sons, Samuel B. and James G. Hopkins; T. H. Belt followed in 1864. J. K. Gross, the present efficient officer, was appointed gener- al ticket and freight agent of the N. C. R. W. January 1, 1873.

HANOVER & YORK RAILROAD.

March 24, 1873, a bill was introduced into the legislature by George W. Heiges, then a member of that body for York County, to in- corporate the Hanover & York Railroad Company. A charter was granted April 21, 1873, appointing as commissioners to organ- ize the company: George D. Klinefelter, Samuel Shirk, H. M. Schmuck, William Young, Samuel H. Bechtel, P. H. Glatfelter, W. Latimer Small, John S. Young, David S. Tanger, E. H. Etzler, William J. Young, David P. Forney, Michael Schall, W. H. Jordan, James W. Latimer and M. B. Spahr.

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY.

After subscriptions to stock to the amount of $105,000 at $50 a share were received, a meeting was held in Hanover, on Saturday, August 16, 1873, to elect officers, which re- sulted as follows: president, John S. Young; directors, George D. Klinefelter, William Young, Sr., Isaac Loucks, Dr. J. P. Smith, Samuel H. Bechtel, all of Hanover; P. H. Glatfelter, of Spring Grove; David E. Small, Philip A. Small, A. J. Frey, Michael Schall, all of York; and William McConkey, of Wrightsville. The board of directors then elected Samuel Shirk, treasurer; and Dr. J. P. Smith, secretary. The route was surveyed by Joseph S. Gitt, of New Oxford.

The entire line is eighteen miles. When the amount of $200,000 was subscribed, the board of directors gave out the contracts by sections for grading and masonry to different persons. Col. Cyrus Diller, Nicholas F. Fliegle and Jacob F. Frederick, of Hanover, and Rehill & McTague, the former from Al- lentown and the latter from Columbia. On the 5th of February, 1873, the directors con- tracted with the Lochiel Iron Works, at Har- risburg, for 1,600 tons of railroad iron at $62 per ton of 2,240 pounds each. The bridge across the Codorus Creek at York was built at a cost of $5,760. It was a combina- tion bridge of wood and iron. A new bridge was erected a few years ago, which was taken away by the flood of 1884. The present one was built immediately after the flood. Some of the materials of the old one were used. This road, in connection with the York & Wrightsville, and Hanover & Littles- town, forms part of the Frederick Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, with the main office at York.

The town of Hanover, on the summit of an extensive plain of the most fertile and pro- ductive land, is favorably situated for rail- road interests, and has, therefore, become quite a center of trade. The first railroad, which terminated here, was the Hanover Branch, extending from Hanover to the junc- tion with the Northern Central Railway. Then followed the Hanover & Gettysburg Railroad, the Littlestown Railroad. now a part of the Frederick Division, the Hanover & York Railroad, also a part of the same road. The Berlin branch, the Bachman Val- ley, and the Hanover & Baltimore Railroad interests also center here. The main office of these companies is in Hanover, and their cars pass over the line of the consolidated roads, called the Hanover Junction, and Hanover & Gettysburg Railroad. A large number of trains arrive and depart daily.

HANOVER BRANCH RAILROAD COMPANY.

In pursuance of a resolution adopted at a previous meeting, a large number of citizens of Hanover and vicinity convened in the public schoolhouse, on Saturday, the 26th of December, 1846, for the purpose of discuss- ing the project of constructing a railroad from Hanover to intersect with the Northern Central at the nearest and most practicable point. Henry Reily presided at this meeting. Mr. Winchester had made a survey of the proposed route. After their report was read, committees were appointed to solicit stock subscriptions. After $100,000 had been sub- scribed, a public mass meeting was held Au- gust 28, 1847, which was addressed by James Cooper, J. J. Naille and Capt. A. W. Eich- elberger.

The company was chartered March 16, 1847. The commissioners were Samuel Mumma, Joseph W. Schmidt, Jacob Forney, David Diehl, Jacob Young, Daniel P. Lange, Eli Lewis, F. E. Metzger, Michael Bucher, David Slagle, Jacob Wirt, John R. Hershey, Jesse Frysinger, Henry Reily, A. H. Barnitz, William S. Jenkins, H. W. Emmert, Joseph Althoff, Peter Flickinger, Amos Lefever, D. M. Myers, George Eichelberger, Samuel Dil- ler, Jacob Dellone, Joseph Bittinger, John Trimmer, Joseph Fink, Henry Leib, Henry Sherman, Jacob Forry, John E. Zeigler, and Andrew Deardorff. Committees were then appointed to visit the cities and canvass the country. Meetings were called and strenuous efforts made to dispose of the stock. It ap- pears, however, that delay was experienced, as it was not until October 18, 1849, that the requisite number of shares (1,000) to incor- porate the company under letters patent were fully secured. An election was held November 10, which resulted in choosing Jacob Wirt for President, and Jacob Young, F. E. Metzger, Philip Kohler, H. W. Emmert, Samuel Diller and Jacob Wortz, as managers. The board organized on the 18th of the same month, but it was not until October 28, 1850, that any definite action was taken to build the road. In addition to other causes, the estimate of the cost of the road made by A. P. Winches- ter, civil engineer, who had made a survey the previous year, and which was far in excess of the actual cost, as subsequently shown, con- tributed much to discourage the friends of the project, many of them believing it was beyond the financial ability of the community to build the road.

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History of York County, Pennsylvania : from the earliest period to the present time, divided into general, special, township and borough histories, with a biographical department appended, Part 67

Author: Gibson, John, Editor Publication date: 1886 Publisher: F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Gibson, John, Editor
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago
Number of Pages: 1104