THE following letter is from Mr. David Matthew. It is further evidence that the " De Witt Clinton," and not an English engine, was the first one to run on the road from Albany to Schenectady, in August, 1831:
WILLIAM H. Brown, ESQ.Ñ
"Dear Sir: Yours of January 17th is at hand. Having been absent, my reply has been delayed until this date. I will endeavor to answer your several questions as correctly as I possibly can, in the absence of records.
"First. I did run the 'De Witt Clinton,' on the 9th day of August, 1831, and every day that it run from the 2d day of July, when first put on the road, to December 1, 1831.
" Second. There was no English-built engine upon the road, until the 'Robert Fulton,' made by Stephenson, arrived, which was about the last of August. About the middle of September it was tried on the road, and commenced regular trips soon after. On the excursion-trip in September, the Moulton was assigned to haul the train, but something got wrong about the supply-pipe, and my engine, the 'De Witt Clinton,' was called out for that duty, and did it well.
" Third. I did know John Hampson and Adam Robinson John Hampson was my assistant. He left West Point Foundery with me, and when the ' Robert Fulton ' arrived and was placed on the road, he took her to run. Adam Robinson became my fireman on the ' De Witt Clinton' when we began to make regular trips.
" When the ' John Bull ' came out, nearly a year afterward, John Hampsoll took her to run. Both of these men are now dead. John Hampson left the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad early in 1832. He brought the second engine from New York that was run on the Germantown and Philadelphia Railroad. He next took the ' Davy Crocket ' to the Saratoga Railroad; then took charge of the Camden and Amboy Railroad machine-shops at Borden- town. Thence he went to the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad, on a salary of five thousand dollars per year, where he remained several years.
" Adam Robinson was killed by accident on a railroad.
" Will you please procure and send to me one of the drawings, or photographs, from the original picture you took in Albany, of the old ' De Witt Clinton ' and train of cars ? I saw the original picture at your room in Albany, and was forcibly struck by the accuracy of your likeness to the old machine, the cars, and the passengers, several of whom I knew well.
" If I can give you any other information,
write to me at once, and I will try to be more
prompt in my reply.
From the freight-bills, custom-house
charges, etc., etc., attached by Sage & Son to
their lithograph copy of a photograph of the
original picture in the Hartford Institute, the
author is inclined to believe that these refer to
those made upon the first English locomotive for
the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, which was the
" Robert Fulton.' This machine, as we see in the
following articles from the Albany Argus of that
period, arrived by the ship Mary Howland, from
Liverpool, early in September, 1831. In several
articles of the Argus, in which this engine is
spoken of, it is called the " John Bull." This was
done in allusion to the country where it was
made, in the same manner as the Argus also uses
the words " Brother Jonathan " when speaking of
the " De Witt Clinton." These sobriquets are
familiarly applied and understood by every one
when speaking of the natives of either country.
A locomotive named the "John Bull"
came from England, subsequently, but not for
nearly a year after the events we are now
recording.
Messrs. Sage & Son give the following as
the costs
and charges as per invoice of locomotive-engine, per ship
Mary Howland, from Liverpool, $3,763.67. Custom fees,
$1,017.25. Freight-bills, September 18, 1831, $88.67.
The following extracts from the Albany Argus
will clearly show that the West Point Foundery engine
was the first to run upon the Mohawk and Hudson
Railroad, and that no English locomotive was in existence
upon that road until the " Robert Fulton," built by
Stephenson, arrived about the last of August, and was put
on the road the 16th or 17th of September after:
" MOHAWK AND HUDSON RAILROAD.ÑWe
traveled over part of this road on Saturday, which is
ready to receive the cars on Monday next, the 1st of
August, if not earlier. The road will be open from the
head of Lydius Street to the brow of the hill at
Schenectady, a distance of about twelve males and a half,
and traveling upon it will be forthwith commenced. We
learn that the company have decided on using
steam-power alone. The company will begin their
operations with an engine from the West Point
Foundery, which we understand will be placed on the
road for service on Wednesday, the 27th, being precisely
twelve months from the day the ceremony of breaking
ground was performed last year.
" In less than a month the company expect from
England one of Mr. Stephenson's engines, similar to
those now in use on the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway.
" The work, we have no doubt, will do credit to
the skill of the engineer, John B. Jervis, Esq."
" MOSAWE AND HUDSON RAILROAD.ÑOn
Saturday this work was completed and prepared for the
passage of the cars. On that day an experiment was made
with the locomotive ' De Witt Clinton,' from the West
Point Foundery, but, owing to some defect in the ignition
of the Lackawanna coal, the speed did not at any time
exceed six or seven miles an hour. On Saturday next, if
the weather is favorable, the company propose to
celebrate the completion of the work, so far, by inviting
our citizens to a ride through the entire line."
"MOHAWK AND HUDSON RAILROADÑOn
Monday, August 9, 1831, the 'De Witt Clinton,' attached
to a train of cars, passed over the road from plane to
plane, to the delight of a large crowd assembled to
witness the performance. The engine performed the
entire route in less than one hour, including stoppages,
and on a part of the road its speed was at the rate of
thirty miles an hour."
MOHAWK AND HUDSON RAILROAD.ÑThe
company having received their locomotive from England
by the Mary Howland, it will, we understand, be in
operation on the road in the course of a few days. It is
called the ' Robert Fulton."'
" MOHAWK AND HUDSON RAILROAD.Ñ
Another trial was made on Thursday with the locomotive
' De Witt Clinton.' It performed the passage from
Schenectady to this city in fifty minutes. Among the
passengers was Brigadier-General Scott, of the United
States Army."
" MOHAWK AND HUDSON RAILROAD.ÑThe
American locomotive
' De Witt Clinton ' came down yesterday morning
in forty-six
minutes. The fuel was wood. A trial of the
English locomotive
will probably be made on Tuesday next. The power and
weight
of this engine are double those of the American engine."
" MOHAWK AND HUDSON RAILROAD.Ñ
Trials of the English locomotive were made on the 16th
and 17th. They were, we understand, entirely successful,
and particularly so with the use of anthracite coal. The
engine was propelled with case at the rate of from fifteen
to twenty miles an hour, and will commence her regular
trips this day."
The next we hear of the English locomotive, after
the foregoing experiments, relates to transactions of the
following week. The author was present, and re.
members well every incident on that interesting occasion,
as they are recorded in the Argus, and, had the
English machine performed the duty which was
assigned to her on that day, there is no doubt a
sketch of her appearance would have found a
place in our present volume. But the author did
not " see it." The Albany Argots, September 26,
1831, says:
" RAILROAD EXCURSION.ÑOn
Saturday, September 24th, a numerous company,
at the request of the president and directors of
the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company,
enjoyed a very gratifying ride upon the road.
The company consisted of the Governor,
Lieutenant-Governor, members of the Senate,
now in session as a Court of Errors, our Senators
in Congress, the Chancellor and Judges of the
Supreme and District Courts, State officers, the
president of tie Board of Assistants and members
of the Common Colmcil of the city of New York,
the Mayor, Recorder, and corporation of the
city, and several citizens of New York, Albany,
and Schenectady.
" Owing to a defect in one of the
supply-pipes of the English locomotive, that
powerful engine was not brought into service,
and the party, having been delayed in
consequence, did not leave the head of Lydius
Street until nearly twelve o'clock. They then
started with a train of ten cars, three drawn by
the American locomotive ' De Witt Clinton,' and
seven by a single horse each. The appearance of
this fine cavalcade, if it may be so called, was
highly imposing. The trip was performed by the
locomotive in forty-six minutes, and by the cars
drawn by horses in about an hour and a quarter.
From the head of the plane, about a quarter of a
mile from Schenectady, the company were
conveyed in carriages to Davis's Hotel, where
they were joined by several citizens of
Schenectady, and partook of a dinner that
reflected credit upon the proprietor of that
well-known establishment. Among the toasts
offered was one which has been verified to the
letter, viz.: ' The Buffalo RailroadÑmay we soon
breakfast in Utica, dine in Rochester, and sup
with our friends on Lake Erie ! ' After dinner the
company repaired to the head of the plane, and
resumed their seats for the return to Albany. It
was an imposing spectacle. It was a practical
illustration of the great preference of this mode
of travel and conveyance. The American
locomotive started with a train of five cars,
containing nineteen or twenty persons each,
besides the tender, and never did ' Brother
Jonathan,' as it was familiarly called, perform the
trip in more beautiful style. It came down with its
train in thirty-eight minutes, being at the rate of
nineteen miles an hour, the last six miles were
performed in fourteen minutes. The cavalcade
with horses came down in sixty-eight minutes.
" ' Brother Jonathan,' as it is familiarly
called, is as yet decidedly in advance of ' John
Bull."'
We give the foregoing extracts from the
Argus merely to prove more conclusively that the
" De Witt Clinton " was the locomotive sketched
by the author on the 9th day of August, and not
an English engine, as some parties have
represented. On neither of these excursions was
the English locomotive in use. On the excursion
of the 9th of August the English engine had not
yet arrived, and on the excursion of the 24th of
September her supply-pipe was not in order, and
the American locomotive " De Witt Clinton "
performed the duty successfully, as is recorded in
the Albany Argus just quoted. It was on the
occasion of the excursion on the 9th day of
August, 1831, with the " De Witt Clinton," as
mentioned in the article in the Albany Argus of
August 11th, that the author made the sketch of
the locomotive, the engineer, the tender, coaches,
and passengers in the train, which was exhibited
at his studio, and attracted great crowds for
several weeks during his professional sojourn in
Albany. This picture the author soon after
presented to the Connecticut Historical Society,
where it may be seen at the present time. In 1858
or '59 this original picture was photographed by
J. L. Howard & Company, of Hart. ford, and a
copy obtained by the author.
| The First
Locomotives | Chapter 36
|