Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1890 — The Oldest Active Locomotive Engineer. [ARTICLE]

The Oldest Active Locomotive Engineer.

It will probably be of interest to know who is the oldest railroad engineer in the United States. The gentleman who has this honor is C. B. Smith, of Troy. Mr. Smith is nearly 83 years of age. He was born on St. Patrick’s'Day, 1808. He began his labors at the precocious age of 11 years, being employed on the Erie canal, which was at that time in course of construction. He continued on that line until 1823. The primary railroad line,in the United States was put in operation in 1829 between Albany and Schenectady. John Bull was the name of the locomotive used, and it had been made in England. John Hampton was its engineer, and the fireman C. B. Smith. He fired the Johnny Bull until the first locomotive was built in the United States. This was the De Witt Clinton, made at Schenectady in 1831. Mr. Smith was made its engineer. From that time to the present he has been at the throttle. He is still an engineer on the Hudson River road. He has pulled an engine at seventy-five miles an hour, and has been intrusted with some of the most important runs ever made on the toad. Ho can talk entertainingly on railroad affairs by the hour. He is still well preserved, and has a clear eye and a steady hand.