Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1893 — SCIENTIFIC MARVELS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SCIENTIFIC MARVELS.

SIGHTS IN THE HUGE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING. Bewildering; In Its Variety—Exhibits Representing Marine and Railway Locomotion in ’ All Stages of Evolution Ship Models from England. Railway Exhibit. The display inside the Transportation Building at the Columbian Exposition is bewildering in its range and variety. The whole history of transportation, from birch-bark canoes to steamships, and from pack horses to palace cars, is unfolded in a manner never to be forgotten. Looking down from the galleries upon the acres and acres of exhibits, one sees a monster black steam hammer for forging armor plates which towers above the second story, a row of famous locomotives facing out from the annex like a herd of elephants, a full section of a colossal ocean steamship, and scattered about here and there, thousands of objects that tell the story of how man has gradually annihilated space. The invention and development of the locomotive and railway system is the nineteenth century wonder. Less than sixty-eight years since the first passenger railway ran its first crude train. Now the great civilizer has penetrated every country. About ten acres of ground floor space are devoted exclusively to exhibits pertaining to railway construction, equipment, operation, management and development. Sixty-four modern locomotives of all types and sizes from the two one-hun-dred ton Decapod engines which stand on the pedestals between the Administration Building and the railway station to the five ton logging locomotives for use in the forests of Michigan. All the leading makers exhibit one or

more modern locomotives, some being raised from the rails and showing the machinery in operation by compressed air. Besides these there are a score or more of magnificently equipped coaches and thirty-five freight cars, embracing every variety, by the leading builders in the. country. Among the other attractions are two Leslie rotary snow plows, a centrifugal snow excavator and a Russell snow plow, fourteen steam shovels and a locomotive traveling crane, a light and heat tender of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, and the dynamometer of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy road. All this rep-

resents steam transportation as it is now, but the most fascinating part of the railway show —more so even than the mighty engines and the solid mahogany train from Canada—is the display of relics, models, old engines and cars and specimens of the quaint roadways of earlier tlays. It is the first time that such a*work has been undertaken, and Mr. T. Hackworth, of the railway department, has gathered a complete historical collection. For instance, the Baltimore and Ohio Bailroad has for more than a year past been making extensive preparations for its historical exhibit, which includes about thirty full size wooden models of the earliest locomotives built in this country and in England, with samples of original tracks. Three of the Grasshopper type of engine, the old locomotives “Sanieqn” and “Albion,” built in England and shipped to Nova Scotia in 1838, and other specimens of the very early locomotives are among the attractions. The models are all to be shown with machinery in operation. That is one of the delightful things about the section. Now comes the Chicago and Northwestern Railway with the “Pioneer,” built in 1835 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the fourth engine built by that firm. The Pioneer came to Chicago in 1848 and was the first locomotive to penetrate so far West. This engine ran on the old Galena Road, now a portion of the Chicago and Northwestern system, and it actually steamed into the Exposition grounds a few weeks ago. A little further on the Old Colony Railroad exhibit their first engine, the “Daniel Nason," and the first coach that ran between Boston

and Providence, and these, by way of contrast, stand alongside of the latest Old Colony engine and coach. One of the most famous objects in the neighborhood is the seven-foot gauge locomotive “Lord of the Isles," belonging to the Great Western Rail wayjof England, originally shown at the first great exposition in 1851 in London. It ran until 1882, when the change to the standard gauge laid her up. She was one of a class of engines designed by Brunell for'high speed between London and Bristol, ana has made seventyfive miles an hour. Engineers will look at this giant with affection. The London and Northwestern show Trevithick’s engine of 1802 and the “Rocket* of 1829 in: rail-sized wooden models. An opportunity is here offered for comparison, as‘ ,J the Baltimore and Ohio exhibit models of the same engine. Here the New York Central Company

shows the original "De Witt Clinton* on the strap rails of 1833, and there the Illinois Central Company shows the 'Mississippi,* built in England in 1836 for the Natchez and Mississippi, npw a portion of the Illinois Central RailFoad. The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis exhibit the historic engine, 'General,* captured by the Andrews The Marine Exhibit. In no previous marine exhibit has the question of transportation on water ever been treated as a subject, but in

this department is shown not only the triumphs of naval architecture, as illustrated by the modern ocean greyhound and battle ship, but also strange and curious craft from semi-civilized and barbarous tribes, showing how they solved problems of transportation by taking advantage of the materials on hand, whether of bark or logs of wood or skins of animals. There is a complete exhibit from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, consisting of two hatch bydarka, with complete hunting outfits, and from the sea coast of Norton Sound a hatch bydarka, with the full outfit used in both hunting and fishing; birch bark canoes from the

Upper Yukon River; sleds, dogs’ harness and all that goes with them. The Hudson Bay country shows all the methods of water transportation known in that country. Krom Southwest Alaska or Queen Charlotte’s Island are a tingit canoe and a large dugout and haida canoe. From Australia comes an interesting canoe made from a single sheet of what is commonly known as the gum-topped iron bark or mountain ash (Eucalyptus the ends being tied up. China is represented by models of every boat used on Chinese waters, both sea coast and inland. These boats, although the architecture seems to be grotesque, have many peculiar points, such as the movable rudder and the fashion of at taching the sheet to the sail, making it possible to draw the surface very flak. A catamaran is shown that has carried the mail between Ceylon for a number of years, as well as one of the celebrated outrigger canoes. Mediterranean craft are represented by the Turkish caique; daigsa, of Malta; gondolas, of Venice, and peculiar lateen boats, as well as the chizzoto and the bragozzio of the Adriatic. And there are peculiar canoes from the west of Africa as well as the bimba, a curious development of the catamaran, Which is used in the Interior waters. From South America comes the Jangada, a large balsa shaped boat used in the vicinity of Pernambuco; a war canoe from the Amazon; the cascarra, made from a single piece of bark and entirely unlike all birch bark canoes, from tne Orinoco. There are also slender and swift dugouts from the same locality; balsas from Lake Titcaca, made of straw and bound together by wisps —the only method of water conveyance known to the people of that region. Here you find bungos, curious shaped canoes from the Isthmus of Panama, and many others quite as interesting. Of course the North American Indian and his birch bark canoe are features not only in this building, but also in the south pond, with the Indian himself paddling. Great Britain’s principal ship building firms have sent a magnificent collection of models of all kinds. The period of iron ship building is well represented, both in the models of passenger and freight steamers as well as in the collection of British men-of-war. Unfortunately the period after the restoration of Charles 11. and through the Napoleonic wars is not included, for with models of the great threedecked sailing battleships which were for so many years England’s bulwark

of strength, the history of the navy would be reasonably complete. At the same time Spain sends the treasures of the Royal Museum and the mddels of the Invincible Armada, so that the ships of the time of the famous battle will be shown. The Thames Iron Works & Ship Building Company trace the development of the ironclad in the British navy by means of models. The Warrior was.the first war vessel built of iron. She was 380 feet long and was protected with 44 inches of ar/nor, which was sufficient in 1860 to resist a 68-podhd solid shot, the maximum of that day. Her ends were unprotected

and consequently her steering gear was much exposed. The Minotaur represented the next ship of the warrior size, fully rigged ana armored. The Benbow, 10,600 tons displacement, 7,500 horse power, draught of water, 28; speed, 14 knots; 18 inches of armor; armed with 10-ton guns, 10 6-inch, 5ton, 15 quick-firing guns. Then comei the Grafton, a first-class steel cruiser, 7,350 tons, 12 horse power, 360 feet long, armament nine 2-inch 22-ton breech-loading rifles, ten 6-inch quicki firing guns, twelve 6-pounder quickfiring guns, four 3-pounaer quick-firing guns, speed 19 knots; Sans Pareil, armored ship, 10,470 tons displacement, indicated horse power 14,000, draught of water 27 feet, speed 17 knots, arma-j ment largest guns, two 11-ton breech-l loading rifles. And so on through the list. In the merchant marine section the Cunard Steamship Company shows models of the Umbria, Etruria (8,000 tons), and the new ships built and engined in 1892, while the royal mail service between England and South Africa is shown by Donald, Currie & Co. The Laird Brothers, of Birkeni head, exhibit a collection of models and pictures illustrating the progress of iron shipbuilding from 1834 to the present time—paddle steamers, screw steamers, and a full line of models. A striking feature has been furnished by the International Navigation Company, which built on the main court a section of one of their new steamers. Imagine the longitudinal and transverse section of a ship abaft the smokestack 69 feet long and 38.6 in beam. The interior fittings, furnishings, and decoration will be the same as used on the magnificent steamers on that line. This is the most interesting exhibit, showing fully the facilities of these vessels for the comfort of ocean travel.

Wheeled Vehicles of Every Kind, But if railways and ships are interesting, what is to be said of the wheeled vehicles? The floor space occupied by this division embraces 130,000 square feet, and it is all fitted up with wood carpet in white oak strips, laid out in handsome patterns and finished in oil. Each space is surrounded with handsome ornamental brass railing and posts. This exhibit occupies the entire north end of the main building and the annex and about one-half of the north gallery in the main building. On the first floor are exhibited carriages, wagons, and vehicles, of every description. In the gallery are displayed bicycles, carriage ana wagon hardware and saddlery goods. There is a historical array of vehicles, saddlery goods, and bicycles. An effort has been made to show the evolution of these industries from their primitive origins down to the present time. For this purpose a large collection has been made by Chief Smith in foreign lands, from the ancient chariot that antedates Christ to the latest thing out. In modern carriages there is everything, from a baby carriage up to the finest carriage that has been built. Some of these vehicles cost SIO,OOO each, and are really works of art. Foreign countries contribute to this division, France having sent fifty carriages from her best builders. Austria sent eighteen carriages from six of her beet manufacturers. England and Germany also make large exhibits, so that the industry of both continents is well represented. In the foreign collection of historical exhibits from London is a Lord Mayor’s state coach, a drag that belonged to the Prince of Wales, and an old chariot. A sedan chair from Colombia stands beside one from Turkey, and near by are a jinriklsha from Japan, a carriage once owned by President Polk, and the coach of Daniel Webster, bought in 1808. In the saddlery department a display of saddles, bits, stirrups, and trappings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, collected throughout Europe, including a pair of silver spurs taken from the feet

of Sir Thomas Picton when he was killed in the battle of Waterloo. In the bicycle division there is presented an extraordinary display. The fittings alone cost more than SIOO,OOO. and some of, the pavilions cost exhibitors from SIO,OOO to $12,000 each. There Is displayed in this exhibit not only the finest bicycle that has ever been produced up to the present time but bicycles representing wheels that date back to the first machine built, showing the complete evolution of the industry.

ABOUT SOME OTHER WORLD’S FAIRS. Comparisons That Show the Columbian Exposition Greatest of All. That the nation and Chicago are proud, and with reason, of the World’s Columbian Exposition, is naturally due to the patriotic vim which conceived and carried out to wonderful being the gigantic enterprise—to the dauntless enterprise which brought the earth to a people who could not hope to go to it. In such connection, such statistics as follows are not dry facts, but pregnant sources of thought and contrast.

to « 2 1 Sr „ _ B fro-S!5 ATTENDANCE _ . _ , . ExhlbBELD IN n £ £“ ■ Cost. Receipts • : <?•& : Total. Dally Ijondon. IRSI 21 144 6,039,195 41,962 1,460,000 $1,760, 000 13,937 Dublin 1853 1 170 1,160,000 6,766 400,000 230,000 7,000 New York 1863 6 150 1,260,000 8.334 640,000 340,000 4 100 Paris 1856 2414 200 5,162,330 25.813 644,100 23,954 London. 1862 23)4 in 6,211,103 36,316 2,300,000 1,644,260 28.663 Paris 1867 37 217 10,200, 000 47,007 4.000,000 2,103,675 T 50,226 Vienna 1873 40 186 7,264,687 39,008 2,963,421 70,000 Philadelphia.... 1876 60 159 9,910,966 62,333 8,500,000 3,813,724 30,806 Paris 1873 100 18436,032,725 82.644 8,000,000 2,631,650 40,360 Sydney 1879 16 216 1,117,534 6,305 ...... r ... 202,180 9,345 Melbourne...;.. 1880 29 143 1,330.279 9.302 1,201/625 332,000 12.792 Paris 1889 ; 75)4 183 27,149,353 153,821 8,300,000 10,000,000 60,000 Chicago 1893 207’4 183 >..., 1 32,500,000 ..

Granulated cork and bitumen pressed into blocks is used for paving the streets of London, -elasticity being its chief recommendation.

GRAND ENTRANCE TO THE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING. The Golden Gate to the Fair.

W. A. SMITH, CHIEF OF TRANSPORTATION.

MODEL OF SANTA MARIA. IN TRANSPORTATION BUILDINOG.

CHINESE TRANSPORTATION EXHIBIT.

SECTION OF BTBAMSRIP, IN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.