Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1893 — THE WORLD'S FAIR. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE WORLD'S FAIR.

The John Ball Locomotive and Train, —The Microphone. The famous John Bull engine, with its antique passenger coaches, which have so long done duty as chicken houses, arrived in Chicago for the World’s Fair, utter an eventful trip from New York city, over the Pennsylvania lines. Thousands of people congregated at the different stations to watch the old train pass, and at many points perfect ovations were given. Several weeks ago it was taken to the shops near Jersey City, overhauled and placed in a condition for the most momentous trip of its eventful existence. As the illustration shows, the engine presents a strange contrast to the magnificent locomotives of the present day. While the essential principles of locomotion by steam is the same in the old and new, the mechanism is

entirely different. One of the most notable feature of the John Bull is the pilot, commonly known as the cow-catcher. As originally constructed in England there was no pilot attached, but when the engine was placed in service on the Camden & Amboy road it was found absolutely necessary to provide a pilot in order to assist the machine in taking curves. . Mr. Stevens'set himself the task of planning one, and although it was a crude and awkward .affair, it served the purpose. The first pilot was a frame one made of oak, eight by four feet, pinned together at the corners. Under the forward end were a pair of wheels 26 inches in diameter, while the other end was fastened to an extension of the axle outside of the forward drivingwheels, a§ it was found that a play of about one inch oh each side of the pedestal of the front wheels was necessary in order to get around the •urves. Robert L. Stevens, the

founder of the Camden & Amboy railroad, was responsible for the importation, of the engine, as he ordered it from Stevenson, the English inventor. It was completed in May, 1831, and arrived in America three months later. Isaac Dripps, a young mechanic, made the first experimental trip, and after many trials considerable change was made in the machinery. Wood was originally used for fuel. The John Bull weighs 22,000 pounds, exclusive of the tender. The ordinary standard passenger locomotive in use on the Pennsylvania railroad at the present time weighs 176,000 pounds, or more than five times as much as its original predecessor. The curious contrivance, resembling a poke bonnet, which surmounts the tender, was called the “gig-top.” In it sat the forward

brakernan, who not only kept a sharp lookout for other trains approached on the same track, but signalled to the rear brakernan when occasion required, and worked the brakes on the locomotive and tender by a long lever which extended up between the knees. There was no bell-cord nor gong on the locomotive, so all communications between engineer and brakemen was by word of mouth. All these original features are retained in the restored engine. Hardly less unique than the locomotive itself are the passenger coaches on the historic train. Some twentyfive years ago a farmer near South Amboy bought one of the discarded coaches of the old Camden & Amboy railroad. He removed it from its trucks, and, planting it on posts in the ground, converted it into a chicken coop. It served in this capacity until a few months ago, when a representative of the Pennsylvania .railroad, looking for relics, happened upon it, and entered into negotiations for its purchase, 'fhe thrifty farmer, realizing that a lapse of

time had endowed his hennery with increased value, demanded a price which represented compound interest on th§ original purchase-money, but the matter was adjusted, Bud the passenger cnach of fifty years ago transformed into a chicken coop Is once more fixed upon its trucks, and went to Chicago as a part of the John Bull train. After its recovery the coach was refitted and reupholstered, so that appears now in all the pristine glory of its palmy days. The history of the other cpach is not quite so romantic. It was found some years ago in a lumber yard in a New Jersey town among a mass of rubbish, and quietly tucked away in the shops by a far-sighted official of the company, who foresaw that just such an occasion as this would bring it into requisitioh some day. CARING FOR THE CROWD. In the light of actual experience the predictions of the alarmists before the Fair opened are amusing.

It was said that the city would be so overcrowded with strangers that camps would have to be established for their accommodation in the parks. It was also hinted that the transportation facilities to Jackson !Park would prove entirely inadequate, and there were some doubts as to the food supply holding out. Two weeks of the Fair have demonstrated that in regard to room for visitors, food supply and transportation facilities the apprehensions of the timid were without foundation. Chicago contains from 15,000 to 20,000 strangers, but their presence would scarely be noticed if they were not seen in large numbers at Jackson Park. They are not overcrowding the hotels, nor are they besieging private houses with applications for board and lodgings. They have not as yet been compelled to take refuge in the parks, neither have they been com- ! pelled to walk to and from Jackson I Park. The biggest crowds have, of

course, not come yet, but when thej r do arrive they will find that Chicago is. able to take care of all of them. The microphone is the latest invention of telephonic science and is the chief feature of the Bell company’s exhibit. It is a simple looking little instrument, but it magni--86- bbunck =a thousand fold. The microphone has no commercial advantage over the ordinary telephone, and is simply shown at the Fair as an exhibit o~f microphonic transmission and loud response. The advantage gained by the microphone is that the speaker can direct his conversation from any part of the room, instad of talking into the transmitter. As yet the microphone is-in embryo and is sent to the exposition just as the telephone was sent to the Centennial—more as a

curiosity than as an invention of commercial value.

The ten Sunday _ newspapers in New York, together”with the three in Brooklyn, published one Sunday 420 pages, altogether aggregating 3.000 columns and 5,500,000 words.

THE JOHN BULL LOCOMOTIVE AND TRAIN.

REPARING THE WORLD’S FAIR GONDOLAS

THE MACMONNIES FOUNTAIN.

THE MICROPHONE.