Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1875 — The First Locomotive and Passenger- Car. [ARTICLE]

The First Locomotive and PassengerCar.

Stephenson had been called a lunatie when he had said that his locomotive could run twelve miles an hour. One very distinguished officer of the English Government, whose duty it was to see that the mails were carried as rapidly as possible, laughed at the idea, and said that “ if ever a locomotive ran ten miles an hour with a mail-bag behind it he would eat a stewed engine-wheel for his breakfast.” There was some little excuse for this disbelief, for the first locomotive was a very clumsy machine. It was called the “Locomotion.” Stephenson, when he built it, was the only man besides his son Robert who believed it would gq at all; aud some of the learned members of the English Parliament declared that it could not run against a strong wind! It was a small, clumsy affair, weighing hot more than one-tilth as much as an engine of the present time. The first improvement on it —the “ Rocket”—was even more ridiculous in appearance; but it was found to be faster and stronger: Before it was accepted by the railroad company it was put in a race with three other engines manufactured by other engineers; aud of the judges and thousands of persons who witnessed the race “nine-tenths were, against the ‘ Rocket’ because of its appearance.” But Stephenson received the prize over the other competitors, one of whom was Capt. John Ericsson. His locomotive could run fifte.cn miles an hour, and once actually drew thirteen tous at a speed of twentynine miles an hour. That performancedecided the fate of locomotives, and engineers at once went to work to improve Hie new motive power. The first railroad passenger-car was simply an old box on wheels, with seats running along the sides, a door at the rear end, and a seat in front for the driver, like the box of an omnibus. It was called by Stephenson, who invented it, the “ Experiment,” because it was not generally believed that people would travel on the railway. In 1825, about the time the first line was finished, one of the principal papers of England said that liotliing could be “more ridiculous than the prospect of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stage-coaches!” And it added tliat people would as soon “suffer themselves to be fired off upon one of Congreve’s rockets as trust themselves to the mercy of such a machine going at such a rate.” Stephenson, however, firm in his belief that passengers would travel by rail, declared that tlie time would come, and he hoped to live to see it, when it would be cheaper for a poor man to ride than to walk. This prophecy threatens to be more than fulfilled in a few years- It is proposed in England to send passengers by rail at ordinary English letter-rates, and under a system of tickets like postage-stamps—a six-cent stamp entitling the holder to go by any route to any partjif Great JJritain. But George Stephenson was not believed then, and the people continued to call him “ Daft Geordy,” which means “ Crazy George.” It was not long after the Stockton A Darlington Road was opened that more passenger-cars were needed. The first improvement on the “ Experiment” was a double car, made out of two “mourning-coaches.” This car was lighted at night by a single candle.—Nt. A icholas for December.

The manufacture of oleomargarina cheese is carried on in New York btate to quite a large extent, a dozen factories being engaged in the making of this cheese and butter in connection therewith. The new milk is subjected to conditions which deprive it of all the cream possible, after that it is placed in vats and heated ,to ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit; the oleomargarine is heated to a higher degree and mixed with the milk thoroughly. The rennet is added and the whole stirred for eight minutes. The after-process is similar to that of making cream cheese.— Detroit 2'ribu.ne. Inflammatory Rheumatism. —It is asserted that'this painful disease may be cured by bathing the parts affected with oil and saltpeter—half an ounce of pulverized- saltpeter in half a pint of the oil.