And speakin of trains [we were on my FB timeline a few minutes ago...lol]. :) Did yall know the FIRST ever train to run on rails on U.S. soil was in 1829 by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company -- Americas oldest continually operated transportation company which brought anthracite coal from the mines of Pennsylvania to New York City. Designed by chief engineer, John B. Jervis in 1828, Jervis named his creation The Stourbridge Lion after the majestic painted lion on the locomotives front & the town in England where it was built [BTW, the town of Stourbridge, England also has the shortest railway in Europe called The Stourbridge Town Branch Line]. The Lion weighed almost 7 1/2 tons & eventually tore up the wooden track lines which werent designed to hold such enormous weight, so the engine was scraped in 1834. The boiler, however, still worked fine and was promptly sold to a foundry in Illinois, but the owner eventually closed up shop and moved west to California in 1849 when gold was discovered. Eventually, the Smithsonian Institution acquired the boiler in 1890, where it remains today. The Stourbridge Lions first run is depicted in the painting by Clyde Osmer DeLand in 1916. Pretty cool, huh? ALLLLL ABOARD!! :)
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 17:24:50 +0000