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| THE JOHN BULL TRAIN - As the New York Central
Railroad exhibited a replica of its first train - the DeWitt Clinton
engine and cars - therefore the Pennsylvania lines, whose model depot
was just across the avenue, went a step further, and brought to
Chicago its first locomotive and train, dating from 1831 - a genuine
working relic of Camden & Amboy days. This train is portrayed with
great detail in the engraving, but its dimensions are possibly
exaggerated to the eye. Contrasted with the big modern locomotives,
whose boilers sit high over the tall drive wheels, the John Bull was
a toy, and was used all summer by the people as a pet plaything. On
every successful day of the Fair it went puffing in and out of the
Terminal Station, giving stop-over tickets to the passengers, and
sounding its sharp little whistle for the delectation of the people -
especially railroad men. On October 12, 1893, William Finlayson,
eighty-one years old, conductor of the first passenger train run in
America, on the Nova Scotian road, commanded the John Bull excursions
around the yards, and ten trips were made that day, accommodating a
thousand travelers. The aged pioneer stood at the steps of the old
cars and aided the ladies to board the train, as he had done
fifty-four years before on the initial journey of his road. The
journey of the John Bull train from Jersey City to Chicago, in April,
1893, was made in triumph, and it returned to the East with added
eclat. |
