February 1, 1936
THE STATE
Page Five
Early Railroading
Tlli:iti:*S quilo a hit of contrast in
railroading’ today and ivlint it uas
almost a century ago. Profile in
ll««*e days weren’t exactly friendly
to trains and engines.
IF yon wan! to die up some fascinat¬
ing Arnbinn-Nights talcs of by¬
gone days in North Carolina. I
know of no bettor way than to dig
drop into tho history of railroad rou¬
st motion in tin» stnto.
Recently, f came across a history of
the drvclopmrnt of some of the prede¬
cessors of our present railways. I
glanced over it hurriedly, exporting to
find it dull reading, but to my sur¬
prise. I found that it contained some
very interesting and entertaining fact.*
about renditions in the early days of
North Carolina’s history.
Today, it is a proven fact, so experi¬
ments show, that cows will give more
milk when “milked to music”- — soft,
alluring music. Hut it is hard to con¬
ceive of a time when trains were such
a rarity in the state that they so fright¬
ened the rows ami chickens that the
rows refused to give milk ami the
chickens refused to lay.
Quite a Bit of Opposition
That is just what happened when
construction was first started on the
first railroad to be chartered in North
Carolina — the Raleigh and Gaston.
And did the farmers set up a howl!
Not only did the roar of the trains
throw the cows and chickens into a
panic but the sparks set fire to their
hav stacks.
Tho railroad was to operate between
Raleigh and Gaston, now Thelma, and
was to go by Warrenton. When tin*
engineers got to the vicinity of War¬
renton, they found the plantation own¬
ers greeting them with turkey rides.
“No railroads arc coming through here
to frighten our pickaninnies half t<>
death.” they indignantly protested.
And with pickaninnies selling for
$4."0 apiece, you could hardly blame
them. The engineers were forced t"
give in ami to change the course of the
road. It took five years to complete
the 85-inile stretch as these were only
a few of the problems that confronted
By NAJEL IVEY SEAY
early railroad development in the
slate.
An Old Ledger Sheet
Recently, there was found lit the
Sen hoard station at Thelma an old
ledger sheet of the old hotel at Gas-
ten. These papers, yellowed and brit¬
tle with age. contained the following
unusual items:
"Gaston, Tuesday. 31st March, 1810
Rah-igh and Gaston Railway Co., Hr.
Mail. Kugr. Cap.. Trainband, each
breakfast and dinner. <1 meal* .75
Extra engineer and fireman, each
breakfast . . 2 5
Petersburg Railway Company, Dr.
Mail, I Engineer, 1 Captain. I
Fireimin, I Trainband, each din¬
ner. slipper, breakfast ami two
lodgings. 14 meals . 1 .38
Extra I Engineer, supper, lodging
ami breakfast . . 38
Mr. Style*. 3 drinks . .10
Mr. Myers. 5 drinks. I I>o, 1 I>n.
I Do (Gi 4!4c) . 4!i
I Do (Oi 44*0) . .
«...
.41*
2 pints brandy and bottle* .50
Old files of the Sen bn aid Railway
show that in 18“3. there thrived sev¬
eral paper mills at Wake Forest, and
Netise. N. C. These mill-, which no
doubt used rags, are now extinct. An¬
other old North Carolina industry of
the section about which little is now
known, was tin* manufacture of pig
iron at Loeksvilh*. now Moneure.
Coal from the present Cuinniock
c* *al fields was US»*.! at Loeksvilh* in
the manufacture of car wheels from the
ore deposits at On* Hill, N. C. Much
of the Lockville pig iron was shipped
to Wilmington, Delaware.
The beginning of North Carolina’s
fame as a winter resort had its origin
at this time, with the opening the first
"Winter Hotel” at Kittrell, according
to old railroad files. This hotel was a
popular rendezvous; fox hunting,
horseback riding, squirrel shooting
and other sport* being among the
amusements offered guests.
A Decided Contrast
What a contrast the present-day air-
conditioned and stream-lined trains
operating on heavy rails present when
compared with onr pioneer trains! I
have In-fore me a picture of tlm "Ra¬
leigh.” the first locomotive of the
Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad — a
•|iirer-looking contraption with a high
smokestack in front and with four
enormous wheel*. This engine was
iiii|H»rtrd from England.
Wooden tracks were linsl m-tead of
steel ones and six miles ail hour was
considered a reckless rate of speed.
Trains wore not allowed to run at
night.
Rate of transportation was five cents
a mile lietweeil "depots" though no
passengers were carried for less than
fifty cents.
It was almost taking one’s life in
one's hands to ride on one of these
pioneer trains. Sometimes the end of
the iron rail would become loo*.- and
( Continued on page twenty-two)
