the mines at
Carbondale and the town of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. This locomotive was
built at Stourbridge, England, and made its trial trip in August, 1829.

KENTUCKY'S FIRST RAILROAD.

Kentucky, which was one of the leading States in the Union in those days
in all progressive movements, was wide awake to the great advantages to
be gained by railroad transportation. And Lexington, which seems to have
been the "self-starter" of Kentucky, was aroused to the highest pitch of
excitement. The various "performances" of the English railroads were
published at length in the Kentucky Gazette, and the Observer and
Reporter. Lexington was the very heart of the great Blue Grass region of
Kentucky. The amazing richness of the soil had lured the first settlers
from the safety of their transmontane homes to the hardships of Indian
fighting and primitive living. Here they had built an ideal city adorned
with beautiful Colonial homes; established the first great seat of
learning west of the Alleghanies; built the first insane asylum; started
the first newspaper; established the first public library, and
surrounded by culture, wealth and refinement, with every want seemingly
supplied and every wish apparently gratified, their business men
declared there was yet one thing lacking--they needed an outlet to some
great water course. The town branch was beautiful to look upon and a
never-failing delight to those first inhabitants but useless for
navigation. Their bountiful crops demanded transportation to the markets
of the world. And now, like a miracle to solve their difficulties came
this railroad proposition. They read the local papers with interest,
discussed the question at public meetings, sent a man to England to
obtain all available information concerning it, and with a push and
energy which would startle the town today, they set to work to obtain a
charter from the Kentucky Legislature, then in its session of 1829-30,
asking for a railroad from Lexington, Kentucky, _to some point_ on the
Ohio River.

* * * * *

The Reporter for February 3rd, 1830, _just one week_ after the Charter
was obtained, had the following article: "As considerable interest has
been excited in this community on the subject of Railroads by the Act of
the Legislature authorizing the formation of a Company to make one from
this town to the Ohio River, we have copied into this paper several
articles going to show their immense