. The railroad and engineering journal . for the purpose of convincing them that the opera-tion of a railroad by steam was feasible. The monument was thus dedicated on the 6oth anni-versary of the running of the first train, which seemed avery fitting opportunity. The erection of such a memorial was first suggested byMr. J. Elfreth Watkins, who is now Curator of the Trans-portation Department of the National Museum at Wash-ington, but was formerly employed on the PennsylvaniaRailroad as a Civil Engineer. The plan was cordially ap-proved and taken up by the officers of the company, andthe monum
. The railroad and engineering journal . for the purpose of convincing them that the opera-tion of a railroad by steam was feasible. The monument was thus dedicated on the 6oth anni-versary of the running of the first train, which seemed avery fitting opportunity. The erection of such a memorial was first suggested byMr. J. Elfreth Watkins, who is now Curator of the Trans-portation Department of the National Museum at Wash-ington, but was formerly employed on the PennsylvaniaRailroad as a Civil Engineer. The plan was cordially ap-proved and taken up by the officers of the company, andthe monument was erected under the immediate supervi-sion of Mr. J. T. Richards, the Assistant Chief Engineer. The monument itself, the general form of which is shownin the accompanying sketch, consists of a block of rock-faced granite 5 ft. square and 6 ft. in height. On the faceof this block, which is toward the track, is a bronze plate,on which is a representation of the first train, v^^ith an ap-propriate inscription, which is given below :. First movement bv stsam on a railroad in the State of NewJersey, November 12, 1831, BV the original locomotive JohnBull, now deposited in the United States National Museum atWashington. The first piece of railroad track in New Jersey WAS LAID BV THE CamDEN a AmBOY RaILROAD COMPANY BETWEENTHIS POINT AND THE STONE THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED FEET EAST-WARD IN 1831. It may be mentioned here that this first track was madeof T rails of the form devised by Mr. John Stevens, and rolled for him in England, containing the germ of the formof rail which is now universally used in this country, andthat these rails were laid upon blocks of stone bedded inthe ground, the rails being held in place by spikes driveninto wooden blocks inserted in holes in the stone. The granite block composing the main part of the monu-ment stands upon a pedestal some 3 ft. in height andoctagonal in its general form. This is built of a numberof the original stones used in place o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectrailroa, bookyear1887
