Re: (rshsdepot) Aspen D&RGW Depot

[Firehair3_@_aol.com]

Not sure if this will make it thru the  system.  As I mentioned early on, my 
Dad was with the d & H  RR.  
My family, particularly the Indian side, is from NE PA,  Southern Tier NY.  
When I saw the title of this post, my mind flashed to a  trip to the Honesdale 
area, where my (possibly faulty?) memory recalled a  replica and a history 
abt, the Stourbridge Lion, which was an engine. not a  place.
 
 
Stourbridge  Lion                          From Wikipedia, the free 
encyclopedia
 

 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stourbridge_Lion#searchInput) 
Stourbridge  Lion    
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stourbridge_Lion.jpg) 
The Stourbridge Lion's first run, as  depicted by _Clyde  Osmer DeLand_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clyde_Osmer_DeLand&action=edit&redlink=1)
  c. 1916  Power type Steam  Builder _Foster,  Rastrick and Company_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster,_Rastrick_and_Company)   Build date 1828  
_Configuration_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation)  _0-4-0_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0-4-0)   _Gauge_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge)  4 
ft 3 in (1295 mm)  _Driver_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_wheel)  size 
48 in (1.2 m) dia.  Locomotive weight 7.5 tons  Boiler 48 in (1.2 m) dia. x 
10.5 ft (3.2 m) long  Fire grate area 8 ft² (0.7 m²)  Cylinder size 8.5 in (216 
mm) dia. x 36 in (914 mm) stroke  Career _Delaware &  Hudson Canal Company_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_and_Hudson)  (D&H)  First run _August 8_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_8) , _1829_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1829)   Retired 1834  Current owner _Smithsonian  Institution_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution)   Disposition only the boiler 
remains; other parts were scrapped or stolen in the  1800s 
The Stourbridge Lion was a _railroad_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad) 
 _steam locomotive_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive) . It  was 
not only the first locomotive to be operated in the _United States_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) , it was also  one of the first 
locomotives to operate outside of _England_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England) , 
where it was  manufactured in 1828. 
The locomotive earned the name Lion from the picture of a _lion_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion) 's face that was  painted on the front of the 
locomotive by its builder. The Stourbridge  portion of the name is from the town of 
_Stourbridge_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stourbridge)  in England,  where the 
locomotive was manufactured.     
 


One of the _first railroads in the United States_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_railroads_in_North_America) , the _Delaware  & Hudson Canal Company_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_and_Hudson)  (D&H), was originally  
chartered in 1823 to build and operate canals between _New York,  NY_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_NY)  and the coal fields around _Carbondale,  
PA_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbondale,_PA) . While the line was 
originally planned as a canal for  the entire route, company engineers began thinking 
about rail transportation as  early as 1825; the initial plan was to build a 
railroad between the mines and  the western end of the canal as a way to get the 
coal to the canal  boats.
_John B. Jervis_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Jervis) , who later  
became the designer of the _4-2-0_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4-2-0)  (the 
Jervis type)  locomotive, was named the D&H's chief engineer in 1827. Jervis 
planned out a  series of inclines connected by level, but themselves 
disconnected, railroads.  The company directors liked Jervis's plan and authorized its co
nstruction with  some hesitation for the as-yet unproven railroad technology. 
In 1828, a former coworker of Jervis, _Horatio Allen_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Allen)  went on a  railroad research tour of England. Through 
Allen, Jervis sent specifications for  locomotives that could be used on the 
D&H. Allen wrote back in July that  four locomotives had been ordered, three 
from _Foster,  Rastrick and Company_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster,_Rastrick_and_Company)  and one from _Robert  Stephenson and Company_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stephenson_and_Company) , for the D&H. 
Stourbridge Lion was one of these three locomotives built by Rastrick,  but 
Stephenson's shop had completed their locomotive, the Pride of  Newcastle 
before any of Rastrick's locomotives. The Pride of  Newcastle even arrived in 
America nearly two months before the  Stourbridge Lion, but it was the latter that 
was used for the first  railroad trials. 
The locomotive was assembled after shipment at the _West Point Foundry_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Point_Foundry)  in  New York where it was first 
tested under steam in 1829. Its first official run  took place on _August 8_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_8)  of that year in _Honesdale, PA_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honesdale,_PA) . The locomotive  performed admirably, 
but the track that was built on which to run it was  insufficient for the 
task. Jervis had specified  the locomotives should  weigh no more than 4 tons; the 
Stourbridge Lion weighed nearly  double,  7.5 tons. 
Rastrick built another engine after completing the three that were sent to  
America. This engine, the Agenoria, is believed to be a duplicate of the  
Stourbridge Lion. The Agenoria was built in 1829 and is currently  preserved at the 
_National Railway  Museum_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Railway_Museum)  in York. 
By 1834, documents show  the railroad attempted to sell the  Stourbridge Lion 
and its early sisters to the _Pennsylvania  Canal Commission_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pennsylvania_Canal_Commission&action=edit&redlink=1
) , but the deal was not finalized. The locomotives were  deemed too 
unsuitable for the now expanding railroads; American locomotive  manufacturers had 
begun producing their own locomotives of improved designs as  early as 1830. The 
four locomotives were used as sources of English wrought-iron  _bar stock_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_stock)   until the middle of the 1840s. 
By 1845, all that was left of the Stourbridge Lion was its boiler. The  
boiler was still functional, however, and it was used in a foundry in Carbondale  
for about another five years until the foundry's owner headed west to try his  
luck as a _Forty-niner_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-niner) . The 
foundry was  sold a few years later to new owners who recognized the boiler's value 
as a  piece of history, and reportedly tried to sell it for $1,000 in 1874. 
The owners  weren't able to find a buyer so they hung onto it themselves. 
In 1883, the D&H borrowed the boiler to display at the _Exposition  of 
Railway Appliances_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Exposition_of_Railway_Appliances&action=edit&redlink=1)  in _Chicago, IL_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Illinois) .  Unfortunately, security around the boiler's 
transportation was lax; souvenir  hunters pulled every loose item that they could off 
the now historic boiler,  even resorting to hammers and chisels to remove 
portions of it. 
The boiler was stored again and eventually acquired by the _Smithsonian  
Institution_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution)  in 1890. A 
few other parts that are believed to have been from  the Stourbridge Lion are 
also preserved, but their authenticity is  questioned. These other parts may 
have come from one or more of the locomotive's  sister engines. The museum has 
made a few attempts to rebuild the locomotive  with the parts that remain. 
However, with the parts' origins still in question,  and the lack of a few other 
key parts, the locomotive's reconstruction has never  been completed. The boiler 
and assembled parts are currently on display at the  _Baltimore & Ohio 
Railroad  Museum_ (http://www.borail.org/)  in _Baltimore, MD_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore,_MD) . 
The D&H built their own  replica of the Stourbridge Lion in 1932 from plans 
that were made based  on the parts remaining in existence.   
(maybe this is the one I was  still able to see many years later?  Seeing 
when it was built, I wasn't  born!!) 





Attitude and Perception are  everything.  Be kinder, more caring, patient, 
than necessary, everyone you  meet is fighting some kind of battle. 

Life may not be the party we hoped  for, but while we're here, we might 
as well dance! 

What you accept,  you teach. The choices you make affect not only your life, 
but the lives of all  with whom you come in contact.







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