The history of the first locomotives in America. From original ...

EARLY RAILROADS.
closely together, tlie sttrface presenting a smooth and
hard track for the wheels. In modern times such tracks
or roadways were constructed in several European
cities— ^London, Pisa, Milan, and many others.
The first instance on record of rails being used on
highways was as early as the year 1630, over two and
a quarter centuries ago. They were invented hy a
person named Beaumont, and huilt and used for the
transportation of coal from the mines near Newcastle,
in England.
Old Eoger North alludes to railways as being in
use in the neighborhood of the river Tyne in the year
1676, and he thus describes them: The rails of timber
were placed end to epd and exactly straight, and in
two lines parallel to each other. On these bulky carts
were made to run on four rollers fitting these rails,
whereby the carriage was made so easy that one horse
would draw four or five chaldrons of coal at a load.
We read of railways existing in Scotland in 1745, at
the time of the Scotch rebellion. These railways were
laid down between the Tranent coal-mines and the
harbor of Cockenzie, in East Lothian. Improvements
were made on these roads and continued until 1765,
when they began to assimie the forms of our present
roads, even to the use of flanges upon the wheels;
but up to this period no iron surface was ever heard of.
The mode of constructing a railroad at that period was
as follows : After the surface was brought to as perfect
a level as ,
possible—or incline, as the case might be
^square blocks of wood, called sleepers, about six feet
long, were laid two or three feet apart across the track;
upon these two long strips of wood, six or seven inches
wide and about five inches deep, were fastened by pins
to the sleepers, and parallel to each other, but about
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