European Capital, British Iron, and an American Dream

Description

The Atlantic & Great Western Railroad was one of the earliest and largest east-west railroad projects in the United States. It was the dream of American builders William Reynolds of Pennsylvania and Marvin Kent of Ohio. By using the non-standard six-foot gauge, these men helped construct a trunk line connecting the Atlantic tidewater with the Mississippi River "without break of gauge." Money for the construction came principally from European investors, like Don Jose de Salamanca of Spain, while Great Britain furnished the iron. A strong English support group included James McHenry, Sir Samuel Morton Peto, and the brilliant engineer, Thomas Kennard. This American-European enterprise represented an unique example of intercontinental cooperation in railroad history. Reynolds was the first president of the Pennsylvania and New York divisions of the A&GW. This published history is the first published source on this important railroad. With a memorable talent for detail and authority, Reynolds demonstrates how difficult it was to build a railroad against a backdrop of the Civil War. The lack of capital and resources, the scarcity of labor, the control of the oil market, and the endless struggle against hostile public opinion and fierce competitors like the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central posed challenges that were not easily overcome. Yet, as Reynolds states, "in the face of all these formidable obstacles, the enterprise was crowned with success."

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• États-Unis
• History

Informations

• Publié par: University of Akron Press
• Date de parution: 10 février 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781935603559
• Langue: English

Extrait

European Capital, British Iron, and an American Dream
Ohio History and Culture
European Capital, British Iron, and an American Dream
The Story of the Atlantic Great Western Railroad

By William Reynolds
Edited by Peter K. Gifford and Robert D. Ilisevich
The University of Akron Press
Copyright 2002 Peter K. Gifford and Robert D. Ilisevich
All rights reserved
All inquiries and permissions requests should be addressed to the publisher,
The University of Akron Press, Akron, OH 44325-1703
Manufactured in the United States of America
First edition 2002
05 04 03 02 5 4 3 2 1

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Reynolds, William, 1820-1911.
European capital, British iron, and an American dream : the story of the Atlantic Great Western Railroad / By William Reynolds ; edited by Peter K. Gifford and Robert D. Ilisevich.- 1st ed.
p. cm. - (Series on Ohio history and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-884836-91-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Atlantic and Great Western Railway Company-History-Sources. 2. Railroads-United States-History-Sources. 3. Reynolds, William, 1820-1911. I. Gifford, Peter K., 1955- II. Ilisevich, Robert D. III. Title. IV. Series.
HE 2791. A 845 R 49 2002
385 .0973 09034-dc21
2002006527
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1984.
Contents


List of Illustrations
Editors Preface
Acknowledgments
Railroad Abbreviations
Timeline of the Atlantic Great Western Railroad, 1851-1864

Introduction
Author s Preface

1 Railroad or No Railroad, 1851-1857
Railroad Mania 1851
County Subscription 1853
A Bad Start 1854
The Meadville Branch 1855
Six Feet from New York to St. Louis 1856
Discouragement and Panic 1857
The Meadville Railroad Company
County Repudiates Subscription
Reaching Out to Europe

2 From Ohio to New York, 1858-1859
The Atlantic Great Western RR of Pennsylvania 1858
Sale of Bonds in Europe
The Atlantic Great Western RR of New York 1859
General Ward s Ten Mile Road
Contract of Mutual Guaranty
McHenry, Salamanca, and European Capital

3 Building the Road, 1860
Bonds, Rails, and Spikes
Purchase of the Erie New York City RR
First Dispute with McHenry
The Work Progresses
Financial Headaches
Jamestown Opening
Seizure of Iron
Rejection of Erie RR Plan

4 Challenges and More Challenges, 1861 122
Financial Crisis and the Coming of War
Attack on Fort Sumter
Finances and Oil
Cutting Back
A European Trip
Visit with Salamanca
Peto Joins the Ranks
Conditions at Close of Year

5 Difficulties Continue, 1862
Oil Traffic Increases
Labor Shortages during the War
More Financial Difficulties
Franklin Branch

6 Pressing On, 1863
Tightening Control of Management
Shortcomings of Kennard and McHenry
Coal and Oil
Meadville and Cleveland Celebrations
Tighter Control Needed

7 Finishing the Job, 1864
Driving the Last Spike
Sale of the Oil Creek Railroad
Disappointment in Kennard
McHenry s Visit
Resignation

Editors Afterword

Biographies
James McHenry
Marvin Kent
Horace Cullum
Christopher L. Ward
John Dick
Samuel Hallett
Sir Samuel Morton Peto
Gaylord Church
James J. Shryock
Darwin Finney
Robert Thallon
Thomas W. Kennard
Don Jos de Salamanca
George Francis Train

Notes
Bibliography
Index
Series on Ohio History and Culture
List of Illustrations

Marvin Kent
William Reynolds
Judge Gaylord Church
Pennsylvania section of the A GW
W. S. Streator
James A. McHenry
Railroads in the State of New York
Robert Thallon
Henry A. Kent
The first train into Jamestown, New York, on the A GW
A bridge on the Franklin Branch
The station at the Franklin Petroleum Oil Works
Trestle near Akron, Ohio
A GW shop complex
Meadville, Pennsylvania depot with the McHenry House
The dining room at the depot, Meadville, Pennsylvania
View of the A GW Engine No. 71
A GW Locomotive built by Rogers Locomotive Company
Sir Samuel Morton Peto, Thomas W. Kennard, James A. McHenry, Samuel Wann, and S. S. L Hommedieu
McHenry House and Meadville Depot
Thomas W. Kennard s house at Glencove, Long Island
James Shryock
Don Jos de Salamanca
Editors Preface

T he story of William Reynolds s memoir of the Atlantic Great Western Railroad (A GW RR) preserved by the Reynolds family and Allegheny College is such a fine example of serendipity that it deserves to be told.
A good deal of credit for bringing the memoir to light has to be given to the late Dr. Russell J. Ferguson of the University of Pittsburgh. Some sixty years ago, while doing research on western Pennsylvania politics, Professor Ferguson uncovered the Reynolds railroad history among the papers and letters loaned to him by William s son, John Earle Reynolds of Meadville, Pennsylvania. Intrigued by the memoir s substantive contents, Ferguson immediately suggested that it be edited and published. In preparation, according to correspondence between Ferguson and Reynolds, Mrs. Ferguson typed a transcript of more than 270 pages.
An edited version of the memoir never reached a publisher, however. The Erie Railroad expressed an interest in underwriting the cost of publication, but then backed off when the company went into receivership. In 1940 Ferguson was editing the memoir for the University of Pittsburgh Press, but did not complete the manuscript. He then entered the U.S. Navy and deposited the memoir, the transcript, and the rest of the Reynolds papers with the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society for safekeeping. The railroad collection enabled Paul Felton in 1943 to write his dissertation on the A GW RR; Edward Hungerford used Felton s work for his chapter on the A GW RR in Men of Erie, a Story of Human Effort , published in 1946. Felton never published his dissertation. Apparently Ferguson did not finish his manuscript, or if he did, there is no knowledge of its whereabouts. He died in 1957.
After John Earle Reynolds s death in 1947, his widow asked Ferguson to return the papers, which he did. Unfortunately, upon arrival in Meadville the collection was broken up, with many of the papers being given to the Crawford County Historical Society and the remainder, including the memoir, the transcript, and papers relating to the A GW RR, to Allegheny College. For fifty years, they remained in a college trunk, unorganized and unknown until they were recently rediscovered. At present, they are still unavailable to the general public.
The significance of the memoir is twofold. First, it gives us a better understanding of what went into the building of a nineteenth-century railroad, as told by a railroad president. Second, the full importance of the A GW RR has yet to be evaluated in terms of general railroad history, the oil industry, and the American Civil War. Much of its fascinating history has been neglected by historians and publishers. The memoir helps fill the void.
From the beginning, the railroad faced almost insurmountable odds: financial stress, public apathy and hostility, pressure from competitors, and the war itself. Yet Reynolds, Marvin Kent, and their English partners, James McHenry, T. W. Kennard, and Sir Morton Peto, made the impossible happen. Rapid construction of the line during the war years shocked both believers and skeptics. Its completion brought immediate praise and benefits: supplying Union forces, providing low rates on freight, opening the oil region (with Cleveland eventually becoming a refining center), and establishing a direct line for Midwest cities to the port of New York.
Acknowledgments

W hile preparing this manuscript, a number of people extended to us assistance which we gratefully acknowledge. We received professional help and cooperation from the staff of the Erie Historical Society, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Archives division of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. A special thanks goes to the Pelletier Library staff of Allegheny College, including former director Connie Thorson, current director Cole Puvogel, Jane Westenfeld, and Donald Vrabel. In addition, Susan J. Beates, curator of the Drake Well Museum, Mark Roche of the Cochranton Heritage Society, and Laura Polo and Anne W. Stewart of the Crawford County Historical Society contributed to the endless search for maps and photographs.
The publishing of this manuscript was due to the encouragement and expert support provided by the staff of the University of Akron Press. We owe special thanks to Director Michael J. Carley, Copy Editor Nancy Basmajian, Production Coordinator Amy Petersen, Marketing Coordinator Jodi Arment, and the manuscript s reviewers for their criticisms and suggestions. An editorial staff could not have been more helpful.
Our deepest debt of gratitude is owed to the many individuals, including Larry Smith and Robert L. Gifford Jr., who took the time to read all or parts of the manuscript, and to Jennifer Gifford for help with the illustrations. Finally, we thank our wives and families for their enduring patience and loving encouragement.
Railroad Abbreviations

Abbreviation
Railroad and Description
A GW
Atlantic Great Western Later became part of the Erie RR
A GW in NY
Atlantic Great Western in NY Later combined into the A GW RR
A GW of OH
Atlantic Great Western of Ohio Later combined into the A GW RR
A GW of PA
Atlantic Great Western of Pa. Later combined into the A GW RR
B O RR
Baltimore Ohio Early east-west trunk line from Baltimore to Wheeling, West Virginia
B SL RR
Buffalo State Line Company Later became part of the New York Central
CH D RR
Cincinnati, Hamilton Dayton RR Western connection for the A GW
C M RR
Cleveland Mahoning Leased by the A GW RR
C T RR
Clevel