The Rise & Fall of the Southern Indiana Railroad and it's founder John R. Walsh
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COLLISION WITH A BALLOON
Concerning the encounter of John Garrity's engine with a balloon as reported by the Terre Haute Tribune; "The Southern Indiana freight train No. 22 was at Lewis when the ascension was made and watched the balloon until it disappeared. The engineer John Garrity, realized that the balloon was coming towards the railroad track and kept a lookout for the balloon so that he would not run into it. After waiting five minutes he concluded that he had passed it and paid no more attention until a cry from the fireman, Jess Davis, brought his attention to the woman seated on the trapeze of the parachute about one hundred feet above the center of the track and waving her handerchief as a signal to stop the train. The emergency brakes were set and the train stopped within six feet of where Mrs. Woodall landed on the track. The aeronaut was completely enveloped by the parachute and the balloon fell across the engine, covering the smoke stack. The whole train crew rushed to the assistance of the woman and Engineer Garrity, who had stayed in the cab, was compelled to leave by the gas from the fires forced into the cab by the covered smoke stack. If the engine could not be freed from the balloon the engineer knew that it would catch fire and probably burn the woman, and yet if an attempt was made to back away, Mrs. Woodall would probably have been seriously injured by being dragged along the rails. The Conductor and Brakeman, Scott Henry and Billy Fitch, finally succeeded in releasing Mrs. Woodall from her perilous position and the train backed away from the balloon. The Balloon was anchored to a fence and the aeronaut taken into the caboose and carried to the road which crossed the track near Grant Singhurse's farm house, where some of the men who had gone after the balloon in buggies took her back to the grounds. The balloon had alighted nearly three miles from where it ascended and Mrs. Woodall was not hurt except for a few scratches. Her skirt was wet from passing through the clouds. She did not seem to be nervous and in regard to her accident said; 'I couldn't see anything'. The trainmen were more scared and excited than the woman. They were going at twenty five miles an hour and the woman was only about 100 yards in front of the train."
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About the Book
At the start of the 20th century railroads were the main life line for communities to get their products out to the world. This is the true story of how one man changed a large portion of Southern Indiana from a back woods area to a thriving mineral extraction economy.
John R. Walsh was a Chicago banker that financed a small belt line railroad and quarry in Bedford, Ind. The loan went sour and he was hung with the assets when the borrowers went broke. This story reports his efforts to save his investment loan capital, and in the process made limestone a nation wide recognized building product.
Other railroads of the time were reluctant to adequately serve the quarries and mills, so John R. Walsh bought a defunct rail line and made it into a 'State of the Art' railroad to move his products to market. To get enough traffic on his railroad to make it profitable, he opened up several coal mines in Western Indiana., so his line would have more to haul.
Railroads were expensive to build, and Walsh borrowed more from his bank than the banking laws allowed. In addition the large railroads in the Chicago area did not want another road entering Chicago. As John was building his railroad into Chicago, he was brought into federal court on banking law violations and found guilty.
This book is a diary of the overall events that caused him to get into the railroad business, how he built the road, day to day chit-chat about what happened on a 1900 railroad, and the trial that put him in jail.
The book is 250 pages.
About the Author
Forget the Author; ..........What does the book say about the railroad?
What did it cost to build a mile of narrow gauge railroad in 1888?Answer on page #1
How was a woman involved in railroad building in 1890? Answer on page #2
In 1897, how much were laborers paid for 'heavy duty' tasks? Answer on page #24
How long did it take a 'RUSH ORDER' train to get to New York from Indiana in 1897? Answer on page # 24
How much steam pressure was normally carried on a running steam engine in 1897? Answer on page # 27
In 1900, what was predicted for the steam engine improvements by 1905? Answer on page # 58
What was the cost of a new freight car in 1900? Answer on page #58
How much did an Engineer earn a month in 1902? Answer on page # 74
What was the projected cost of building a mile of 'first class' railroad track on flat land in 1902? . Answer on page # 85
What were Section Foremen and Section Hands paid in 1903? Answer on page # 91
How much did a new Steam Engine cost in 1903? Answer on page # 93