Horatio Allen, born in Schenectady, NY in 1802, was a civil engineer who worked on surveying the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Canal. In 1828, the D&H asked him to purchase four locomotives in England to …
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Horatio Allen, born in Schenectady, NY in 1802, was a civil engineer who worked on surveying the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Canal. In 1828, the D&H asked him to purchase four locomotives in England to be used to replace stationary engines in use on the D&H Canal Co. gravity railroad, (which carried coal from Carbondale to Honesdale). Two of the locomotives arrived in Honesdale, PA, but only one, the Stourbridge Lion, was tested, on August 8, 1829. Concerned about possible injury to the man who operated the Lion, Horatio Allen himself took the controls and drove the engine from Honesdale to Seelyville and back. It was, the first locomotive to run on commercial track in America. Allen had a distinguished career and returned to Honesdale in 1881, retracing the route of his historic ride and speaking in Central Park. He died at his home in Montrose, NJ on December 31, 1889.
From the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society 810 Main St., Honesdale. The museum and research library are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. through December (closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day).
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