Marshall McClung
One fact has always stood out to me while doing research on logging and railroads in Graham County: Little Snowbird temporarily had electricity before the city of Asheville.
Kanawha Lumber Company came to Graham County in 1899. Shortly thereafter, the company began logging operations on Little Snowbird. It was here that the first hydroelectric plant in Western North Carolina was built, which provided electric lights for the logging camp.
I began wondering, what about lights for locomotives? Photos I have seen of early engines indicate that the machines had no headlight. In photos of Graham County logging trains, all appear to have a headlight.
History says that originally, no trains ran at night. The first attempt to provide some type of lighting was by Horatio Allen in 1833 on the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. It was primitive to say the least and consisted of a bonfire on a flat car in front of the locomotive.
The Boston and Worcester Railroad used an oil-soaked wick in front of a metal reflector in 1840, which did put some amount of light on the railroad tracks. Another attempt was to hang several lanterns on the front of the locomotive, which did not prove to be very effective.
In 1814, English mechanical engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) invented the first effective locomotive light, called “The Geordie Light." He was known as the “Father of Railways."
By 1838, the light – which was housed in a sheet metal box – was being mass produced in New York. By the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, almost every railroad company in America was using locomotive lights.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the U.S. Forest Service and can be reached via email, mcclungs@email.com.