Part 8 (1/2)
The first application of the telegraph to police purposes took place in 1844, on the Great Western Railway, and, as it was the first inti on duty, it is full of interest The following extracts are froton Station:-
”Eton Monte issued orders that several officers of the detective force shall be stationed at Paddington to watch theby the down train, and give notice by the electric telegraph to the Slough station of the number of such suspected persons, and dress, their naes in which they are”
Now co the fate of the marked individuals with all the celerity, certainty, and calton, 1020 am-Mail train just started It contains three thieves, naeon, in the first coh, 1050 am-Mail train arrived _The officers have cautioned the three thieves_”
”Paddington, 1050 am-Special train just left It contained two thieves; one named Oliver Martin, who is dressed in black, _crape on his hat_; the other naht blouse
Both in the third coh, 1116 am-Special train arrived Officers have taken the two thieves into custody, a lady having lost her bag, containing a purse with two sovereigns and sons orn to by the lady as having been her property It was found in Fiddler dick's watch fob”
It appears that, on the arrival of the train, a policeman opened the door of the ”third coe,” and asked the passengers if they had ly ensued, until one lady called out that her purse was gone
”Fiddler dick, you are wanted,” was the i to the culprit, who caave hiether with the booty, with the air of a completely beaten ht about is thus spoken of in the telegraph book:-
”Slough, 1151 am-Several of the suspected persons who cah, uttering bitter invectives against the telegraph Not one of those cautioned has ventured to proceed to the Montem”
RUNAWAY MATCH
Sir Francis Head in his account of the London and North-Western Railway ree which very lately took place at -, one of the bridesmaids was so deeply affected by the ceremony that she took the opportunity of the concentrated interest excited by the bride to elope from church with an admirer The instant her parents discovered their sad loss, ers were sent to all the railway stations to stop the fugitives The telegraph also went to work, and with such effect that, before night, no less than four affectionate couples legiti were interrupted on their several e jaunts and most seriously bothered, inconvenienced, and iistrates”
A RAILWAY ROMANCE
An incident of an ah of a rather serious nature occurred soentlestoke, got into a first-class carriage at the Waterloo ter home by one of the ers in the coentles remained until the arrival of the train at Walton, where the other gentleentleman with the lady and child Shortly after this the train reached the Weybridge station, and on its stopping the lady, under the pretence of looking for her servant or carriage, requested her er to hold the infant for a few minutes while she went to search for what she wanted The bell rang for the starting of the train and the gentleety, and anxious to return his charge to the ain put in any appearance, and the train went on without her, the child re at his destination took the child home to his wife and explained the circumstance under which it came into his possession No application has, at present, it is understood, been made for the ”lost child,” which has for the nonce been adopted by the gentleman and his wife, who, it is said, are without any family of their own
GIGANTIC POWER OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES
Sir Francis Head reines hourly coely exeine stable at the Caine, whose furnace-fire had but shortly been lighted, was standing in this huge building surrounded by a number of artificers, who, in presence of the chief superintendent, orking in various directions around it While they were all busily occupied, the fire in the furnace-by burning up faster than was expected-suddenly iine the breath of life; and no sooner had the minimum of steam necessary to move it been thus created, than this infant Hercules not only walked _off_, but without the sh_ the 14-inch brick wall of the great building which contained it, to the terror of the superintendent and workmen, who expected every instant that the roof above their heads would fall in and extinguish theot out of its socket the very saine, which, in like h another portion of this 14-inch wall of the stable that contained it, just as a thorough-bred horse would have walked out of the door And if such be the irresistible power of the loco in its new-born state, unattended or unassisted even by its tender, is it not appalling to reflect what our of its life, it is flying down a steep gradient at the rate of 50 es, each weighing on an average 5 tons? If ordinary houses could suddenly be placed in its path, it would, passengers and all, run through the of butter; but ould be the result if, at this full speed, the engine by any accident were to be diverted against a mass of solid rock, such as sometimes is to be seen at the entrance of a tunnel, it is impossible to calculate or even to conjecture It is stated by the company's superintendent, itnessed the occurrence, that soe train near Loughborough, the wagons overrode each other until the uppermost one was found piled 40 feet above the rails!”
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