The Great Railroad Boom

The Great Railroad Boom. Riverfront Wilmington.

"… every convenience that could be thought of has been secured." , reported about the car built for Henry M. Flagler, in Every Evening, Wilmington, January 4, 1887

, Wilmington manufacturers found that the craftsmen who could fit out the interior of a luxury yacht or steamer could do equally well with railcars., When Florida real estate developer and railroad baron Henry M. Flagler wished to have his own private railroad car built in 1886, he contracted with the Delaware Car Works of Jackson and Sharp. The car shown above, which he named The Rambler, contained a parlor, bedroom, dining room and kitchen. The restored car is displayed at Flagler's Palm Beach mansion, now the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum., Entire new industries grew out of the demand for railroad equipment. Around 1830, Jonathan Bonney and Charles Bush began making machinery castings and railroad car wheels at Second and Lombard Streets. George Lobdell soon joined them and became the head of the firm called the Lobdell Car Wheel Company. In 1844 they moved to the banks of the Christina. By 1912 over 300 people worked at the plant turning out wheels for railroad cars and streetcars. The company thrived through the First World War but went into decline about 1926 and never recovered., [Captions:] , Composite view from the late 1800s of the Delaware Car Works of the Jackson and Sharp Company., Bird's eye view of Pusey and Jones manufacturing facilities., Composite view of the Lobdell Car Wheel Company founded in 1836. The company provided castings of all sizes and uses. They boasted in 1898 of an output of 500 car wheels per day., Above: This interior view of a club car built by Harlan and Hollingsworth gives a hint of the beauty and luxury of some of the railcars built for late nineteenth century travel.