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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Forest tour set for Saturday morning ... Poet Joseph Green coming to Ashland ... Ticket Availability ... Forest tour set for Saturday morning ... Poet Joseph Green coming to Ashland ... Ticket Availability ... AS IT WAS As It Was: William Barnum and the Rogue River Valley Railroad By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society DailyTidings.com By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society Posted Aug. 12, 2015 @ 1:26 pm By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society Posted Aug. 12, 2015 @ 1:26 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> It's hard to make money on small railroads. But W.S. Barnum found a way for the Rogue River Valley Railroad, which ran from Jacksonville to Medford, to earn the largest percentage of profit compared to money invested of any railroad in America. Built at a cost of over $40,000, Barnum bought the 6-mile long railroad for $12,000 in 1900. Then, he did all the work himself! Wearing a faded swallow-tailed coat and sporting a 2-foot long beard, he stood on the rear platform of his train in his conductor's cap and called, "All Aboard!" Then he jumped down and walked to the front of the train, removing his coat and cap. There he stoked the little engine with wood and set the throttle for 4 miles an hour. Washing his hands and putting on his coat and cap, he swung off the engine and back on the car, calling out "tickets please!" Finally, he returned to the engine and sped up to 10 miles per hour to complete the trip. Remarkably, there never was an accident. Thus Barnum made money by being conductor, engineer, fireman, brakeman, section hand, and even president of the Rogue River Valley Railroad. "Barnum Must Have Been Right on J'Ville Special," newspaper article unknown date and paper in the Rogue River Valley Railroad vertical file at the SOHS Research Library; "The Rogue River Valley Railway, 1890-1925," an unsigned, undated monograph in the Rogue River Valley Railroad vertical file at the SOHS Research Library. As It Was is a co-production of Jefferson Public Radio and the Southern Oregon Historical Society. As It Was stories are broadcast weekdays on Jefferson Public Radio and are available online at asitwas.org. By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society DailyTidings.com By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society Posted Aug. 12, 2015 @ 1:26 pm » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501