![]() In 1842, the state purchased the financially strapped L&O. Later, the limestone sills and strap iron rails were replaced with wooden ties and conventional "T" rails. The strap iron rails on the L&O soon began wearing out and caused several accidents. Its arrival in the Capital City was celebrated with cannon fire and huge ball at the Weisiger House hotel. It traveled between twelve and fifteen miles per hour. In 1835, the engine "Daniel Boone" made the almost twenty-nine mile trip from Lexington to Frankfort in two hours and twenty-nine minutes. The engine, however, proved unsuccessful and prompted two engines to be imported from the East Coast. Horse power first pulled the cars, but a steam engine was constructed in Lexington in 1833. Attached to the blocks were special flat iron straps that were imported from England. Unlike later tracks that used elevated steel rails, the L&O used limestone blocks. Construction to Frankfort, however, was not completed until two years later. The track's construction began in Lexington, and limited operations began on the route as early as 1832. From that point, goods could then be sent via the river system to New Orleans and markets around the world. The intent of those associated with this business venture was to create a commercial line running west from Lexington to the Ohio River. The Lexington and Ohio (L&O) Railroad received a charter from the Kentucky legislature in 1830. Historical Marker #69 in Frankfort remembers the Lexington and Ohio Railroad, which was the first railroad in Kentucky. ![]()
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