LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia — When a locomotive engineer on the Lawrenceville Branch Railroad reported for duty on an April morning in 1881, he found quite a surprise.
His locomotive was missing.
Apparently, “some unknown parties” boarded the locomotive and took it for a joyride. But they were not the experienced engineers it might have first seemed.
After yanking the throttle, they “started out on a tour of inspection,” the local newspaper reported.
However, because of their lack of experience, “the engine became unmanageable and continued its mad run until the steam gave out when it came to a halt in the midst of a forest,” according to the report. “The next morning when the engineer [went] to the yard for his trip he was surprised to find his vehicle gone.
“After a lengthy search, the truant was found where it had stopped,” the report added. “The fire was out, the water gone and only after a great deal of labor had been spent did the wheels begin to revolve.”
A newspaper report indicates an investigation initially yielded no results until one Detective Jones was called in. He apparently dispatched a detective named Hildebrand, who traveled to Lawrenceville and spent several days investigating.
Hildebrand apprehended two boys responsible for the mischief.
The two boys were young men of acknowledged standing in their counties, with one a physician and the other the son of one of the largest stockholders of the Lawrenceville Branch Railroad. The line connecting Suwanee and Lawrenceville opened around the time of the locomotive theft.
After their arrest, they owned up and, “pleading a spree in extenuation of the offense,” wrote an apology.
“This ended the matter, and the boys are happy,” the report concluded.
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