This article, originally from the New York Times, reports on a narrowly averted railroad disaster in late June in Niagara County, New York following mudslides in the region. Steam engines were still in their early stage development by 1858, having been introduced in the US only at the end of the 1820s. Fears about railroad safety were widespread. A cobhouse was a structure built with logs in crossed or interlocking fashion. (By Brendan Boston)