Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to use an entire train dedicated to campaign staff. He used the train to deliver 673 speeches while traveling more than 21,000 miles. True to his reputation for adventure, Roosevelt often traveled in the locomotive cab. Unlike many presidents who used cab rides as publicity stunts, Roosevelt learned how to actually operate a locomotive pulling a heavy freight load. He served as president from 1901-1909. (Source: up.com)
Below you will find a few images I came across while looking up his whistle stop campaign route. There are also a few clippings covering his stops in West Virginia.
In April 1912, he would make a number of stops in West Virginia.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt addresses a crowd from the back of a railcar near the site of Charleston’s present-day train station, along MacCorkle Avenue across the Kanawha River from downtown. Disappointed with his hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft, Roosevelt decided to throw is hat back into the ring in 1912 and began an aggressive campaign across the nation, again seeking the presidency. His Charleston visit was on April 3, 1912. Six months later, while appearing in Milwaukee, Roosevelt was shot in an assassination attempt. With a bullet lodged in his ribs, Teddy continued on, delivering a fiery 90-minute speech before seeking medical attention.
Teddy Roosevelt on Train Car; Pt. Pleasant, W. Va. Date: ca. 1912
CLIPPED FROM: The Independent-Herald / Hinton, West Virginia 04 Apr 1912, Thu • Page 1
CLIPPED FROM: The Independent-Herald / Hinton, West Virginia 04 Apr 1912, Thu • Page 4
CLIPPED FROM: Bluefield Daily Telegraph / Bluefield, West Virginia 05 Apr 1912, Fri • Page 1
Thoughts and Ponderances 