A Canadian Relic

TheRocketwas the third of the Reading’s locomotives, having been preceded by the Baldwin-builtNeversinkin August 1836 and the Winans-builtDelawarein January 1838. It was delivered at Philadelphia by boat in March 1838, and was then carried up the Schuylkill Canal to the foot of Penn Street in Reading. From there it was hauled by team to the terminus of the Reading-to-Pottstown line at Seventh and Penn Streets, where it participated in the opening of this portion of the road in May 1838. It was first used in passenger service in July 1838, but in 1845, as the need grew for heavier motive power, it was relegated to the Construction and Roadway Department, where it remained in service until 1865. Next used for a short time to move and assort cars at Reading, it was finally transferred to the wharves at Port Richmond, Philadelphia, where it worked until retirement in March 1879, covering during its career some 310,164 miles.

Figure 51.—Photo, taken about 1887, ofRocketas it appeared during final stages of its life asP & R locomotive No. 1. Note absence of builder’s plate.

TheRocketwas constructed as a wood burner, but in 1862 was modified to burn anthracite coal. At that time it was also converted into a tank locomotive, a cab was added, and, it is now thought, the original wheels were replaced by the standard Philadelphia and Reading wheels shown infigure 51. Its present wheels, undoubtedly installed when the locomotivewas refurbished in 1893, are 49½ inches in diameter and contain 20 round metal spokes staggered around the hub. Published descriptions of theRocketrefer to 41¾-inch wheels, but this figure probably applies to an earlier set, possibly that installed in 1862. TheRocketwas formerly driven by all four wheels, but today only the rear two wheels are drivers.

The cylinders of the locomotive, which are inside, have a 10½-inch bore and a 16-inch stroke. The wheelbase is 58 inches and the weight was originally 8.4 tons. This was raised during the 1862 rebuilding to 11.8 tons. The gauge is standard—56½ inches. The present smokestack is not original, and a headlight was not installed until recent years. The tank and cab added in 1862, as well as the bell, were removed at the time of the refurbishment.

After its retirement in 1879, theRocketstood neglected at Reading until it was placed in condition for exhibition and permanent preservation at the time of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. It was exhibited in 1904 at St. Louis, and then was housed for many years in the Reading’s Columbia Avenue station in Philadelphia. It appeared at the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927 (figure 52), after which it was taken to the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. In October 1933 theRocketwas lent to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where it has since remained on exhibition.

Figure 52.—Rocketat the Fair of the Iron Horse, October 7, 1927. Note shortened smokestack.

Figure 53.—Photo ofSamson, built in England in 1838 by Hackworth, taken in Nova Scotia by a New Glasgow photographer some time before 1890. Observe chairs provided for engineer.

The third and last of the three complete British locomotives of the 1825-1849 period remaining in North America is also the only extant locomotive of the period on this continent located outside the United States.[5]

TheSamson(figure 53) was built by Timothy Hackworth at New Shildon, Durham, England, in the summer of 1838,at a cost of about $10,000, for the General Mining Association of Nova Scotia. (Despite statements that theAlbion, also preserved in Nova Scotia, was built by Hackworth before 1840, it was actually built by Rayne and Burn in Newcastle in 1854.)

TheSamsonwas not, as has so often been claimed, the first locomotive in Canada. It had been preceded in 1836 by the Stephenson-builtDorchesteremployed on the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, running between St. Johns and Laprairie, south of Montreal. TheDorchesterexploded and was demolished near Joliette in 1864. Also antedating theSamsonwas theJason C. Pierce, built in 1837 by William Norris for the same railroad, and destroyed in a fire in about 1890.

TheSamsonwas one of three identical Hackworth locomotives built for the General Mining Association, whose railroad was known unofficially as the Albion Mines Railway, and the South Pictou Railroad. Each had an 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, 56½-inch gauge, 48-inch cast iron plate wheels, and vertical cylinders with a bore and stroke of 15¼ and 18 inches. Each weighed 17 tons. The other two, theJohn Buddleand theHercules, were scrapped in 1885 and 1892, respectively.

Figure 54.—Samsonat Chicago in 1883, during Exposition of Railway Appliances. George Davidson, long its engineer, stands at controls on right.

TheSamsonmade a trial run in December 1838, and was put into regular service on September 19, 1839, hauling cars of coal from the Albion mines at Stellarton to the harbor at Pictou, a distance of about 6 miles. According to one early report, a train of 30 coal cars, weighing 3 tons each, was the usual load pulled to the harbor. TheSamsonmade about 3 round trips a day at a speed of a little less than 10 miles anhour. This same report states that up to 1856 the locomotive operated on a steam pressure of 70 pounds per square inch, and thereafter, until it was taken out of service in the early 1880’s, on 45 pounds.

The locomotive was operated in an unusual manner. The engineer was stationed at one end, adjacent to the cylinders and driving gear, while the fireman was located at the other end, from which the boiler was fired.

The boiler is about 13 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, and has a large U-shaped return flue. The cylinders are mounted vertically at the rear, and the piston rods are guided by Watt’s parallel motion instead of the usual cross heads and slide bars. The engine has no frame, the axle bearings being bolted to brackets riveted to the under side of the boiler. Only the front and middle axle bearings are fitted with springs.

In the course of its working career, theSamsontraveled considerably. In addition to having been brought across the Atlantic, the old locomotive was brought to Chicago in 1883 for display at the Exposition of Railway Appliances (figure 54). There it was accompanied by George Davidson, long its engineer and said to have come with it to Nova Scotia from England.

Figure 55.—Samson, with an original passenger car of 1840, at the Fair of the Iron Horse, September 30, 1927.

Ten years later, in 1893, it was again brought to Chicago, this time to be exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition. At the conclusion of the exposition theSamson, and theAlbionthat had accompanied it, were taken by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. to Baltimore for preservation there. The B & O later included theSamson(and also theAlbion) inthe exhibition of historic locomotives at the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927 (figure 55).

In June 1928, when the two old locomotives were given by the B & O to the Province of Nova Scotia, theSamsonreturned to the land of its youth, only to be placed in storage in Halifax. Later, however, it was given to the town of New Glasgow, through which it had run almost daily in its early days, and it is now housed in a small building especially constructed for it at the town’s railroad station.

In 1839 the Philadelphia locomotive building firm of Eastwick and Harrison constructed to the order of Moncure Robinson for the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road Co. a noteworthy anthracite-burning locomotive, named theGowan and Marxafter an English banking firm. This engine during trials on February 20, 1840, turned in what was for the time an outstanding performance. It hauled from Reading to the inclined plane on the Columbia and Philadelphia Rail Road, located several miles from Vine and Broad Streets in Philadelphia, 101 cars of freight, a load of 423 long tons (2,240 pounds). The total weight of this load was 947,520 pounds not including the weight of the engine itself and its tender. The engine, in running order, weighed 24,660 pounds. The story of this remarkable feat is told by Joseph Harrison, Jr., in his book, “The Locomotive Engine, and Philadelphia’s Share in Its Early Improvements.”

So pleased was the Philadelphia and Reading with this locomotive that the road decided to order more of the same general style. However, as Eastwick and Harrison shortly became involved with plans to construct locomotives in Russia, and contemplated closing their Philadelphia works, most of these additional locomotives were made by other builders. A dozen or so, somewhat similar to theGowan and Marx, were built in the machine shop of a Lowell, Mass., firm named “Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimack River.” Others were built by the New Castle Manufacturing Co. at New Castle, Del.

At least two, however, theBostonand theJ. E. Thayer, were built by Eastwick and Harrison, and placed in service on the Philadelphia and Reading in September and October, respectively, of 1842.

What is thought to be one of these now famous locomotives has survived (figure 56). It is the earliest extant 4-4-0, or American type. Known today as thePeoples’ Railway No. 3, it was obtained at fourth or fifth hand in about 1872 by the Peoples’ Railway, which was then establishing a line from the York Street station at Pottsville to Minersville, Pa., a distance of about 4½ miles. Seldom used by the Peoples’ Railway after 1883, it was obtained by the Reading Co. in the early 1920’s when that road took over some of the rolling stock of the Peoples’ Railway. Since October 1933 it has been on loan to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where it is exhibited with the Braithwaite-builtRocketof 1838, also owned by the Reading Co.

TheNo. 3has been the subject of much speculation and investigation since it was obtained by the Reading. Its origin and the name of its builder are not definitely known, nor is it absolutely certain for whom it was constructed. Without question, however, it is of the period of the early 1840’s, and is similar in appearance to the famousGowan and Marx, although of considerably longer wheelbase.

Paul T. Warner, for many years writer and historian for the Baldwin Locomotive Works, conducted an intensive examination of theNo. 3, and in January 1934 prepared a thorough paper on his findings, based on a careful comparison of theNo. 3with contemporary drawings of the various other locomotives, and on a comparison of its dimensions with those still known of the others.

He concluded that from the information at hand it was not possible to state positively which, if any, of these locomotives it was, or even if it had been built for the Philadelphia and Reading. Similar engines, he pointed out, had also been built by Eastwick and Harrison for other railroads in eastern Pennsylvania, among them the Beaver Meadow Rail Road and Coal Co. and the Hazelton (sic) and Lehigh Rail Road. TheNo. 3could easily have been built for one of these roads before falling into the possession of the Peoples’ Railway,particularly since it is known to have had a number of prior owners.

It was Warner’s opinion, however, that if it had originally been a Philadelphia and Reading engine, it was more likely to have been either theBostonor theJ. E. Thayerof Eastwick and Harrison rather than a locomotive built by another firm, of which the Lowell-builtConestogaof 1842 had been considered by some to be the chief possibility.

At first glance theNo. 3appears much more modern than its actual age, but this is mainly because it has the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement with which people today are more familiar. The cab, not original, is of a design similar to that used on thePawneeclass of engines first built at the Reading shops in 1852. Also not original are the headlight, the sandboxes, and the truck wheels. Sandboxes worked from the cab were not used in this country prior to 1846; the truck wheels, 30 inches in diameter, are of cast iron, manufactured by A. Whitney & Sons of Philadelphia, whose wheel foundry was established in 1846. The smokestack has obviously been altered, if not replaced entirely.

TheNo. 3, now an anthracite-burning locomotive, is thought to have been originally a wood burner. The firebox is of the Bury type, which was in common use up to 1850.

The four driving wheels of theNo. 3are 42½ inches in diameter, the extreme wheelbase is 178 inches, and the distance between the two driving axles is 55½ inches. The inclined cylinders are connected by long rods to the rear drivers. The exact cylinder bore, which had not been known for many years, was measured in October 1954 by representatives of the Reading Co. and found to be 12¾ inches. The stroke is 18 inches.

The type of reversing mechanism designed by Andrew M. Eastwick in 1835 is thought to have been originally applied, and it is also thought that the original steam chests are still on the locomotive. The old valve gear has been replaced by a double-eccentric motion, the two eccentric rods being respectively attached to the top and bottom of a straight link. When the new motion was applied, the old reversing blocks were removed from the steam chests and discarded, the new valves being placed directly on the valve seats. This made itnecessary to use only the lower stuffing boxes for the valve rods, and so the upper openings were permanently closed by suitable fittings. There are but two positions for the reverse lever, as was the case with the original valve gear, and the valves are always worked full stroke.

The absence of definitive facts concerning the early history of theNo. 3is challenging, and it would add much to railroad history if in the near future the complete story could be developed as a result of further study of the locomotive itself, and of the written records.

Of the many hundreds of locomotives built by Holmes Hinkley, the only one extant is the interesting oldLion(figure 57), built in 1846 in Boston at the Hinkley and Drury plant. It is not Hinkley’s first locomotive, as has often been said, nor is it his firstLion, as his 22d locomotive, built in 1844 for the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, also bore that name.

Figure 56.—ControversialPeoples’ Railway No. 3, built in the 1840’s, as it appeared in 1923.

The secondLion, now preserved in the Crosby Mechanical Laboratory at the University of Maine at Orono, Maine, was built for the Machiasport Railroad (later called the Whitneyville and Machiasport Railroad) running between the towns of Whitneyville and Machiasport in Maine.Strictly a lumber road about 7½ miles long, it was abandoned in the early 1890’s when lumber became scarce in that region. TheLionand a similar but slightly older Hinkley locomotive, theTiger, fell into disuse, and were subsequently sold as junk to Thomas Towle of Portland. What happened to theTigeris today not known, but quite probably it was broken up for scrap.

Alderman E. E. Rounds of Portland succeeded in raising funds to acquire theLionfor exhibition in the Fourth of July parade held in Portland in 1898. It then remained in Portland on city property until 1905 when, through the efforts of Alderman Rounds, the President and alumni of the University of Maine, and friends of the University, it was shipped to the University to be preserved as a museum piece. Once on the campus it was stored in various places and received little attention, until it was moved in 1929 to the then newly completed Crosby Mechanical Laboratory.

Figure 57.—Lion, built in 1846 by Holmes Hinkley of Boston, as it appeared in what is probably the Portland, Maine, junkyard from which it was rescued in 1898.

As the result of a study made in the fall of 1929, some missing parts of theLionwere replaced, and it was restored to the point where it can now be operated on compressed air.Today the locomotive, jacked up so that its four wheels can be made to operate, is a valued relic at the University of Maine (figure 58).

Figure 58.—Lionas now exhibited at University of Maine.

It has been stated that theLioncost $2,700, exclusive of the tender. The bore and stroke of its cylinders are 9¼ inches and 17 inches, respectively, and the diameter of the four wheels is approximately 42½ inches. The gauge is standard, 56½ inches. The locomotive alone weighs 9 tons.

The final survivor of this group of early locomotives is theMemnon(figure 59), built for the Baltimore and Ohio in 1848 by the New Castle Manufacturing Co., New Castle, Del., under subcontract to Matthias W. Baldwin. It is one of a small group of similar freight engines built by Baldwin, who won the contract as a result of his bid in reply to a B & O advertisement in the “American Railroad Journal” of October 1847.

The design of theMemnonclass of locomotives followed closely that of theDragon, a slightly smaller locomotive builtby Baldwin in late 1847 and placed on the road in January 1848. All had an 0-8-0 wheel arrangement, and were intended for heavy-duty work with freight trains. The general design of these locomotives had been originated by Baldwin in 1846 in an order of freight engines built by him for the Philadelphia and Reading.

TheMemnontype of engine had four coupled driving wheels on each side, and early reports give their diameter as 43 inches. Today’s measurement of theMemnonreveals the diameter of its wheels, undoubtedly replacements, to be only 41 inches. The wheels on the two center axles are unflanged, the better to negotiate curves of limited radius with its wheelbase of 135 inches (in 1847 the shortest curve on the B & O had a 400-foot radius).

The inclined cylinders have a 17-inch bore and a 22-inch stroke, and the valve gear is of the Gooch stationary link type. TheMemnonis now operated on a steam pressure of 65 pounds per square inch, although it originally operated on 100.

Figure 59.—Recent photo ofMemnon, built in 1848 by New Castle Manufacturing Co.

Figure 60.—Memnonas it appeared shortly after January 1, 1884, when it had been renumbered “13.” A few years later it was given back its original number, “57.”

The original specifications, as set forth in the B & O advertisement, called for a locomotive weight not to exceed 20 tons (of 2,240 pounds). According to J. Snowden Bell, the weight amounted to about 52,000 pounds at first, but changes reduced it to about 47,000 pounds. It would be interesting to know what parts, unnecessary enough to justify their removal or so sturdy that they could be drastically lightened, were involved in changes that reduced the total weight by 5,000 pounds. Today, the unloaded weight of the engine and tender together is 74,700 pounds. The tractive force is 8,580 pounds. As was true of the Baldwin-builtPioneer, the cowcatcher of theMemnonwas not installed originally.

This class of locomotive, which burned bituminous coal, introduced to the B & O the grate having a rocking bar in the center, with fingers on each side that interlocked with projections on fixed bars in front and behind. The rocking bar operated from the footboard.

TheMemnonhas appeared with other engines in the historic collection of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at many expositions, fairs, and railroad pageants. Its permanent homeis now that railroad’s transportation museum at Baltimore. Originally numbered57, theMemnonwas renumbered13on January 1, 1884 (figure 60), and when on exhibition at St. Louis in 1904 it was incorrectly labeledDragon.

Today, however, bearing its correct name and number, it stands on the roster as the oldest of all extant B & O freight locomotives, as well as the last of the locomotives to have survived the first quarter-century of railroading in North America.

Uncaptioned locomotive.

Certain of the locomotives, locomotive parts, and models described in the foregoing pages have been noted as being in the collection of the United States National Museum. In addition to these, the collection of the Museum includes 21 models of locomotives that do not fall into the scope of this work, as the originals they represent are either no longer in existence, are of too recent vintage, or were not used in North America. Among them are five operable models—four steam and one electric.

The originals represented by many of these models were involved in notable events in the history of railroading or mark major steps in its progress. For these reasons, and in order to provide the reader with a complete catalog of the locomotive collection of the United States National Museum, a brief description of each will be given on the pages that follow.

The National Museum’s nonoperable model shown in figure 61 represents the probable form of the first rail locomotive of Richard Trevithick, the Cornish engineer who was one of the early advocates of the high-pressure steam engine. The Museum’s model (USNM 180058) is about 20 inches in length, and its flywheel is about 10 inches in diameter. It was obtained in 1888 from its builder D. Ballauf, a model maker often employed by the Museum.

Figure 61.—Model of Trevithick locomotive, 1804.

Trevithick, who a few years earlier had constructed several successful steam vehicles for use on the highways, in February 1804 completed the construction of a machine at Pen-y-darran, near Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales, for use at the Pen-y-darran Iron Works of Samuel Homfray. It is thought to have been the first steam locomotive ever propelled along a railway.

The first trip was made on Monday, February 13, 1804. Among the several trips made by the locomotive was one of 9 miles, between Merthyr Tydfil and Abercynon, drawing 5 cars with a load of 10 tons of iron and 70 men. Although a satisfactory machine, and one that proved that a useful load could be hauled through the adhesion of wheels on smooth track, it was not long in use because of frequent breakage of the primitive railway.

The single horizontal steam cylinder, projecting partly into the end of the boiler, operated a crankshaft fitted with a large-diameter flywheel. The driving wheels were coupled to the crankshaft by gearing. The bore and stroke of the cylinder are said to have been about 8¼ and 54 inches, respectively, and the unflanged wheels were about 45 inches in diameter. Discharge of the exhaust steam into the chimney was utilized with this particular locomotive, as Trevithick appreciated fully the effect it had upon the fire. The date of this early use of exhaust steam to aid the fire greatly antedates those claimed for later locomotive builders.

Trevithick’s next best known locomotive, hisCatch-me-who-can, is represented in the national collection by a 9-inch-long nonoperable model (USNM 244889). The model (figure 62) was transferred to the Museum from the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1906. Nothing further is known of its origin.

The originalCatch-me-who-can, built for Trevithick by Hazeldine and Rastrick of Bridgnorth, was exhibited in the summer of 1808 in London on a small circular railway laid down on part of the ground now occupied by Euston Square. The public was charged admission to enter a small enclosureto view the demonstration or ride in a small car pulled by the locomotive.

As on his 1804 locomotive, a single cylinder projecting partly within the end of the boiler was used, but it was vertical instead of horizontal. The rear wheels only were driven, actuated by long, return connecting rods attached to the ends of a wide crosshead. Because of the necessary arrangement of the cranks on the ends of the rear axle, it was entirely possible for the engine to stop on dead center. This was likewise a fault of the 1804 locomotive, which had a single crank.

The engine is said to have weighed 8 tons and to have traveled at a speed of 12 miles an hour, but troubles with the track ultimately brought the demonstrations to a halt. No dimensions are known today of the originalCatch-me-who-can, which has long since disappeared.

Figure 62.—Model of TrevithickCatch-me-who-can, 1808.

Probably the most famous of Robert Stephenson’s many locomotives, theRocket, winner of the Rainhill Trials in October 1829, is represented in the Museum collection by a nonoperable model (figure 63) that, with its tender, is a little less than 1½ feet long. The model was transferred to the Museum (USNM 244890) from the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1906.

The originalRocket, the considerably altered remains of which now appear on exhibition in the Science Museum at South Kensington, was constructed by Stephenson at Newcastle-upon-Tyne to compete for the £500 prize offered by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. TheRocketturned out to be the only one of the five competing machines to finish the trials. Its success was especially important because it showed beyond doubt that steam locomotives were suitable for general railway work, and also because they could attain speeds not previously known. Running with a light load, it reached a speed of 29 miles an hour.

Figure 63.—Model of StephensonRocket, 1829.

The locomotive weighed 3¼ tons empty and 4¼ tons in working order. It had two inclined cylinders of 8-inch boreand 17-inch stroke and two 56½-inch-diameter driving wheels at the front. A tubular boiler suggested by Henry Booth, the secretary and treasurer of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, is said to have contributed greatly to the success of theRocketduring the trials. It must not be forgotten, however, that in America John Stevens had used successfully a tubular boiler in his experimental locomotive in 1825.

TheRocketwas used on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway until 1836, and from then until 1844 on the Midgeholme Railway near Carlisle. It was presented to the Science Museum in 1862, where it is now an outstanding exhibit in the railroad collection.

J. G. H. Warren’s history of Robert Stephenson & Co., which contains detailed and well illustrated accounts of theRocketand of the Rainhill Trials, will interest those seeking further details on either subject.

The locomotiveOld Ironsidesis represented in the Museum’s collection by a nonoperable model (figure 64) that, with its tender, is 3 feet long. The model (USNM 180114) was given to the Museum in 1889 by Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co., who were then proprietors of the Baldwin Locomotive Works.

Figure 64.—Model of BaldwinOld Ironsides, 1832.

The originalOld Ironsideswas the first full sized locomotive built by Matthias W. Baldwin, a jeweler turned machinist, of Philadelphia. It was constructed for the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Rail-Road Co., which had been using horse cars in operating a short line of only 6 miles between Philadelphia and Germantown.

The line’s first locomotive,Old Ironsides, was initially operated on the road on November 23, 1832, and was a success from the start, though a few understandable imperfections were noted during the trials and shortly corrected. The fairly new locomotiveJohn Bullof the Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Co. had been inspected by Baldwin before he undertook the project. Undoubtedly it furnished helpful suggestions to the man whose locomotive building enterprise was ultimately to eclipse anything possibly dreamed of by him.

The locomotive, contracted for at $4,000 but for which Baldwin was, after some difficulty, able to collect only $3,500, was somewhat similar to the locomotives of the EnglishPlanetclass quite popular at the time. The two driving wheels, located at the rear, were larger than the carrying ones at the front, the diameters being 54 and 45 inches, respectively. The two cylinders had a bore of 9½ inches and a stroke of 18. The exhaust steam was discharged into the chimney in order to increase the draft. The boiler, 30 inches in diameter, contained 72 copper tubes 1½ inches in diameter and 7 feet long.

A complete description ofOld Ironsidesand detailed accounts of its first trials are to be found in “History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1923.”

Davis and Gartner, who built theAtlanticin 1832 for the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (seep. 47), built as their next two “grasshoppers” theTravellerand theArabian. The latter of these was placed in service on the B & O in July 1834. Neither of these two locomotives is extant, but a 2-foot-long nonoperable model of theArabian(figure 65) is now inthe National Museum collection (USNM 233511). It was made in the Museum in about 1900 by C. R. Luscombe.

TheArabianwas similar in design to the three “grasshoppers” that have survived, but differed from them in many small ways. Its two cylinders, for example, had a bore and stroke of 12 and 22 inches. This bore was fractionally less than that of the other three. Also, its weight with fuel and water, 7½ tons, was about a ton less than that of any of the others.

The extent to which the Museum’s model represents these slight differences between theArabianand the “grasshoppers” that followed it cannot now be determined. Most of these differences would be impossible to reproduce on such a small scale. It is entirely possible that the model represented no particular “grasshopper,” and the nameArabianmay have been selected by chance.

A detailed description of the construction of theArabianand a discussion of its performance characteristics appear in the eighth (1834) and ninth (1835) annual reports of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Co.

Figure 65.—Model of Davis and GartnerArabian, 1834.

TheSandusky, first locomotive built by the firm of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor of Paterson, N. J., is represented in the Museum’s collection by a 2-foot-long nonoperable model (figure 66) of the locomotive and its tender. The model (USNM 180245) was built for the Museum in 1888 by D. Ballauf.

Notice of the firm’s intention to produce locomotives was given in the “American Railroad Journal” for December 24, 1836, and the originalSanduskywas constructed during the following year. Intended for the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Co., it was built to the gauge of that road—58 inches. However, after a trial trip on October 6 between Paterson and New Brunswick, it was purchased for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad by that road’s president, J. H. James of Urbana, Ohio.

Figure 66.—Model of Rogers, Ketchum & GrosvenorSandusky, 1837.

It was delivered to Sandusky, Ohio, on November 17, at which time not a foot of track had been laid. The engine was used in the construction of the road, which in consequencewas built to the gauge of the engine. This fact has been given as the reason why the legislature of Ohio at one time passed an act requiring all railroads built in Ohio to be of 58-inch gauge. On April 11, 1838, regular trips for the conveyance of passengers commenced between Bellevue and Sandusky, a distance of 16 miles, and the locomotiveSanduskywas used.

TheSanduskyresembled the early Stephenson engines in some respects, but differed principally in having a 4-wheeled leading truck, the wheels of which were 30 inches in diameter. The two driving wheels, made of cast iron and with hollow spokes and rims, were 54 inches in diameter. The crankshaft throws were counterbalanced by a method of balancing devised by Thomas Rogers, who had filed a patent application on it dated July 12, 1837. This consisted of having the part of the wheel rim opposite the crank throw cast solid, while the rest of the rim was hollow.

The driving wheels and the inclined 11- by 16-inch cylinders were inside the frame, whereas the eccentric rods, working off the outer ends of the driving axle, were outside. The bonnet-type smokestack had a deflecting cone in its center and a wire mesh on the top to prevent the escape of sparks.

The smallest locomotive model in the National Museum (figure 67) is of the wood-burning locomotiveGeneralthat figured so prominently in the famous Civil War locomotive chase of April 12, 1862. (In William Pittenger’s “The Great Locomotive Chase” is told the complete story of this epic adventure, which took place when a group of Northern raiders stole theGeneraland its train at Big Shanty, Ga. The Confederates finally recaptured theGeneralminus the cars, which had been cut loose to delay the pursuers, but with most of the raiders, after a thrilling pursuit that led them 90 miles away, to Ringgold, Ga., just south of Chattanooga, Tenn.)

The Museum’s display is constructed from a pair of model kits, to which a great many engineering details have beenadded. It shows two beautifully made reproductions, scaled ⅛ inch to the foot, passing in opposite directions on a slight curve. Each is 7 inches long. The builder, Adolph H. Schutz of Washington, D. C., in 1955 presented the model to the Museum (USNM 313724), where it had been on exhibit as a loan since 1951.

Built by the Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor plant at Paterson, N. J., in 1855, the originalGeneralwas used on the Western and Atlantic Railroad for many years. It is now on permanent exhibit at Chattanooga in the Union Station of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. A 4-4-0, or American type, it is the earliest of this particular type represented in the Museum’s collection of models.

Figure 67.—Model of Rogers, Ketchum & GrosvenorGeneral, 1855.

An operable model (figure 68) in the Museum’s collection (USNM 309515), appears to represent a New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 4-4-0 locomotive of theperiod of about 1890. This class of locomotive was built by the Schenectady Locomotive Works to the New York Central’s design, and had 78-inch driving wheels, cylinders with a bore of 19 inches and a stroke of 24 inches, and weighed 120,000 pounds.

Figure 68.—Operable model of an American-type locomotive of about 1890.

Work on this model was commenced by the donor, the late Robert E. M. Bain, in 1916, and it was completed about three years later, only spare time having been employed in its construction. The model was given to the Museum in 1928. The length of the locomotive and tender is 80 inches, the gauge is 6½ inches, the diameter of the driving wheels is 8⁹/₁₆ inches, and the bore and stroke of the cylinders are 1½ and 3 inches, respectively.

The brakes on the model are inoperative, as the actuating cylinders for the brake system are dummies. On the other hand, such parts as the boiler, firebox, steam gauge, water gauge, throttle, and valve motion are all operable, and the donor has asserted that there is even ring packing in the cylinders. Although capable of being fired and steamed up, using coal as the fuel, the locomotive has never been operated.

The number on the locomotive and tender apparently represent the year the donor commenced his work on the model, as there was never a New York Central locomotive of this type bearing that number.

The Museum’s nonoperable model (figure 69) of the famous999, long the holder of the world’s speed record, was built especially for the Museum’s collection (USNM 313161), and was the gift in 1947 of the New York Central System. Constructed by Edwin P. Alexander of Yardley, Pa., it is about 15 inches long with tender and is accompanied by a train of four model cars of the period. Locomotive and cars are built to a scale of ¼ inch to the foot.

Figure 69.—Model of New York Central American-type locomotive999, 1893.

One of the best known of all locomotives, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad’s999, with engineer Charles H. Hogan at the throttle, reached a speed of 112½ miles an hour over a measured mile on May 10, 1893, while pulling the Empire State Express westward between Batavia and Buffalo, N. Y. This was a new world’s record, and the999was shortly withdrawn from active service and placed on exhibition at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago.

At the conclusion of the exposition it was again placed in service with the Empire State Express, but was later withdrawn because, although having great speed with a light train, it lacked the pulling power required for the larger and heavier trains then coming into use. Today, the999, altered somewhat, and with smaller driving wheels than when built, is preserved by the New York Central System as one of its historic relics. It is usually to be seen at the Collinwood shops near Cleveland, Ohio, but it still occasionally appears at fairs and expositions.

Designed by the superintendent of motive power, William Buchanan, and constructed at the West Albany shops of the New York Central, the999is of the 4-4-0, or American, type and was fitted originally with 86-inch driving wheels. The bore and stroke of the cylinders are 19 and 24 inches, respectively, and a steam pressure of 180 pounds per square inch was used. The fuel was bituminous coal. The extreme wheelbase is 287 inches, and the distance between the two driving axles is 102 inches. The weight of the locomotive is 124,000 pounds, that of the loaded tender is 80,000.

Through the bequest in 1955 of John Semple Clarke, a model (figure 70) formerly lent by him to the Museum has been added to the collection (USNM 314615). A 4-4-0 of exquisite workmanship in brass and steel, the model is 21 inches long and has a gauge of 2½ inches.

It was constructed during the 7-year period from 1907 to 1914 by George Boshart, a toolmaker of Brookline, near Philadelphia, Pa. All rotating and reciprocating parts are operable, though the boiler is apparently not capable of generating steam. There is no tender with the locomotive, none having been built.

It is not definitely known what, if any, original locomotive the model represents, but some of its details are similar to those of locomotives built at the turn of the century by the Schenectady Locomotive Works. While it has been stated that Boshart patterned the model after a PennsylvaniaRailroad locomotive with which he was familiar, in certain of its details the model does not appear to justify this claim. The number on the model represents the year in which its construction was started.

Figure 70.—Model of an American-type locomotive of about 1900.

In the national collection is an operable model (figure 71) of a British locomotive of the period of about 1905. Made by the well known English model makers Carson and Co., and given in 1933 to the Museum by Frank A. Wardlaw and Frank A. Wardlaw, Jr., the model (USNM 310584) represents the Caledonian Railway Co.No. 903, a 4-6-0 with inside cylinders. The length of the locomotive and the 6-wheeled tender is 45 inches and the gauge is 3¼ inches. A locomotive of similar appearance, though not necessarily identical, is described and illustrated in the British technical journal “Engineering” for August 31, 1906 (p. 299).

The elder Wardlaw stated that the model was built by Carson for Sir Henry Lopes, and that he acquired it from Carson when Sir Henry turned it in on a new one. Wardlawbelieved this gasoline-fueled model to have been the first model locomotive ever built with a flash boiler.

A letter from James C. Crebbin in the July 27, 1933, issue of the British journal “The Model Engineer and Practical Electrician,” contains the following statement:

When I was chairman of Messrs. Carson and Co., the late Mr. James Carson and I collaborated in the development of flash steam model locomotives.With the exception of the very small model L. & N. W. “Experiment” loco which had only one coil, and a methylated vaporising burner, the boilers had longitudinal coils running the full length of the boiler, and were fired by means of a Carson Primus type burner. The pressure container was a drum inside the tender, and was surrounded by water in the usual square or oblong tank. This water fed the geared pump, which was driven from the second tender axle.The most successful of this type was a ¾-inch-scale 4-4-0 Caledonian, built for Sir Henry Lopes. Mr. Carson always declared that this engine was the fastest he had ever seen, and during tests he carried out, on Sir Henry’s track, never dared to give the model more than half-throttle, no matter what load the engine was hauling.Mr. Wardlaw, of New York, and a “M. E.” Exhibition Championship Cup Holder, has a similar locomotive which, I believe, is destined for exhibition in some museum in U. S. A.

When I was chairman of Messrs. Carson and Co., the late Mr. James Carson and I collaborated in the development of flash steam model locomotives.

With the exception of the very small model L. & N. W. “Experiment” loco which had only one coil, and a methylated vaporising burner, the boilers had longitudinal coils running the full length of the boiler, and were fired by means of a Carson Primus type burner. The pressure container was a drum inside the tender, and was surrounded by water in the usual square or oblong tank. This water fed the geared pump, which was driven from the second tender axle.

The most successful of this type was a ¾-inch-scale 4-4-0 Caledonian, built for Sir Henry Lopes. Mr. Carson always declared that this engine was the fastest he had ever seen, and during tests he carried out, on Sir Henry’s track, never dared to give the model more than half-throttle, no matter what load the engine was hauling.

Mr. Wardlaw, of New York, and a “M. E.” Exhibition Championship Cup Holder, has a similar locomotive which, I believe, is destined for exhibition in some museum in U. S. A.

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