Over time C&A engineers upgraded the unit with several features commonly found on modern variants such as a cow-catcher, lead pilot truck, covered cab, and trailing tender (fuel storage to operate further between stops). It was originally designed as an 0-4-0, not unlike their other products from that period. The Camden & Amboy's John Bull, also the work of Robert Stephenson & Company, was another notable early locomotive.Ī testament to the high quality craftsmanship the Stephensons incorporated into their product the Bull remained in service from 1831 until 1866. Unfortunately, the locomotive also earned the sad distinction as being the first to suffer a boiler explosion, which occurred during June of 1831.Īs the story goes the fireman became vexed by its constant hissing noise and tightened the safety valve closed (he later died of his wounds). That honor is bestowed upon the South Carolina Canal & Railroad Company's Best Friend of Charleston, built by New York's West Point Foundry, when the 0-4-0 carried a train of paying customers on December 25, 1830. Since the Thumb was only an experiment, another locomotive was given recognition as the first American-built design to haul a revenue passenger train. While it did spend a year carrying passengers from time to time it never entered regular service and was later scrapped in 1834 (a replica is on display at the museum, constructed for the B&O's 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse and based from drawings Cooper had provided in 1875). The little one-ton coal-burner, featuring a vertical boiler, lost the bout (while carrying 30 patrons in a train consisting of a single coach) but had nevertheless proved its viability.Īccording to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum the locomotive was capable of speeds up to 15 mph. On August 28, 1830, Peter Cooper's Tom Thumb famously raced a horse on the fledgling Baltimore & Ohio. Unfortunately, its ultimate fate was rather unglamorous it proved too heavy for the track and languished in a shed before finally being scrapped in 1870.įollowing its trials American steam technology quickly advanced. The Lion went on to carry out test trials on August 8, 1829, earning it distinction as the first use of a steam locomotive in the United States. Unfortunately, due to circumstances never fully understood the America failed to reach the D&H property. They remain so well-liked that even Union Pacific maintains a small fleet for public relations.
Today, preserved steam locomotives, both large and small, can be found throughout the country and their sustained popularity has led to numerous restorations. Unquestionably, American designs were the most powerful, particularly after the introduction of articulation, which led to enormous variants like the 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny," 4-6-6-4 "Challenger," and 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy." The argument persists to this day regarding whose were more impressive, American or British? In the succeeding years ever-larger types were conceived to handle increasingly greater demand. Its initiation here began in 1826 when Colonel John Stevens showcased his "Steam Waggon" (basically a steam-powered horse carriage) on a small circular track at his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was largely responsible for driving the American industrial machine although has its origins in England, with the first patented version credited to Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian in 1802. Nothing else in railroading has ever been quite as alluring. Steam locomotives are impressive, captivating, ingenious, complex, and dangerous devices all wrapped within a single frame.
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