had to seek other markets. Many failed, while others succeeded 

 in obtaining orders IVom western or southern lines by offering 

 generous credit terms or mechanically superior products. 



This same pattern of rapid expansion, repeated throughout the 

 land as railroads were introduced, was seen in the Midwest in the 

 late 1830's and early 1840's when many manufacturers were tempted 

 by the prospect of huge profits in supplying machinery to the new 

 local lines. Railroad building began in Ohio in 1835, but only 49 

 miles had been completed by 1840 and by 1848 only 275 miles were 

 in operation. In 1851 the state constitution was amended so that 

 railroad charters might be more easily obtained. This amendment, 

 together with the expanding economy of the area, ushered in a 

 great railway boom. The high point of activity was reached in 

 1854, when 587 miles of new line were opened; by i860 Ohio 

 possessed nearly 3.000 miles of track. 2 The effect of this rapid line 

 construction on the establishment of a locomotive industry in 

 Cincinnati was considerable. 



But while Ohio was the first state in the old Northwest to enjoy 

 such a concentration of railroad construction, other states in that 

 region were not long in following her example, so that by i860 

 over 9,500 miles were in operation. This encouraged the establish- 

 ment of nearly a dozen western locomotive shops in such cities as 

 Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, and Zanesville; however, most of 

 these concerns were short-lived, driven out of business by the Panic 

 of 1857. 



As many readers are aware, several attempts to build locomotives 

 west of the Alleghenies were made before the railroad era began in 

 that section. Their lack of success amply illustrates the difficulty of 

 establishing a locomotive-building industry before railroad con- 

 struction actually began in the western regions. Therefore, it will 

 not be amiss to discuss several of these ventures briefly in order to 

 evaluate Cincinnati's claim to be the first city in this area to build 

 locomotives commercially on a continuous basis. 



Among the pioneer midwestern mechanics who tried their hands 

 at locomotive construction in this all but antediluvian period of the 

 mechanical arts were Joseph Bruen and Thomas Barlow, who in 



- For a more complete history of midwestern and Ohio raih'oads, see B. H. Meyer, 

 History of Transportation in the United States Before i860. 



