Figure 14. — The Little Miami Railroad's William Dennison, built by 

 Moore & Richardson in 1854. Photograph taken July 4, 1876. {Photo 

 courtesy Little Miami Railroad.) 



and St. Louis Railroad's number 29, Moore & Richardson main- 

 tained this practice until at least 1864 (see fig. 1 7). There was noth- 

 ing singular in this arrangement; other builders, too, were prone to 

 favor it. The remarkable fact is that Moore & Richardson was so 

 consistent and devoted to its use. 



Moore & Richardson had won a favorable reputation for well- 

 made boilers. As can be observed (see figs. 10, 13, and endpapers), 

 the firm favored a low-crowned wagon top. A large steam dome 

 placed toward the smokebox end of the boiler was preferred in the 

 belief this was the best place to take the steam since the water was 

 less turbulent there than over the firebox. There was, ideally, less 

 chance of priming. Again, many New England builders, as well 

 as Winans in Baltimore, championed this arrangement. A separate 

 safety-valve standard was located at the rear of the wagon top 

 near the cab. Although many builders were abandoning copper 

 boiler tubes for brass or, even better, iron, Moore & Richardson 

 continued to use copper. Copper was originally favored because 

 it was an excellent conductor of heat and, being soft, was easy to 

 flange and expand for a tight fit in the tube sheet. Although it 

 was commonplace as late as i860, copper gave way to iron when 

 it was learned that iron tubes were not only stronger and cheaper but 



36 



