Chapter 5 



The Covington 

 Locomotive Works 



Covington, Kentucky, located just across the Ohio River from 

 Cincinnati, is so closely associated with the larger city that an ac- 

 count of the Covington Locomotive Works is a natural adjunct to 

 this study, even though the firm was short-lived and is known to 

 have produced only six locomotives. Its history is obscure and only 

 the barest evidence attests to its existence. 



Through the agency of A. L. Greer, a Covington capitalist, the 

 affairs of the Covington Works were closely associated with the 

 Covington and Lexington Railroad. Greer was involved with that 

 line in 1852 as agent in charge of purchasing rails and was for 

 several years a member of the Board of Directors. i"-' It was un- 

 doubtedly this association that prompted him to organize the Cov- 

 ington Locomotive Works in 1852-53. The only orders it is known 

 to have received were from the Covington and Lexington. 



The earliest notice of the works appeared in the Covington Journal 

 of April 16, 1853. It stated that the shop buildings were completed 

 and that the machine tools were being installed. The works was 

 located on both sides of Philadelphia Street between Third Street 

 and the Ohio River. The foundry, a massive stone structure with 

 a fireproof roof, was 100 feet square and 40 feet high. It was de- 

 scribed as airy and well lighted. The 4-storied machine shop, of 

 similar construction, was 160 feet long and 45 feet wide; the erecting 



i''^ Annual Report of the Covington and Lexington Railroad, 1852; American Railway 

 Times (January 12, 1854), vol. 6, p. i6. 



117 



