




Figure 4.—Tue FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVE I’m. H. Watson was DESIGNED AND BUILT BY JAMES MILLHOLLAND at 
the Bolton shops of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad in 1847. 
It was fitted with a cast-iron 
crank axle. (From an original drawing in the Smithsonian Institution.) 
26} tons. They had 18- x 18-inch cylinders, 48-inch- 
diameter driving wheels, and were inside-connected, 
fitted with massive cast-iron crank axles each of 
which measured about 8% inches in diameter (fig. 4). 
A separate cutoff was employed, both valves being 
driven by a single eccentric. Both the Taylor and the 
Watson appear to have been wood burners, since they 
had small, deep fireboxes. 
Millholland’s energies were not confined to loco- 
motive work, for he also contributed improvements 
to car and bridge design. His advocacy of railway- 
car springs made of wood paralleled his cast-iron 
cranks as a bold substitution of a cheaper, unconven- 
tional material for heavy service. Millholland secured 
a patent (No. 3,276) for wooden springs on September 
23, 1843, and their use by the Baltimore and Susque- 
hanna was reported the following year: 
The freight cars in general use on this road are superior, 
in many respects, to any we have seen, that is, they carry 
a greater amount of freight in proportion to the weight of 
the car, than on most roads. They have six wheels, 
the body is made light but strong, resting on wood springs, 
consisting of two pieces each 2 inches by 6, and 13 feet 
long, of white ash plank. Other companies will do well 
to examine them and either adopt, or improve upon 
them.? 
7 American Railroad Journal (October 1844), vol. 17, p. 292. 
The Baltimore and Susquehanna annual report for 
1843 notes the construction of 29 six-wheel freight 
cars “on the plan invented by James Millholland.” 
Such cars cost $450, weighed 8500 pounds, and had a 
capacity of 12,000 to 14,000 pounds. The same report 
mentioned the construction of a “similar”? car for 
passenger service, apparently meaning one with six 
wheels and on wooden springs. The 1844 annual 
report shows the construction of 37 more six-wheel 
cars, 24 of which were built in the company shops, 
the remainder by private contractor. By 1850 the 
road reported 159 six-wheel freight cars of various 
styles. Six-wheel cars were in themselves unusual. 
The only other United States railroad known to have 
them was the Baltimore and Ohio, which had over 
200 six-wheel iron coal hoppers. Six-wheel tenders, 
however, were common in the 1840s and 1850s, and 
six-wheel cars were used extensively by foreign roads. 
In addition, wood springs were used later on thou- 
sands of four-wheel coal ‘“‘jimmies” of the Reading, 
Lehigh Valley, Central of New Jersey, and other 
roads. Some of these continued in regular service 
through the 1890's. Millholland received $1000 for 
the use of his wood spring and other patents while he 
was in the service of the Reading.’ 
* The Minutes of the Board of Managers, preserved by the 
Reading Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cited here- 
after as Minute Books. 
PAPER 69: JAMES MILLHOLLAND AND EARLY RAILROAD ENGINEERING / 
