THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN RAIL AND TRACK, AS ILLUS- 

 TRATED BY THE COLLECTION IN THE U. S, NATIONAL MUSEUM. ■ 



By J. Elfreth Watkins, 

 Curator of the Department of Transportation and Engineering. 



In the brief report upon the section of steam transportation for the 

 year 1887, a statement was made to the effect that considerable in- 

 formation had been secured which it was hoped to use "in preparing - a 

 series of models to illustrate the beginnings and development of the 

 English and American systems of track. 



"While illustrated histories of the steamboat and locomotive are 

 numerous, I am not aware that any systematic attempt has been made 

 to preserve the history of the development of the systems of permanent 

 way which, after many years of experiment, are now being reduced to 

 a series of standards depending on the traffic." (Report of U. S. 

 National Museum, 1887, p. 79.) 



These expectations were realized to a sufficient extent to warrant 

 the preparation of the series of original rail sections, models, and 

 drawings to illustrate the origin and development of American perma- 

 nent way for the Exposition at Cincinnati in 1888. 



The interest manifested in that collection led me to present a paper 

 entitled "The Development of the American Rail and Track" at the 

 annual convention of the American Society of Civil Engineers, at Sea 

 Bright, New Jersey, June 21, 1889. This will appear in the transac- 

 tions of that society during the coming year.* 



At the conclusion of that paper I took occasion to state that in its 

 preparation " I preferred to confine myself to a description of such rails 

 as are represented by original sections, models, or drawings in the 

 section of transportation and engineering in the U. S. National 

 Museum." 



" I am fully conscious that I have been compelled to overlook many 

 things which are of great historical interest, owing to the fact that our 

 collection is small — only a nucleus in reality." 



*See Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, April, 1890, p. 209- 

 232. 



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