﻿550 
  ANNUAL 
  EEPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  19 
  2 
  9 
  

  

  Professor 
  Eaton 
  at 
  Rensselaer 
  had 
  other 
  ideas, 
  however. 
  He 
  

   published 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  Davenport's 
  machine 
  in 
  a 
  Troy 
  paper. 
  Other 
  

   papers 
  copied 
  it 
  and 
  there 
  followed 
  all 
  manner 
  of 
  critical 
  comments 
  

   implying 
  trickery 
  and 
  the 
  like. 
  Eaton 
  determined 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  lecture 
  at 
  

   which 
  Davenport 
  himself 
  would 
  appear 
  and 
  demonstrate 
  his 
  machine. 
  

   Hopelessly 
  in 
  debt, 
  the 
  inventor 
  was 
  in 
  no 
  mood 
  for 
  further 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  with 
  the 
  invention 
  which 
  had 
  ruined 
  him, 
  but 
  he 
  eventually 
  

   succumbed 
  to 
  Eaton's 
  pleadings 
  and 
  admonitions. 
  He 
  determined 
  

   to 
  construct 
  an 
  entirely 
  new 
  machine 
  adapted 
  to 
  railway 
  locomotive 
  

   purposes. 
  By 
  working 
  night 
  and 
  day 
  he 
  completed 
  it 
  in 
  time 
  to 
  

   appear 
  with 
  Eaton 
  at 
  his 
  public 
  lecture 
  in 
  the 
  court 
  house 
  at 
  Troy 
  

   on 
  the 
  night 
  of 
  October 
  14, 
  1835. 
  A 
  large 
  and 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  

   sympathetic 
  audience 
  listened 
  patiently 
  to 
  Eaton's 
  discourse 
  but 
  

   when 
  Davenport 
  appeared 
  and 
  set 
  his 
  little 
  model 
  in 
  motion 
  on 
  the 
  

   judge's 
  bench 
  the 
  applause 
  was 
  intense. 
  Many 
  must 
  have 
  realized 
  

   that 
  they 
  were 
  witnessing 
  the 
  first 
  demonstration 
  in 
  history 
  of 
  

   transportation 
  by 
  electricity. 
  What 
  the 
  audience 
  saw 
  was 
  a 
  sort 
  

   of 
  minature 
  merry-go-round, 
  24 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter, 
  with 
  a 
  little 
  

   electric 
  motor 
  revolving 
  horizontally. 
  Through 
  little 
  gears 
  it 
  drove 
  

   round 
  and 
  round 
  on 
  the 
  circular 
  track 
  a 
  3-wheeled 
  framework 
  to 
  

   which 
  the 
  motor 
  was 
  fastened. 
  The 
  wheel 
  framework 
  was 
  pivoted 
  

   at 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  the 
  merry-go-round, 
  where 
  on 
  a 
  little 
  platform 
  was 
  

   also 
  the 
  zinc-plate 
  battery 
  from 
  which 
  wires 
  extended 
  to 
  different 
  

   points 
  of 
  the 
  motor. 
  

  

  The 
  reception 
  he 
  had 
  received 
  inspired 
  Davenport 
  with 
  confidence 
  

   that 
  he 
  would 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  secure 
  the 
  necessary 
  capital 
  to 
  patent 
  his 
  

   invention, 
  and 
  to 
  build 
  full-sized 
  machines. 
  His 
  first 
  partner's 
  

   enthusiasm 
  soon 
  dwindled. 
  Then 
  he 
  joined 
  Ransom 
  Cook 
  who 
  

   furnished 
  the 
  money 
  to 
  build 
  new 
  and 
  always 
  more 
  powerful 
  models 
  

   and 
  to 
  give 
  exhibitions 
  throughout 
  New 
  England. 
  Presumably 
  the 
  

   partners 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  sell 
  their 
  old 
  models 
  as 
  improved 
  ones 
  were 
  

   built, 
  for 
  one 
  of 
  them, 
  a 
  working 
  model 
  of 
  the 
  electric 
  railway 
  made 
  

   about 
  1836, 
  came 
  into 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  the 
  Troy 
  Female 
  Seminary, 
  

   Many 
  years 
  later 
  it 
  was 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  American 
  Institute 
  of 
  

   Electrical 
  Engineers, 
  which 
  in 
  turn 
  presented 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  National 
  

   Museum 
  in 
  1 
  898 
  . 
  Since 
  then 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  on 
  exhibition 
  in 
  the 
  Museum's 
  

   engineering 
  section. 
  

  

  The 
  year 
  1835 
  and 
  almost 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  1836 
  passed 
  without 
  any 
  

   material 
  success 
  in 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  electric 
  motor 
  or 
  railway 
  business. 
  

   Davenport 
  had 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  raise 
  enough 
  money 
  to 
  build 
  a 
  model 
  of 
  

   his 
  electric 
  motor 
  and 
  make 
  application 
  for 
  a 
  patent, 
  but 
  the 
  Patent 
  

   Office 
  fire 
  of 
  December 
  15, 
  1836, 
  destroyed 
  both 
  the 
  model 
  and 
  all 
  

   of 
  the 
  papers 
  relating 
  to 
  his 
  application. 
  With 
  Cook's 
  help 
  he 
  tried 
  

   again, 
  submitting 
  another 
  model, 
  and 
  this 
  time 
  received 
  his 
  patent 
  

   on 
  February 
  25, 
  1837. 
  For 
  years 
  the 
  model 
  was 
  kept 
  in 
  the 
  Patent 
  

  

  