SCIENCE. 



35 



EVOLUTION OF LOCOMOTIVES IN AMERICA. 



The question of priority in the use of the locomotive on 

 railroads in this country is one of perennial interest. The 

 literature on the vexed subject cemprises volumes. For the 

 seven cities of Greece, which claim the honor of the birth- 

 place of Homer, we have had almost as many States claim- 

 ing the honorable distinction of first introducing the locomo- 

 tive engine for service on the railroad. The idea of apply- 

 ing steam as the motive power on railroads had occurred to 

 many of our engineers, stimulated as they were doubtless 

 by the successful practice of England ; and the introduction 

 of the locomotive by Pennsylvania and South Carolina was 

 almost synchronous ; yet the former is fairly entitled to the 

 distinction of priority. 



Fortunately there is now living in San Francisco one of 

 the veteran railroad men of the country, who is absolutely 

 familiar with the interesting incidenls of the early history of 

 the railroad and the locomotive engine in this country. 



The testimony adduced from these intelligent and trust- 

 worthy sources is absolutely conclusive ; and it would seem 

 that it ought to end the controversy about the claim to 

 priority in the first practical use of the locomotive engine in 

 this country. 



i. The first locomotive engine placed and tried on any 

 railroad in America was called the "Stourbridge Lion," and 

 was imported from England for the Delaware and Hudson 

 canal and railroad company. This engine arrived in New 

 York May 17, 1829, and was set up in the yard of the West 

 Point foundry machine shops and publicly exhibited for 

 days to thousands of the first citizens of the country. It 

 was brought from England by Horatio Allen, who made the 

 first experimental trial of it at Honesdale, on the banks of 

 Lackawaxen creek, Pa., August 8, 1829, when he "opened 

 the throttle valve of the locomotive engine that turned the 

 first driving wheel on an American railroad." This highly 

 interesting statement was made by Mr. Allen in a speech 

 delivered at Dunkirk on the occasion of the celebration of 

 the New York and Erie railroad. 



2. The first locomotive built in America for a purely ex- 

 perimental purpose was the " Tom Thumb," which was con- 

 structed by the now venerable Peter Cooper. This little 

 machine was built for the purpose of testing the feasibility 

 of a locomotive sustaining itself while running over curves, 

 which was a mooted point among the engineers and scien- 

 tists of that day. The engine weighed less than a ton, the 

 cylinder was only three and a half inches in diameter, the 

 boiler was about as " large as an ordinary kitchen boiler," 

 and was vertical, with gun barrels for tubes. The first trial 

 was made on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, from the de- 

 pot at Baltimore to Ellicott's mills, August 28, 1830. 



3. The first locomotive built in America for actual service 

 on a railroad was called the " Best Friend," and was con- 

 structed for the Charleston and Augusta railroad company. 

 This pioneeer locomotive was built at the West Point foun- 

 dry machine shops in New York City, and the work of fit- 

 ting it up fell to the lot of Mr. Matthew. Immediately alter 

 the engine was completed it was placed on the company's 

 road, and the first experiment with a train was made N ovem- 

 ber 2, 1830, N. W. Darrell acting as engineer. 



Some few days previous to the above date,, or about the 

 20th of October, in accordance with a notice given in the 

 Charleston papers, a public trial was made without any cars 

 attached. It was on this occasion that the first American 

 built locomotive turned its wheels for the first time on a 

 railroad track. At the trial on November 2d the wooden 

 wheels of the machine, which were constructed after the 

 English practice, sprung and got off the track ; but they were 

 replaced by cast iron wheels, and on December 14th and 

 15th the engine was again tried and ran at the rate of 16 to 

 21 miles an hour with five cars carrying about 50 passengers, 

 and without the cars it attained a speed of 30 to 35 miles an 

 hour. In the Charleston Courier, March 12, 1831, there is 

 an account of a later trial of speed of the " Best Friend," 

 on which occasion, the writer remarks : " Safety was assured 

 by the introduction of a barrier car, on which cotton was 

 piled up as a rampart between the locomotive and the pas- 

 senger cars." The second locomotive for service built in 



this country was called the " West Point," and was for the 

 same road. It was also constructed at the West Point ma- 

 chine shops. 



4. The first locomotive built in America for a northern 

 road was called the " De Witt Clinton," and was the third 

 American locomotive. It was for actual service on the 

 Mohawk and Hudson railroad. This engine, like the 

 others, was built at the West Point machine shops, and 

 was also fitted up by Mr. Matthew ; and when it was com- 

 pleted he took it to Albany, June 25, 1831, and made the 

 first excursion with a train of cars over the road August 9, 

 1831. According to Mr. Matthew's statement, the " De 

 Witt Clinton" weighed 3^ tons, and hauled a train of 3 

 and 5 cars at the speed of 30 miles an hour. It is especially 

 noteworthy that both the cab and the tender of the " De 

 Witt Clinton " were covered to protect the engineer from 

 the weather — a " happy thought " of honest David Matthew, 

 for which all American engineers at least ought to hold 

 him in kind remembrance. About the middle of August 

 the English locomotive, "Robert Fulton," built by the 

 younger Stephenson, arrived and was placed on the Mohawk 

 and Hudson road for service in the middle of the following 

 September. 



These locomotives had been used and fairly tested both 

 on the southern and northern railroads, and the necessity 

 for a radical change in their construction had become 

 evident. Very soon John B. Jervis devised the plan of 

 putting the truck under the forward part of the engine to 

 enable it to turn sharp corners easily and safely. The ma- 

 chine so constructed was called the "bogie" engine. The 

 first of these engines ever built was for the Mohawk and 

 Hudson road, and was called the " Experiment." It was 

 put on the road and ran by Matthew, who says it was as 

 " fleet as a greyhound. The " Experiment " had been built 

 to burn anthracite coal solely ; after a while it was rebuilt 

 and adapted to the use of any kind of coal, and its name 

 was changed to the " Brother Jonathan." Shortly alter 

 these changes had been made the English locomotive 

 " Robert Fulton," belonging to the same company, was 

 also rebuilt and furnished with the truck, and named the 

 "John Bull." The " Brother Jonathan " was a remarkable 

 machine for those pioneer days. Mr. Matthew says of it : 

 " With this engine I have crossed the Mohawk and Hudson 

 railroad from plane to plane, 14 miles, in 13 minutes, stop- 

 ping once for water. I have tried her speed upon a level, 

 straight line, and have run a mile in 45 seconds by the 

 watch. She was the fastest and steadiest engine I have 

 ever run or seen, and I worked her with the greatest ease." 

 This is certainly wonderful speed, and may be, as Matthew 

 earnestly maintains it is, the fastest time at least on the 

 American railroad record. 



In comparison to the splendid and efficient engine of to- 

 day, our first locomotives, built after the English model 

 mainly, were clumsy and crude machines. Since then our 

 improvements have been manifold and extraordinary, and 

 the American locomotive is now pronounced the most " per- 

 fect railroad tool in the world." Its exquisite symmetry 

 and flexibility, and its extraordinary powers must fill the 

 mind of a veteran like Matthews — who has watched its 

 growth from its infancy in this country — with feelings of 

 generous admiration and pride. The English and American 

 railroads and locomotives are strikingly contrasted by a 

 writer in Haiper's Magazine for March, 1879. English roads 

 are short, solid, straight and level, and laid with the best 

 rails in the world ; and their massive and powerful, and 

 rigid-framed engines are thoroughly adopted to those per- 

 fect roads. On the contrary, the American road is generally 

 of great length, and being necessarily cheap it " goes as you 

 please." Over these eccentric roads the American locomo- 

 tive adjusts itself to every change of level both across and 

 along the line ; it takes curves that would be impossible for 

 the rigid English engine ; and, finally, it runs over a crazy 

 track, up hill and down, in perfect safety. It has been well 

 said that all that the English engine can do on a perfect road 

 the American engine will do ; and much more than this, it 

 will do work on any road, however rough, hilly, curved and 

 cheap. The name of the first American locomotive st ems to 

 have been inspired, for it has in the largest sense proved 

 our "Best Friend." — Cal. Scientific Press. 



