The First Quarter-Century of Steam Locomotives in North America: Remaining Relics and Operable Replicas with a Catalog of Locomotive Models in the U. S. National Museum. United States National Museum Bulletin 210 — John Shaqi
The First Quarter-Century of Steam Locomotives in North America: Remaining Relics and Operable Replicas with a Catalog of Locomotive Models in the U. S. National Museum. United States National Museum Bulletin 210Oliver, Smith Hempstone
History
The First Quarter-Century of Steam Locomotives in North America: Remaining Relics and Operable Replicas with a Catalog of Locomotive Models in the U. S. National Museum. United States National Museum Bulletin 210
Oliver, Smith Hempstone
Locomotives -- History
Earlier, in 1927, a full sized replica of the tender had been
constructed at Altoona. This replica of the tender appeared with the
original locomotive at the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927, but since
1930 the restored original tender has always appeared with the original
locomotive. In 1940, the replica of the locomotive, accompanied by the
replica of the tender, appeared at the New York World’s Fair as a moving
exhibit, while the original locomotive and tender appeared there as a
stationary exhibit. The replica again appeared at the Chicago Railroad
Fair in both 1948 and 1949. When not on exhibition, the replica is
usually stored at the Pennsylvania’s enginehouse at Northumberland, Pa.
A small, nonoperable model of the _John Bull_ and its tender (figure
37), with two of the cars of the 1831 period, together about 6½ feet
long, was made in the National Museum by C. R. Luscombe about 1900, and
is included in the Museum’s collection (USNM 233510). The units are
represented as the originals appeared in 1831, without the pilot on the
locomotive, and without the sides and top on the tender.
Three Grasshoppers
As a result of the success of Phineas Davis’ _York_ on the Baltimore and
Ohio (see p. 24), about 18 more small locomotives with vertical boilers
were built for the B & O between 1832 and 1837, the first few by
Davis[2] and his partner Israel Gartner,[3] several by Charles Reeder,
and the remainder by George Gillingham and Ross Winans. These machines,
with their vertical cylinders and their walking beams, earned the name
“grasshopper” because of their peculiar appearance when under way.
Of the many “grasshoppers” constructed, three have survived. The
earliest, the _John Quincy Adams_, was built in July 1835 and is now
exhibited in Carillon Park at Dayton, Ohio, where it has been for
several years, the gift of the Baltimore and Ohio. The remaining two,
the _Andrew Jackson_ and the _John Hancock_, were built in 1836 and are
now housed in the B & O Museum at Baltimore.
The history of these three locomotives is somewhat complicated. All were
in use at the Mount Clare station in Baltimore as recently as 1892, then
serving as switching engines. At that time, with a fourth, the _Martin
Van Buren_ of 1836, they were retired from active service so they could
be modified for the exhibit the B & O was planning for the following
year at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
As it was the desire of the B & O to show in this exhibit some earlier
“grasshoppers,” the _Andrew Jackson_ (figure 38) was altered to resemble
the first “grasshopper” built, Davis’ _Atlantic_ of 1832 (figure 39);
while the _John Quincy Adams_ was rebuilt to resemble the _Traveller_
(originally named the _Indian Chief_) of 1833.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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