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One Hundred Years </ Jjifc,
ike LOCOMOTIVE
I
The "Best Friend of Charleston" on its first trip,
January 15, 28,11. The earliest American-built
locomotive to carry passengers in actual service.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS
OF THE LOCOMOTIVE
1815— 1915
A book of old prints and unusual photographs
gotten together at the suggestion and with the
assistance of Mr. John S. Bell and issued
by the
ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY
Copyright 1915
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THE KILLINCWORTH ENGINE — "Billy No. 1"—The first practical locomotive built by George
Stephenson. It was completed and set to work at the Killingworth Colliery in 1815. Modelled upon principles
hich have been continued to a large extent in locomotive construction, the "Billy No. 1" was the real fore-
unner of the giant Mikados and "centipedes" of this day.
Paoe 7 wo
One Hundred l^ears of the Locomotive
NE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, in 1815, George Stephenson—the Father of the
Locomotive—completed the first engine to be operated upon a railroad by the
direct transmission of power to the driving wheels, as locomotives are driven
to this day. Stephenson's engine was named "Billy No. 1," and it was placed
in operation at the Killingworth Colliery, near Newcastle, England, where it continued in
service for more than forty years.
In 1829, fourteen years later, the first locomotive came to America. This engine was
a queer contrivance called the "Stourbridge Lion." It was brought over from England,
and put into operation by Horatio Allen, who later became President of the old New York
and Erie Railroad (now the Erie). Mr. Allen was one of a small group of far-sighted men
who were convinced of the possibilities that lay in the "Iron Horse," as the locomotive was
then designated, and it was not long before he became interested in the efforts of American
inventors who were already experimenting with the new device.
PETER COOPER designed the first locomotive to be built in America. It was a
diminutive machine, weighing about a ton, named the "Tom Thumb," and it was run
once or twice only in 1830, for purposes of demonstration, on the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, at that time in the early stages of construction.
Soon afterwards the West Point Foundry in New York completed the "Best Friend of
Charleston," which was the earliest American-built locomotive to draw a train of
Page Three
passengers in actual service. Its first trip was made, under the direction of Horatio Allen,
on the South Carolina Railroad, January 15, 1831, when it ran six miles out of Charles¬
ton and back. After various mishaps the "Best Friend" was put into regular operation
and did duty for many years. From this time the development of the locomotive pro¬
ceeded rapidly until it reached its highest point in the giant "centipede," "Matt H. Shay,"
which is owned and operated by the Erie Railroad.
HE STORY of the locomotive is the story of the railroad; and the story of the rail¬
road on this continent is the history of industrial America. With the coming of the
locomotive, cities and industries sprang into being almost over night. As the great
web of railways spread out, mesh by mesh, the East turned its surplus population westward,
the West poured its products eastward, the South was reborn, throughout the Nation
commerce developed to a degree undreamed of, and the people as a whole were broadened
and cultured by travel. It may be safely stated that no single event has had so much to
do with the progress of the century in America as the invention of the locomotive.
In consideration of this fact it is fitting that some recognition be taken of the One
Hundredth Anniversary of George Stephenson's epoch-making contribution to our civiliza¬
tion. It is especially fitting that the Erie—pioneer among American railroads—whose
completion opened up the Great West and gave the first notable impulse to the commercial
and industrial development of the Nation, should undertake this task.
r I 'HIS BOOK is given to the public as a record, incomplete as it is, of the development
1 of the locomotive in America, and in commemoration of all those who, by the toil of
hand or brain, have had a part in building the vast structure of American Railways.
Page Four
EORGE STEPHENSON, the father cf the Locomotive, was a
mine foreman in the Killingworth Colliery, near Newcastle, Eng¬
land, when he began his experiments in engine building. He was
born in 1781 and, at his eighteenth year, he was unable to write his name.
Stephenson's first engine was built in 1814. Like some earlier experi¬
ments, notably those of Trevithick, Murray and Hedley, it was modelled
upon the spur-wheel principle, the motion being transmitted from the
cylinders to the wheels by a series of cogs. The machine had many
defects, and upon its completion Stephenson set himself to remedy them.
The next year he turned out a second locomotive—"Billy No. 1," pat¬
ented in 1815. This engine at first employed a chain gear, but the
inventor soon discarded this feature for a method by which the motion
was carried by means of connecting rods and cranks a principle of
locomotive construction which has remained in use to this day.
Following this achievement other experimenters left the field of
locomotive invention largely to Stephenson and his son Robert, and in
1829 they were awarded the ^500 prize offered by the Liverpool and
Manchester Railroad for a thoroughly practical machine capable of
carrying passengers. This engine—the "Rocket"—was the first passenger
locomotive to be operated upon a railroad.
George and Robert Stephenson continued for many years to build
locomotives at their great works at Newcastle. The son became one of
the foremost civil engineers in England, and, upon his death, was buried
by the side of kings and statesmen in Westminster Abbey.
The Father
of the
Locomotive
THE RACK RAIL—The first steam engine in America to carry passengers was Stevens' "Rack Rail,"
designed in 1825 by Colonel John Stevens, of Hoboken, N. J. It was operated by means of cogged wheels and
rails. This almost skeleton of an engine was intended for street locomotion, and it was actually used only for
purposes of demonstration.
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THE STOURBRIDGE LION was the first locomotive to turn a wheel on an American railroad. It was
put into operation on the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's railroad, in 1829, by Horatio Allen, who
later became President of the New York and Erie Railroad. The engine was built in England and soon was
withdrawn from service.
Page Seven
THE DE WITT CLIN TON was the third American-built locomotive. It was designed and constructed
at the West Point Foundry Works, and its first run was made August 29. 1831. on the Mohawk and Hudson
Railroad. The " De Witt Clinton" became famed in the annals of early railroading by attaining the unheard-
of speed of forty miles an hour.
Page Eight
JOHN BULL—The earliest locomotive to be equipped with bell, headlight and cow-catcher was the
"John Bull," built by George and Robert Stephenson in 1831. Sixty-two years later this famous locomotive,
under its own steam and with its original train of cars, made the 912 mile journey to Chicago, where it was
used to transport visitors at the World's Columbian Exposition.
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THE JAMES wrs an early type of the "link-motion" engine, embodying a principle of construction which
has been widely applied. It was built in 1832 and at first ran on the Harlem Road, then on the Baltimore and
Ohio, where the boiler exploded and trie engine was destroyed.
Page Eleven
AN DREW JACKSON No. 7 was the original of the "grasshopper" type of locomotive. It was built at
the Baltimore and Ohio shops in 1836 and weighed 7XA tons. This engine was one of the earliest to use coal as
fuel, although the experiment at that time was not a success.
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THE HERCULES was one of the earliest engines having equalizing levers and carrying trucks, which are
now features of locomotive construction. The engine was built by Eastwick and Harrison and put into
operation on the Beaver Meadow Railroad in 1837.
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THE SANDUSKY—The first engine built at the famous Rogers Locomotive Works, at Paterson, New
Jersey, was the "Sandusky." It was designed in 1837 by Thomas Rogers, who did much to improve the
standards of locomotive building. The "Sandusky" was intended for tne New Jersey Railroad, but finally
was sold to the Mad River and Erie Railroad.
Page Fourteen
SPRINGFIELD—In this engine, built by Thomas Rogers for the Hartford and New Haven Railroad,
in 1845, the outlines of the present-day locomotive begin to appear. It had two pairs of driving wheels and
later acquired a cab.
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Page Sixteen
IIIE MATT II. SHAY—a locomotive of the triplex or "centipede" type operated on the Erie Railroad—is the largest and
most powerful engine in the world. It is 105 feet in length and weighs 853,050 lbs., equalling the combined weight of twenty-two
of the locomotives shown in this book, with room to spare for a modern express engine. This giant locomotive has three pairs of
Page Seventeen
cylinders, each driving four pairs of wheels, and is capable of hauling 640 fifty-ton cars—a train nearly five miles in length. I ias
a tractive power of 160.000 pounds. The "Matt Shay " derives its name from a veteran engineer and faithful employe of the Erie
Railroad It is the only engine of its kind in existence, but the Erie soon will have three additional locomotives of this type in service.
THE STEUBEN was one of the earliest Erie locomotives. It came onto the line in 1846. just after the
•'Orange," which became famous in 1842 through its Hying trip from Goshen to Piermont in the widely heralded
race between the railroad and the stage-coach lines to carry the Governor's message to New York. The
"Orange" won. On account of its huge size the "Steuben" was known as the "Giant."
Page Eight,
A CURIOUS type of locomotive which never found favor in America is illustrated in this engine, built about
.847 for the Camden & Amboy Railroad by William Morris. The f.rst engine used on the Erie, the Eleazar
Lord," named after the first President of the road, was built at the Morris Works in Philadelphia.
Page Nineteen
THE TIOGA was the twenty-ninth engine to be put into service on the old New York and Erie Railroad.
It was built at the Rogers Locomotive Works in 1849. Like the "Tioga," early Erie engines were named
after the counties through which the road passed.
Page Twenty
THE REINDEER—One of the first engines bearing evidence of the decorator's art was the "Reindeer,"
which also boasted a cab, evidently built on after the completion of the locomotive. It was put into service
on the New Hampshire Central Railroad about 1851.
Page Twenty-one
SPRINGFIELD No. 5—The primitiveness of this engine is indicated by the position of the cylinders, which
were arranged for inside connection with the driving wheels. It was built by the Springfield Locomotive Works
for the Connecticut River Railroad in 1854.
L
Page Twenty-two
BSE
A LOCOMOTIVE of the "tank" type, having the tender built on to the engine. Note the outside connec¬
tion with the driving wheels. Built in 1861 for the Cumberland Valley Railroad, this little engine was used to
transport troops during the Civil War.
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Page Twenty-three
No. 254 is the first engine in this group to be equipped with three pairs of driving wheels, an improvement
which by increasing the adhesion to the rails added to the hauling power of the locomotive. This engine was put
into service on the Erie Railway in 1864.
nty-four
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THE GEORGE G. BERNARD was a type of the highly decorated locomotive that came into favor in the
Sixties. Polished brass and fine scroll-work contributed to make such engines the wonder of the countryside.
The "George G. Bernard" was built at the Erie shops, in 1868, for the Erie Railway.
Page Twenty-fiv*
THE JAY GOULD was the finest locomotive of its day. Built about 1870 for the financier's personal
use, it was literally a work of art, having the State seals of New York and New Jersey emblazoned on the tender
and a silver-framed portrait of Mr. Gould between the drivers. After the Gould regime this gorgeous loco¬
motive was reduced to the level of a common freight engine.
Page Twenty-six
A. M. SHAW—One of the last of the woodburners. Coal came into general use as engine fuel in the Seven¬
ties and from that point dated a vast improvement in locomotive construction. This engine was placed in
operation on the Northern (New Hampshire) Railroad in 1874.
Pope Twenty-seven
No. 330—A type of the anthracite burning locomotive of the early Eighties. This locomotive was employed
in passenger work on the Erie Railroad. It was equipped with airbrakes, which came into general use about
this time.
Page Twenty-eight
THE HARVEY^ SPRINGSTEAD is a ten-wheel passenger engine, now in service on the Erie Railroad
This is a "Red Spot' locomotive, the engineer, Harvey Springstead, having won admission to this famous Erie
Order of Merit through exceptional efficiency. The disc bearing the engine number on the front of "Red
Spot " locomotives is painted in red. This .locomotive is noted as the best-kept engine on any railroad
Page Twenty-nine
No. 250Q—A high-speed passenger locomotive of the Pacific type running on the Erie Railroad. This engine
is fitted with the latest improvements necessary for speed and safety. To further safeguard travel on the Erie,
the road has been equipped with automatic block signals the entire distance between New York and Chicago.
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JVo. 4000 is a locomotive of the "2-10-2 type," designed for fast freight service. To meet the needs of such
locomotives, and to provide for the vast and growing traffic of the Erie, the road has been practically rebuilt—
at a cost of more than forty million dollars. It has been double-tracked and rock-ballasted almost its entire
length and is today as smooth, as heavy and as safe as any railroad in the world.
Three-quarters of a Century Ago
UST SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, in 1841, the first trainload of passengers
J was carried over the Erie Railroad. Behind the "Rockland"—the third locomotive
to be put into service on the old New York and Erie—the train made the journey
from Piermont on the Hudson to Ramapo, New York, then the western terminus—a
distance of twenty miles.
From this small beginning grew the great Erie system of today—a sound and solid
route of steel stretching from New York City through the most picturesque section of
the East to Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and many other industrial and
tourist centers of the rich and historic States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
In the past fourteen years ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS has been
expended to make the Erie Railroad a better and more efficient servant to the public.
Double-tracked, rock-ballasted and completely protected by automatic block signals, the
New Erie is the ideal road to travel on.
Just take a trip and be convinced.
ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY
R. H. WALLACE, General Passenger Agent
NEW YORK
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