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diff --git a/28160.txt b/28160.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aec9e81 --- /dev/null +++ b/28160.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1691 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Pioneer': Light Passenger Locomotive +of 1851, by John H. White + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The 'Pioneer': Light Passenger Locomotive of 1851 + United States Bulletin 240, Contributions from the Museum + of History and Technology, paper 42, 1964 + +Author: John H. White + +Release Date: February 23, 2009 [EBook #28160] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIGHT PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Louise Pattison, Joseph Cooper +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes: + + This is Paper 42 from the Smithsonian Institution United States + National Museum Bulletin 240, comprising Papers 34-44, which will + also be available as a complete e-book. + + The front material, introduction and relevant index entries from + the Bulletin are included in each single-paper e-book. + + The Sections entitled "Alba F. Smith" and "Seth Wilmarth" appear + in the original as boxed "side bars". They have been moved, along + with Figure 13, from their original locations to the end of the + paper to preserve the flow of the text. + + Typographical errors have been corrected as follows: + p259: "as late as 1880 and has been under steam" (was stream). + p267: "made with parabolic reflectors" (was parobolic).] + + + + +SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION + +UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM + +BULLETIN 240 + + +[Illustration] + +SMITHSONIAN PRESS + + +MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY + +CONTRIBUTIONS +FROM THE +MUSEUM +OF HISTORY AND +TECHNOLOGY + +_Papers 34-44_ +_On Science and Technology_ + +SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION . WASHINGTON, D.C. 1966 + + + + +_Publications of the United States National Museum_ + +The scholarly and scientific publications of the United States National +Museum include two series, _Proceedings of the United States National +Museum_ and _United States National Museum Bulletin_. + +In these series, the Museum publishes original articles and monographs +dealing with the collections and work of its constituent +museums--The Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History +and Technology--setting forth newly acquired facts in the fields of +anthropology, biology, history, geology, and technology. Copies of each +publication are distributed to libraries, to cultural and scientific +organizations, and to specialists and others interested in the different +subjects. + +The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in +separate form, of shorter papers from the Museum of Natural History. +These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with the publication date +of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume. + +In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear +longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in +several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related +subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on +the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the +botanical collections of the Museum of Natural History have been +published in the _Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from +the United States National Herbarium_, and since 1959, in _Bulletins_ +titled "Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology," have +been gathered shorter papers relating to the collections and research of +that Museum. + +The present collection of Contributions, Papers 34-44, comprises +Bulletin 240. Each of these papers has been previously published in +separate form. The year of publication is shown on the last page of each +paper. + +FRANK A. TAYLOR +_Director, United States National Museum_ + + + + +CONTRIBUTIONS FROM +THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY: +PAPER 42 + + +THE "PIONEER": LIGHT PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE OF 1851 +IN THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY + +_John H. White_ + + +THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY RAILROAD 244 + +SERVICE HISTORY OF THE "PIONEER" 249 + +MECHANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE "PIONEER" 251 + +[FOOTNOTES] + +[INDEX] + + +[Illustration: Figure 1.--THE "PIONEER," BUILT IN 1851, shown here as +renovated and exhibited in the Museum of History and Technology, 1964. +In 1960 the locomotive was given to the Smithsonian Institution by the +Pennsylvania Railroad through John S. Fair, Jr. (Smithsonian photo +63344B.)] + + +_John H. White_ + + +The "PIONEER": +LIGHT PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE of 1851 + +_In the Museum of History and Technology_ + + + _In the mid-nineteenth century there was a renewed interest in + the light, single-axle locomotives which were proving so very + successful for passenger traffic. These engines were built in + limited number by nearly every well-known maker, and among the + few remaining is the 6-wheel "Pioneer," on display in the Museum + of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institution. This + locomotive is a true representation of a light passenger + locomotive of 1851 and a historic relic of the mid-nineteenth + century._ + + THE AUTHOR: _John H. White is associate curator of + transportation in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of + History and Technology._ + + +The "PIONEER" is an unusual locomotive and on first inspection would +seem to be imperfect for service on an American railroad of the 1850's. +This locomotive has only one pair of driving wheels and no truck, an +arrangement which marks it as very different from the highly successful +standard 8-wheel engine of this period. All six wheels of the _Pioneer_ +are rigidly attached to the frame. It is only half the size of an +8-wheel engine of 1851 and about the same size of the 4--2--0 so common +in this country some 20 years earlier. Its general arrangement is that +of the rigid English locomotive which had, years earlier, proven +unsuitable for use on U.S. railroads. + +These objections are more apparent than real, for the _Pioneer_, and +other engines of the same design, proved eminently successful when used +in the service for which they were built, that of light passenger +traffic. The _Pioneer's_ rigid wheelbase is no problem, for when it is +compared to that of an 8-wheel engine it is found to be about four feet +less; and its small size is no problem when we realize it was not +intended for heavy service. Figure 2, a diagram, is a comparison of the +_Pioneer_ and a standard 8-wheel locomotive. + +Since the service life of the _Pioneer_ was spent on the Cumberland +Valley Railroad, a brief account of that line is necessary to an +understanding of the service history of this locomotive. + + _Exhibits of the "Pioneer"_ + + The _Pioneer_ has been a historic relic since 1901. In the fall + of that year minor repairs were made to the locomotive so that + it might be used in the sesquicentennial celebration at + Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On October 22, 1901, the engine was + ready for service, but as it neared Carlisle a copper flue + burst. The fire was extinguished and the _Pioneer_ was pushed + into town by another engine. In the twentieth century, the + _Pioneer_ was displayed at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, + St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904, and at the Wheeling, West + Virginia, semicentennial in 1913. In 1927 it joined many other + historic locomotives at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's "Fair + of the Iron Horse" which commemorated the first one hundred + years of that company. From about 1913 to 1925 the _Pioneer_ + also appeared a number of times at the Apple-blossom Festival + at Winchester, Virginia. In 1933-1934 it was displayed at the + World's Fair in Chicago, and in 1948 at the Railroad Fair in the + same city. Between 1934 and March 1947 it was exhibited at the + Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. + + +The Cumberland Valley Railroad + +The Cumberland Valley Railroad (C.V.R.R.) was chartered on April 2, +1831, to connect the Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers by a railroad +through the Cumberland Valley in south-central Pennsylvania. The +Cumberland Valley, with its rich farmland and iron-ore deposits, was a +natural north-south route long used as a portage between these two +rivers. Construction began in 1836, and because of the level valley some +52 miles of line was completed between Harrisburg and Chambersburg by +November 16, 1837. In 1860, by way of the Franklin Railroad, the line +extended to Hagerstown, Maryland. It was not until 1871 that the +Cumberland Valley Railroad reached its projected southern terminus, the +Potomac River, by extending to Powells Bend, Maryland. Winchester, +Virginia, was entered in 1890 giving the Cumberland Valley Railroad +about 165 miles of line. The railroad which had become associated with +the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859, was merged with that company in 1919. + +By 1849 the Cumberland Valley Railroad was in poor condition; the +strap-rail track was worn out and new locomotives were needed. Captain +Daniel Tyler was hired to supervise rebuilding the line with T-rail, and +easy grades and curves. Tyler recommended that a young friend of his, +Alba F. Smith, be put in charge of modernizing and acquiring new +equipment. Smith recommended to the railroad's Board of Managers on June +25, 1851, that "much lighter engines than those now in use may be +substituted for the passenger transportation and thereby effect a great +saving both in point of fuel and road repairs...."[1] Smith may well +have gone on to explain that the road was operating 3- and 4-car +passenger trains with a locomotive weighing about 20 tons; the total +weight was about 75 tons, equalling the uneconomical deadweight of 1200 +pounds per passenger. Since speed was not an important consideration (30 +mph being a good average), the use of lighter engines would improve the +deadweight-to-passenger ratio and would not result in a slower schedule. + +The Board of Managers agreed with Smith's recommendations and instructed +him "... to examine the two locomotives lately built by Mr. Wilmarth +and now in the [protection?] of Captain Tyler at Norwich and if in his +judgment they are adequate to our wants ... have them forwarded to the +road."[2] Smith inspected the locomotives not long after this resolution +was passed, for they were on the road by the time he made the following +report[3] to the Board on September 24, 1851: + + In accordance with a resolution passed at the last meeting of + your body relative to the small engines built by Mr. Wilmarth I + proceeded to Norwich to make trial of their capacity--fitness or + suitability to the Passenger transportation of our Road--and + after as thorough a trial as circumstances would admit (being on + another Road than our own) I became satisfied that with some + necessary improvements which would not be expensive (and are now + being made at our shop) the engines would do the business of + our Road not only in a manner satisfactory in point of speed and + certainty but with greater ultimate economy in Expenses than has + before been practised in this Country. + +[Illustration: Figure 2.--DIAGRAM COMPARING the _Pioneer_ (shaded +drawing) with the _Columbia_, a standard 8-wheel engine of 1851. +(Drawing by J. H. White.)] + + _Columbia_ + + Hudson River Railroad + Lowell Machine Shop, 1852 + Wt. 27-1/2 tons (engine only) + Cyl. 16-1/2 x 22 inches + Wheel diam. 84 inches + + _Pioneer_ + + Cumberland Valley Railroad + Seth Wilmarth, 1851 + 12-1/2 tons + 8-1/2 x 14 inches + 54 inches + + After making the above trial of the Engines--I stated to your + Hon. President the result of the trial--with my opinion of their + Capacity to carry our passenger trains at the speed required + which was decidedly in favor of the ability of the Engines. He + accordingly agreed that the Engines should at once be forwarded + to the Road in compliance with the Resolution of your Board. I + immediately ordered the Engines shipped at the most favorable + rates. They came to our Road safely in the Condition in which + they were shipped. One of the Engines has been placed on the + Road and I believe performed in such a manner as to convince all + who are able to judge of this ability to perform--although the + maximum duty of the Engines was not performed on account of some + original defects which are now being remedied as I before + stated. + + Within ten days the Engine will be able to run regularly with a + train on the Road where in shall be enabled to judge correctly + of their merits. + + An accident occurred during the trial of the Small Engine at + Norwich which caused a damage of about $300 in which condition + the Engine came here and is now being repaired--the cost of + which will be presented to your Board hereafter. As to the + fault or blame of parties connected with the accident as also + the question of responsibility for Repairs are questions for + your disposal. I therefore leave the matter until further called + upon. + + The Expenses necessarily incurred by the trial of the Engines + and also the Expenses of transporting the same are not included + in the Statement herewith presented, the whole amount of which + will not probably exceed $400.00. + +These two locomotives became the Cumberland Valley Railroad's _Pioneer_ +(number 13) and _Jenny Lind_ (number 14). While Smith notes that one of +the engines was damaged during the inspection trials, Joseph Winters, an +employee of the Cumberland Valley who claimed he was accompanying the +engine enroute to Chambersburg at the time of their delivery, later +recalled that both engines were damaged in transit.[4] According to +Winters a train ran into the rear of the _Jenny Lind_, damaging both it +and the _Pioneer_, the accident occurring near Middletown, Pennsylvania. +The _Jenny Lind_ was repaired at Harrisburg but the _Pioneer_, less +seriously damaged, was taken for repairs to the main shops of the +Cumberland Valley road at Chambersburg. + +[Illustration: Figure 3.--"PIONEER," ABOUT 1901, showing the sandbox and +large headlamp. Note the lamp on the cab roof, now used as the +headlight. (Smithsonian photo 49272.)] + +While there seems little question that these locomotives were not built +as a direct order for the Cumberland Valley Railroad, an article[5] +appearing in the _Railroad Advocate_ in 1855 credits their design to +Smith. The article speaks of a 2--2--4 built for the Macon and Western +Railroad and says in part: + + This engine is designed and built very generally upon the ideas, + embodied in some small tank engines designed by A. F. Smith, + Esq., for the Cumberland Valley road. Mr. Smith is a strong + advocate of light engines, and his novel style and proportions + of engines, as built for him a few years since, by Seth + Wilmarth, at Boston, are known to some of our readers. Without + knowing all the circumstances under which these engines are + worked on the Cumberland Valley road, we should not venture to + repeat all that we have heard of their performances, it is + enough to say that they are said to do more, in proportion to + their weight, than any other engines now in use. + +The author believes that the _Railroad Advocate's_ claim of Smith's +design of the _Pioneer_ has been confused with his design of the +_Utility_ (figs. 6, 7). Smith designed this compensating-lever engine to +haul trains over the C.V.R.R. bridge at Harrisburg. It was built by +Wilmarth in 1854. + +[Illustration: Figure 4.--MAP OF THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY Railroad as it +appeared in 1919.] + +According to statements of Smith and the Board of Managers quoted on +page 244, the _Pioneer_ and the _Jenny Lind_ were not new when purchased +from their maker, Seth Wilmarth. Although of recent manufacture, +previous to June 1851, they were apparently doing service on a road in +Norwich, Connecticut. It should be mentioned that both Smith and Tyler +were formerly associated with the Norwich and Worcester Railroad and +they probably learned of these two engines through this former +association. It is possible that the engines were purchased from +Wilmarth by the Cumberland Valley road, which had bought several other +locomotives from Wilmarth in previous years. It was the practice of at +least one other New England engine builder, the Taunton Locomotive +Works, to manufacture engines on the speculation that a buyer would be +found; if no immediate buyers appeared the engine was leased to a local +road until a sale was made.[6] + +[Illustration: Figure 5.--AN EARLY BROADSIDE of the Cumberland Valley +Railroad.] + +Regarding the _Jenny Lind_ and _Pioneer_, Smith reported[7] to the Board +of Managers at their meeting of March 17, 1852: + + The small tank engines which were purchased last year ... and + which I spoke in a former report as undergoing at that time some + necessary improvements have since that time been fairly tested + as to their capacity to run our passenger trains and proved to + be equal to the duty. + + The improvements proposed to be made have been completed only on + one engine [_Jenny Lind_] which is now running regularly with + passenger trains--the cost of repairs and improvements on this + engine (this being the one accidentally broken on the trial) + amounted to $476.51. The other engine is now in the shop, not + yet ready for service but will be at an early day. + +[Illustration: Figure 6.--THE "UTILITY" AS REBUILT TO AN 8-WHEEL ENGINE, +about 1863 or 1864. It was purchased by the Carlisle Manufacturing Co. +in 1882 and was last used in 1896. (Smithsonian photo 36716F.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 7.--THE "UTILITY," DESIGNED BY SMITH A. F. and +constructed by Seth Wilmarth in 1854, was built to haul trains across +the bridge at Harrisburg, Pa.] + +[Illustration: Figure 8.--THE EARLIEST KNOWN ILLUSTRATION of the +_Pioneer_, drawn by A. S. Hull, master mechanic of the Cumberland Valley +Railroad in 1876. It depicts the engine as it appeared in 1871. +(_Courtesy of Paul Westhaeffer._)] + +The _Pioneer_ and _Jenny Lind_ achieved such success in action that the +president of the road, Frederick Watts, commented on their performance +in the annual report of the Cumberland Valley Railroad for 1851. Watts +stated that since their passenger trains were rarely more than a baggage +car and two coaches, the light locomotives "... have been found to be +admirably adapted to our business." The Cumberland Valley Railroad, +therefore, added two more locomotives of similar design in the next few +years. These engines were the _Boston_ and the _Enterprise_, also built +by Wilmarth in 1854-1855. + +Watts reported the _Pioneer_ and _Jenny Lind_ cost $7,642. A standard +8-wheel engine cost about $6,500 to $8,000 each during this period. In +recent years, the Pennsylvania Railroad has stated the _Pioneer_ cost +$6,200 in gold, but is unable to give the source for this information. +The author can discount this statement for it does not seem reasonable +that a light, cheap engine of the pattern of the _Pioneer_ could cost as +much as a machine nearly twice its size. + +[Illustration: Figure 9.--ANNUAL PASS of the Cumberland Valley Railroad +issued in 1863.] + +[Illustration: Figure 10.--TIMETABLE OF THE Cumberland Valley Railroad +for 1878.] + + +Service History of the _Pioneer_ + +After being put in service, the _Pioneer_ continued to perform well and +was credited as able to move a 4-car passenger train along smartly at 40 +mph.[8] This tranquility was shattered in October 1862 by a raiding +party led by Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart which burned the +Chambersburg shops of the Cumberland Valley Railroad. The _Pioneer_, +_Jenny Lind_, and _Utility_ were partially destroyed. The Cumberland +Valley Railroad in its report for 1862 stated: + + The Wood-shop, Machine-shop, Black-smith-shop, Engine-house, + Wood-sheds, and Passenger Depot were totally consumed, and with + the Engine-house three second-class Engines were much injured by + the fire, but not so destroyed but that they may be restored to + usefulness. + +However, no record can be found of the extent or exact nature of the +damage. The shops and a number of cars were burned so it is reasonable +to assume that the cab and other wooden parts of the locomotive were +damaged. One unverified report in the files of the Pennsylvania Railroad +states that part of the roof and brick wall fell on the _Pioneer_ during +the fire causing considerable damage. In June 1864 the Chambersburg +shops were again burned by the Confederates, but on this occasion the +railroad managed to remove all its locomotives before the raid. During +the Civil War, the Cumberland Valley Railroad was obliged to operate +longer passenger trains to satisfy the enlarged traffic. The _Pioneer_ +and its sister single-axle engines were found too light for these trains +and were used only on work and special trains. Reference to table 1 will +show that the mileage of the _Pioneer_ fell off sharply for the years +1860-1865. + +TABLE 1.--YEARLY MILEAGE OF THE PIONEER + +(From Annual Reports of the Cumberland Valley Railroad) + + _Year_: _Miles_ + + 1852 3,182[a] + 1853 20,722[b] + 1854 18,087 + 1855 14,151 + 1856 20,998 + 1857 22,779 + 1858 29,094 + 1859 29,571 + 1860 4,824 + 1861 4,346 + 1862 ([c]) + 1863 5,339 + 1864 224 + 1865 2,215 + 1866 20,546 + 1867 5,709 + 1868 13,626 + 1869 1,372 + 1870 ... + 1871 2,102 + 1872 4,002 + 1873 3,721 + 1874 3,466 + 1875 636 + 1876 870 + 1877 406 + 1878 4,433 + 1879 ... + 1880 8,306 + 1881 ([d]) + --------- + Total 244,727[e] + +FOOTNOTES TO TABLE 1: + +[a] Mileage 1852 for January to September (no record of mileage recorded +in Annual Reports previous to 1852). + +[b] 15,000 to 20,000 miles per year was considered very high mileage for +a locomotive of the 1850's. + +[c] No mileage reported for any engines due to fire. + +[d] Not listed on roster. + +[e] The Pennsylvania Railroad claims a total mileage of 255,675. This +may be accounted for by records of mileages for 1862, 1870, and 1879. + + +In 1871 the _Pioneer_ was remodeled by A. S. Hull, master mechanic of +the railroad. The exact nature of the alterations cannot be determined, +as no drawings or photographs of the engine previous to this time are +known to exist. In fact, the drawing (fig. 8) prepared by Hull in 1876 +to show the engine as remodeled in 1871 is the oldest known illustration +of the _Pioneer_. Paul Westhaeffer, a lifelong student of Cumberland +Valley R. R. history, states that according to an interview with one of +Hull's descendants the only alteration made to the _Pioneer_ during the +1871 "remodeling" was the addition of a handbrake. The road's annual +report of 1853 describes the _Pioneer_ as a six-wheel tank engine. The +report of 1854 mentions that the _Pioneer_ used link motion. These +statements are enough to give substance to the idea that the basic +arrangement has survived unaltered and that it has not been extensively +rebuilt, as was the _Jenny Lind_ in 1878. + +By the 1870's, the _Pioneer_ was too light for the heavier cars then in +use and by 1880 it had reached the end of its usefulness for regular +service. After nearly thirty years on the road it had run 255,675 miles. +Two new passenger locomotives were purchased in 1880 to handle the +heavier trains. In 1881 the _Pioneer_ was dropped from the roster, but +was used until about 1890 for work trains. After this time it was stored +in a shed at Falling Spring, Pennsylvania, near the Chambersburg yards +of the C.V.R.R. + + +Mechanical Description of the _Pioneer_ + +[Illustration: Figure 11.--"PIONEER," ABOUT 1901, scene unknown. (_Photo +courtesy of Thomas Norrell._)] + +After the early 1840's the single-axle locomotive, having one pair of +driving wheels, was largely superseded by the 8-wheel engine. The +desire to operate longer trains and the need for engines of greater +traction to overcome the steep grades of American roads called for +coupled driving wheels and machines of greater weight than the 4--2--0. +After the introduction of the 4--4--0, the single-axle engine received +little attention in this country except for light service or such +special tasks as inspection or dummy engines. + +[Illustration: Figure 12.--THE "PIONEER" IN CARLISLE, PA., 1901. (_Photo +courtesy of Thomas Norrell._)] + +There was, however, a renewed interest in "singles" in the early 1850's +because of W. B. Adams' experiments with light passenger locomotives in +England. In 1850 Adams built a light single-axle tank locomotive for the +Eastern Counties Railway which proved very economical for light +passenger traffic. It was such a success that considerable interest in +light locomotives was generated in this country as well as in England. +Nearly 100 single-axle locomotives were built in the United States +between about 1845-1870. These engines were built by nearly every +well-known maker, from Hinkley in Boston to the Vulcan Foundry in San +Francisco. Danforth Cooke & Co. of Paterson built a standard pattern +4--2--4 used by many roads. One of these, the _C. P. Huntington_, +survives to the present time. + +The following paragraphs describe the mechanical details of the +_Pioneer_ as it appears on exhibition in the Smithsonian Institution's +new Museum of History and Technology. + + +BOILER + +The boiler is the most important and costly part of a steam locomotive, +representing one-fourth to one-third of the total cost. A poorly built +or designed boiler will produce a poor locomotive no matter how well +made the remainder of mechanism. The boiler of the _Pioneer_ is of the +wagon-top, crownbar, fire-tube style and is made of a 5/16-inch thick, +wrought-iron plate. The barrel is very small, in keeping with the size +of the engine, being only 27 inches in diameter. While some readers may +believe this to be an extremely early example of a wagon-top boiler, we +should remember that most New England builders produced few locomotives +with the Bury (dome) boiler and that the chief advocates of this later +style were the Philadelphia builders. By the early 1850's the Bury +boiler passed out of favor entirely and the wagon top became the +standard type of boiler with all builders in this country. + +Sixty-three iron tubes, 1-7/8 inches by 85 inches long are used. The +original tubes may have been copper or brass since these were easier to +keep tight than the less malleable iron tubes. The present tube sheet is +of iron but was originally copper. Its thickness cannot be conveniently +measured, but it is greater than that of the boiler shell, probably +about 1/2 to 5/8 inch. While copper tubes and tube sheets were not much +used in this country after about 1870, copper was employed as recently +as 1950 by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns, Ltd., on some small industrial +locomotives. + +The boiler shell is lagged with wooden tongue-and-groove strips about +2-1/2 inches wide (felt also was used for insulation during this +period). The wooden lagging is covered with Russia sheet iron which is +held in place and the joints covered by polished brass bands. Russia +sheet iron is a planish iron having a lustrous, metallic gray finish. + +[Illustration: Figure 14.--THE "FURY," BUILT FOR THE Boston and +Worcester Railroad in 1849 by Wilmarth. It was known as a "Shanghai" +because of its great height. (Smithsonian Chaney photo 6443.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 15.--THE "NEPTUNE," BUILT FOR THE Boston and +Worcester in 1847 by Hinkley and Drury. Note the similarity of this +engine and the _Fury_.] + +[Illustration: Figure 16.--THE "PIONEER" AS FIRST EXHIBITED in the Arts +and Industries building of the Smithsonian Institution prior to +restoration of the sandbox. (Smithsonian photo 48069D.)] + +The steam dome (fig. 18) is located directly over the firebox, inside +the cab. It is lagged and jacketed in an identical manner to the boiler. +The shell of the dome is of 5/16-inch wrought iron, the top cap is a +cast-iron plate which also serves as a manhole cover offering access to +the boiler's interior for inspection and repair. + +[Illustration: Figure 17.--"PIONEER" locomotive. (Drawing by J. H. +White.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 18.--"PIONEER" LOCOMOTIVE, (1) Safety valve, (2) +spring balance, (3) steam jet, (4) dry pipe, (5) throttle lever, (6) +throttle, (7) crown bar, (8) front tube sheet, (9) check valve, (10) top +rail, (11) rear-boiler bracket, (12) pedestal, (13) rocker bearing, (14) +damper, (15) grate, (16) bottom rail, (17) pump heater valve, (18) +cylinder lubricator, (19) reversing lever, (20) brake shoe, (21) mud +ring, (22) blowoff cock, (23) ashpan. (Drawing by J. H. White.)] + +A round plate, 20 inches in diameter, riveted on the forward end of the +boiler, just behind the bell stand, was found when the old jacket was +removed in May 1963. The size and shape of the hole, which the plate +covers, indicate that a steam dome or manhole was located at this point. +It is possible that this was the original location of the steam dome +since many builders in the early 1850's preferred to mount the dome +forward of the firebox. This was done in the belief that there was less +danger of priming because the water was less agitated forward of the +firebox. + +The firebox is as narrow as the boiler shell and fits easily between the +frame. It is a deep and narrow box, measuring 27 inches by 28 inches by +about 40 inches deep, and is well suited to burning wood. A deep firebox +was necessary because a wide, shallow box suitable for coal burning, +allowed the fuel to burn so quickly it was difficult to fire the engine +effectively. With the deep, narrow firebox, wood was filled up to the +level of the fire door. In this way, the fire did not burn so furiously +and did not keep ahead of the fireman; at the same time, since it burned +so freely, a good fire was always on hand. The _Pioneer_ burned oak and +hickory.[14] For the firebox 5/16-inch thick sheet was used, for heavier +sheet would have blistered and flaked off because of the intense heat of +the fire and the fibrous quality of wrought-iron sheet of the period. +Sheet iron was fabricated from many small strips of iron rolled together +while hot. These strips were ideally welded into a homogeneous sheet, +but in practice it was found the thicker the sheet the less sure the +weld. + +The fire grates are cast iron and set just a few inches above the bottom +of the water space so that the water below the grates remains less +turbulent and mud or other impurities in the water settle here. Four +bronze mud plugs and a blowoff cock are fitted to the base of the +firebox so that the sediment thus collected can be removed (figs. 17, +18). + +The front of the boiler is attached to the frame by the smokebox, which +is a cylinder, bolted on a light, cast-iron saddle (not part of the +cylinder castings nor attached to them, but bolted directly to the top +rail of the frame; it may be a hastily made repair put on at the shops +of the C.V.R.R.). The rear of the boiler is attached to the frame by two +large cast-iron brackets, one on each side of the firebox (fig. 18). +These are bolted to the top rail of the frame but the holes in the +brackets are undoubtedly slotted, so that they may slide since the +boiler will expand about 1/4 inch when heated. In addition to the crown +bars, which strengthen the crown sheet, the boiler is further +strengthened by stay bolts and braces located in the wagon top over the +firebox, where the boiler had been weakened by the large hole necessary +for the steam dome. This boiler is a remarkably light, strong, and +compact structure. + + +BOILER FITTINGS + +Few boiler fittings are found on the _Pioneer_ and it appears that +little was done to update the engine with more modern devices during its +many years of service. With the exception of the steam gauge, it has no +more boiler fitting than when it left the builder's shop in 1851. + +The throttle valve is a simple slide valve and must have been primitive +for the time, for the balance-poppet throttle valve was in use in this +country previous to 1851. It is located directly below the steam dome +even though it was common practice to place the throttle valve at the +front of the boiler in the smokebox. Considering the cramped condition +inside the smokebox, there would seem to be little space for the +addition of the throttle valve; hence its present location. The dry pipe +projects up into the steam dome to gather the hottest, driest steam for +the cylinders. The inverted, funnel-like cap on the top of the dry pipe +is to prevent priming, as drops of water may travel up the sides of the +pipe and then to the cylinders, with the possibility of great damage. +After the steam enters the throttle valve it passes through the front +end of the valve, through the top of the boiler via the dry pipe (fig. +18), through the front tube sheet, and then to the cylinders via the +petticoat pipes. The throttle lever is a simple arrangement readily +understood from the drawings. It has no latch and the throttle lever is +held in any desired setting by the wingnut and quadrant shown in figure +18. The water level in the boiler is indicated by the three brass cocks +located on the backhead. No gauge glass is used; they were not employed +in this country until the 1870's, although they were commonly used in +England at the time the _Pioneer_ was built. + +While two safety valves were commonly required, only one was used on the +_Pioneer_. The safety valve is located on top of the steam dome. +Pressure is exerted on the lever by a spring balance, fixed at the +forward end by a knife-blade bearing. The pressure can be adjusted by +the thumbscrew on the balance. The graduated scale on the balance gave a +general but uncertain indication of the boiler pressure. The valve +itself is a poppet held against the face of the valve seat by a second +knife blade attached to the lever. The ornamental column forming the +stand of the safety valve is cast iron and does much to decorate the +interior of the cab. The pipe carrying the escaping steam projects +through the cab roof. It is made of copper with a decorative brass band. +This entire mechanism was replaced by a modern safety valve for use at +the Chicago Railroad Fair (1949). Fortunately, the old valve was +preserved and has since been replaced on the engine. + +The steam gauge is a later addition, but could have been put on as early +as the 1860's, since the most recent patent date that it bears is 1859. +It is an Ashcroft gauge having a handsome 4--4--0 locomotive engraved on +its silver face. + +The steam jet (item 3, fig. 18) is one of the simplest yet most notable +boiler fitting of the _Pioneer_, being nothing more than a valve tapped +into the base of the steam dome with a line running under the boiler +jacket to the smokestack. When the valve is opened a jet of steam goes +up the stack, creating a draft useful for starting the fire or +enlivening it as necessary. This device was the invention of Alba F. +Smith in 1852, according to the eminent 19th-century technical writer +and engineer Zerah Colburn.[15] + +The two feedwater pumps (fig. 20) are located beneath the cab deck (1, +fig. 17). They are cast-iron construction and are driven by an eccentric +on the driving-wheel axle (fig. 27). The airchamber or dome (1, fig. 27) +imparts a more steady flow of the water to the boiler by equalizing the +surges of water from the reciprocating pump plunger. A steam line (3, +fig. 18), which heats the pump and prevents freezing in cold weather, is +regulated by a valve in the cab (figs. 18, 27). Note that the line on +the right side of the cab has been disconnected and plugged. + +The eccentric drive for the pumps is unusual, and the author knows of no +other American locomotive so equipped. Eastwick and Harrison, it is +true, favored an eccentric drive for feed pumps, but they mounted the +eccentric on the crankpin of the rear driving wheel and thus produced in +effect a half-stroke pump. This was not an unusual arrangement, though a +small crank was usually employed in place of the eccentric. The +full-stroke crosshead pump with which the _Jenny Lind_ (fig. 22) is +equipped, was of course the most common style of feed pump used in this +country in the 19th century. + +[Illustration: Figure 19.--BACKHEAD of the _Pioneer_. (Smithsonian photo +48069F.)] + +Of all the mechanisms on a 19th-century locomotive, the feed pump was +the most troublesome. If an engineer could think of nothing else to +complain about, he could usually call attention to a defective pump and +not be found a liar. Because of this, injectors were adopted after their +introduction in 1860. It is surprising that the _Pioneer_, which was in +regular service as late as 1880 and has been under steam many times +since for numerous exhibitions, was never fitted with one of these +devices. Because its stroke is short and the plunger is in less rapid +motion, the present eccentric arrangement is more complex but less prone +to disorder than the simpler but faster crosshead pump. + +[Illustration: Figure 20.--FEEDWATER PUMP of the _Pioneer_. (Smithsonian +photo 63344.)] + +The check valves are placed slightly below the centerline of the boiler +(fig. 18). These valves are an unfinished bronze casting and appear to +be of a recent pattern, probably dating from the 1901 renovation. At the +time the engine was built, it was usual to house these valves in an +ornamental spun-brass casing. The smokestack is of the bonnet type +commonly used on wood-burning locomotives in this country between about +1845 and 1870. The exhaust steam from the cylinders is directed up the +straight stack (shown in phantom in fig. 27) by the blast pipe. This +creates a partial vacuum in the smokebox that draws the fire, gases, +ash, and smoke through the boiler tubes from the firebox. The force of +the exhausting steam blows them out the stack. At the top of the +straight stack is a deflecting cone which slows the velocity of the +exhaust and changes its direction causing it to go down into the +funnel-shaped outer casing of the stack. Here, the heavy embers and +cinders are collected and prevented from directly discharging into the +countryside as dangerous firebrands. Wire netting is stretched overtop +of the deflecting cone to catch the lighter, more volatile embers which +may defy the action of the cone. The term "bonnet stack" results from +the fact that this netting is similar in shape to a lady's bonnet. The +cinders thus accumulated in the stack's hopper could be emptied by +opening a plug at the base of the stack. + +While the deflecting cone was regarded highly as a spark arrester and +used practically to the exclusion of any other arrangement, it had the +basic defect of keeping the smoke low and close to the train. This was a +great nuisance to passengers, as the low trailing smoke blew into the +cars. If the exhaust had been allowed to blast straight out the stack +high into the air, most of the sparks would have burned out before +touching the ground. + +[Illustration: Figure 21.--"PIONEER" ON EXHIBIT in old Arts and +Industries building of the Smithsonian Institution. In this view can be +seen the bonnet screen of the stack and arrangement of the boiler-frame +braces and other details not visible from the floor. (Smithsonian photo +48069A.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 22.--"JENNY LIND," SISTER ENGINE of the _Pioneer_, +shown here as rebuilt in 1878 for use as an inspection engine. It was +scrapped in March 1905. (_Photo courtesy of E. P. Alexander._)] + +[Illustration: Figure 23.--CYLINDER head with valve box removed.] + +[Illustration: Figure 24.--BOTTOM of valve box with slide valve +removed.] + +[Illustration: Figures 25 and 26.--CYLINDER with valve box removed, +showing valve face.] + + +FRAME + +The frame of the _Pioneer_ defies an exact classification but it more +closely resembles the riveted- or sandwich-type frame than any other +(figs. 18, 27). While the simple bar frame enjoyed the greatest +popularity in the last century, riveted frames were widely used in this +country, particularly by the New England builders between about 1840 and +1860. The riveted frame was fabricated from two plates of iron, about +5/8-inch thick, cut to the shape of the top rail and the pedestal. A bar +about 2 inches square was riveted between the two plates. A careful +study of photographs of Hinkley and other New England-built engines of +the period will reveal this style of construction. The frame of the +_Pioneer_ differs from the usual riveted frame in that the top rail is +1-3/4 inches thick by 4-1/8 inches deep and runs the length of the +locomotive. The pedestals are made of two 3/8-inch plates flush-riveted +to each side of the top rail. The cast-iron shoes which serve as guides +for the journal boxes also act as spacers between the pedestal plates. + +The bottom rail of the frame is a 1-1/8-inch diameter rod which is +forged square at the pedestals and forms the pedestal cap. The frame is +further stiffened by two diagonal rods running from the top of each +truck-wheel pedestal to the base of the driving-wheel pedestal, forming +a truss. Six rods, riveted to the boiler shell and bolted to the frame's +top rail, strengthen the frame laterally. Four of these rods can be seen +easily as they run from the frame to the middle of the boiler; the other +two are riveted to the underside of the boiler. The attachment of these +rods to the boiler was an undesirable practice, for the boiler shell +was thus subjected to the additional strain of the locomotive's +vibrations as it passed over the road. In later years, as locomotives +grew in size, this practice was avoided and frames were made +sufficiently strong to hold the engine's machinery in line without using +the boiler shell. + +The front and rear frame beams are of flat iron plate bolted to the +frame. The rear beam had been pushed in during an accident, and instead +of its being replaced, another plate was riveted on and bent out in the +opposite direction to form a pocket for the rear coupling pin. Note that +there is no drawbar and that the coupler is merely bolted to the beams. +Since the engine only pulled light trains, the arrangement was +sufficiently strong. + + +RUNNING GEAR + +The running gear is simply sprung with individual leaf springs for each +axle; it is not connected by equalizing levers. To find an American +locomotive not equipped with equalizers is surprising since they were +almost a necessity to produce a reasonably smooth ride on the rough +tracks of American railroads. Equalizers steadied the motion of the +engine by distributing the shock received by any one wheel or axle to +all the other wheels and axles so connected, thus minimizing the effects +of an uneven roadbed. The author believes that the _Pioneer_ is a +hard-riding engine. + +The springs of the main drives are mounted in the usual fashion. The +rear boiler bracket (fig. 18) is slotted so that the spring hanger may +pass through for its connection with the frame. The spring of the +leading wheels is set at right angles to the frame (fig. 27) and bears +on a beam, fabricated of iron plate, which in turn bears on the journal +boxes. The springs of the trailing wheels are set parallel with the +frame and are mounted between the pedestal plates (fig. 18). + +The center of the driving wheel is cast iron and has spokes of the old +rib pattern, which is a T in cross section, and was used previous to the +adoption of the hollow spoke wheel. In the mid-1830's Baldwin and others +used this rib-pattern style of wheel, except that the rib faced inside. +The present driving-wheel centers are unquestionably original. The +sister engine _Jenny Lind_ (fig. 22) was equipped with identical driving +wheels. The present tires are very thin and beyond their last turning. +They are wrought iron and shrunk to fit the wheel centers. Flush rivets +are used for further security. The left wheel, shown in figure 17, is +cracked at the hub and is fitted with an iron ring to prevent its +breaking. + +The truck wheels, of the hollow spoke pattern, are cast iron with +chilled treads. They were made by Asa Whitney, one of the leading +car-wheel manufacturers in this country, whose extensive plant was +located in Philadelphia. Made under Whitney's patent of 1866, these +wheels may well have been added to the _Pioneer_ during the 1871 +rebuilding. Railroad wheels were not cast from ordinary cast iron, which +was too weak and brittle to stand the severe service for which they were +intended, but from a high-quality cast iron similar to that used for +cannons. Its tensile strength, which ranged from 31,000 to 36,000 psi, +was remarkably high and very nearly approached that of the best +wrought-iron plate. + +The cylinders are cast iron with an 8-1/2-inch bore about half the size +of the cylinders of a standard 8-wheel engine. The cylinders are bolted +to the frame but not to the saddle, and are set at a 9 deg. angle to clear +the leading wheels and at the same time to line up with the center of +the driving-wheel axle. The wood lagging is covered with a decorative +brass jacket. Ornamental brass jacketing was extensively used on +mid-19th-century American locomotives to cover not only the cylinders +but steam and sand boxes, check valves, and valve boxes. The greater +expense for brass (Russia iron or painted sheet iron were a cheaper +substitute) was justified by the argument that brass lasted the life of +the engine, and could be reclaimed for scrap at a price approaching the +original cost; and also that when brightly polished it reflected the +heat, preventing loss by radiation, and its bright surface could be seen +a great distance, thus helping to prevent accidents at grade crossings. +The reader should be careful not to misconstrue the above arguments +simply as rationalization on the part of master mechanics more intent on +highly decorative machines than on the practical considerations +involved. + +The valve box, a separate casting, is fastened to the cylinder casting +by six bolts. The side cover plates when removed show only a small +opening suitable for inspection and adjustment of the valve. The valve +box must be removed to permit repair or removal of the valve. A better +understanding of this mechanism and the layout of the parts can be +gained from a study of figures 23-26, 28 (8, 8A, and 8B). + +[Illustration: Figure 27.--"PIONEER" LOCOMOTIVE. (1) Air chamber, (2) +reversing lever, (3) counterweight, (4) reversing shaft, (5) link +hanger, (6) rocker, (7) feedwater line to boiler, (8) link block, (9) +link, (10) eccentric, (11) pump plunger, (12) pump steamheater line, +(13) feedwater pump, (14) wire netting [bonnet], (15) deflecting cone, +(16) stack, (17) stack hopper. (Drawing by J. H. White.)] + +[Illustration: Figure 28.--REAR ELEVATION of _Pioneer_ and detail of +valve shifter; valve face and valve. (Drawing by J. H. White.)] + +Both crossheads were originally of cast iron but one of these has been +replaced and is of steel. They run into steel guides, bolted at the +forward end to the rear cylinder head and supported in the rear by a +yoke. The yoke is one of the more finished and better made pieces on the +entire engine (fig. 27). The main rod is of the old pattern, round in +cross section, and only 1-1/2 inches in diameter at the largest point. + + +VALVE GEAR + +The valve gear is of the Stephenson shifting-link pattern (see fig. 27), +a simple and dependable motion used extensively in this country between +about 1850 and 1900. The author believes that this is the original valve +gear of the _Pioneer_, since the first mention (1854) in the _Annual +Report_ of the Cumberland Valley Railroad of the style of valve gear +used by each engine, states that the _Pioneer_ was equipped with a +shifting-link motion. Assuming this to be the original valve gear of the +_Pioneer_, it must be regarded as an early application, because the +Stephenson motion was just being introduced into American locomotive +practice in the early 1850's. Four eccentrics drive the motion; two are +for forward motion and two for reverse. The link is split and made of +two curved pieces. The rocker is fabricated of several forged pieces +keyed and bolted together. On better made engines the rocker would be a +one-piece forging. The lower arm of each rocker is curiously shaped, +made with a slot so that the link block may be adjusted. Generally, the +only adjustment possible was effected by varying the length of the valve +stem by the adjusting nuts provided. A simple weight and lever attached +to the reversing shaft serve as a counterbalance for the links and thus +assist the engineer in shifting the valve motion. There are eight +positions on the quadrant of the reversing lever. + +[Illustration: Figure 29.--"PIONEER" on exhibit in old Arts and +Industries building, showing the tank and backhead. (Smithsonian photo +48069E.)] + + +MISCELLANEOUS NOTES + +The cab is solid walnut with a natural finish. It is very possible that +the second cab was added to the locomotive after the 1862 fire. A brass +gong used by the conductor to signal the engineer is fastened to the +underside of the cab roof. This style of gong was in use in the 1850's +and may well be original equipment. + +The water tank is in two sections, one part extending below the deck, +between the frame. The tank holds 600 gallons of water. The tender holds +one cord of wood. + +The small pedestal-mounted sandbox was used on several Cumberland Valley +engines including the _Pioneer_. This box was removed from the engine +sometime between 1901 and 1904. It was on the engine at the time of the +Carlisle sesquicentennial but disappeared by the time of the St. Louis +exposition. Two small sandboxes, mounted on the driving-wheel splash +guards, replaced the original box. The large headlamp (fig. 3) +apparently disappeared at the same time and was replaced by a crudely +made lamp formerly mounted on the cab roof as a backup light. Headlamps +of commercial manufacture were carefully finished and made with +parabolic reflectors, elaborate burners, and handsomely fitted cases. +Such a lamp could throw a beam of light for 1000 feet. The present lamp +has a flat cone-shaped piece of tin for a reflector. + +The brushes attached to the pilot were used in the winter to brush snow +and loose ice off the rail and thus improve traction. In good weather +the brushes were set up to clear the tracks. + +[Illustration: Figure 30.--RECONSTRUCTED SANDBOX replaced on the +locomotive, August 1962. (Drawing by J. H. White.)] + +After the _Pioneer_ had come to the National Museum, it was decided that +some refinishing was required to return it as nearly as possible to the +state of the original engine. Replacing the sandbox was an obvious +change.[20] The brass cylinder jackets were also replaced. The cab was +stripped and carefully refinished as natural wood. The old safety valve +was replaced, as already mentioned. Rejacketing the boiler with +simulated Russia iron produced a most pleasing effect, adding not only +to the authenticity of the display but making the engine appear lighter +and relieving the somber blackness which was not characteristic of a +locomotive of the 1850's. Several minor replacements are yet to be done; +chiefly among these are the cylinder-cock linkage and a proper headlamp. + +The question arises, has the engine survived as a true and accurate +representation of the original machine built in 1851? In answer, it can +be said that although the _Pioneer_ was damaged en route to the +Cumberland Valley Railroad, modified on receipt, burned in 1862, and +operated for altogether nearly 40 years, surprisingly few new appliances +have been added, nor has the general arrangement been changed. +Undoubtedly, the main reason the engine is so little changed is that its +small size and odd framing did not invite any large investment for +extensive alteration for other uses. But there can be no positive answer +as to its present variance from the original appearance as represented +in the oldest known illustration of it--the Hull drawing of 1871 (fig. +8). There are few, if any, surviving 19th-century locomotives that have +not suffered numerous rebuildings and are not greatly altered from the +original. The _John Bull_, also in the U.S. National Museum collection, +is a good example of a machine many times rebuilt in its 30 years of +service.[21] Unless other information is uncovered to the contrary, it +can be stated that the _Pioneer_ is a true representation of a light +passenger locomotive of 1851. + + +_Alba F. Smith_ + +Alba F. Smith, the man responsible for the purchase of the _Pioneer_, +was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, June 28, 1817.[9] Smith showed promise +as a mechanic at an early age and by the time he was 22 had established +leadpipe works in Norwich. His attention was drawn particularly to +locomotives since the tracks of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad +passed his shop. His attempts to develop a spark arrester for +locomotives brought Smith to the favorable attention of Captain Daniel +Tyler (1799-1882), president of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad. When +Tyler was hired by the Cumberland Valley Railroad in 1850 to supervise +the line's rebuilding, he persuaded the managers of that road to hire +Smith as superintendent of machinery.[10] Smith was appointed as +superintendent of the machine shop of the Cumberland Valley Railroad on +July 22, 1850.[11] On January 1, 1851, he became superintendent of the +road. + +In March of 1856 Smith resigned his position with the Cumberland Valley +Railroad and became superintendent of the Hudson River Railroad, where +he remained for only a year. During that time he designed the +coal-burning locomotive _Irvington_, rebuilt the Waterman condensing +dummy locomotive for use in hauling trains through city streets, and +developed a superheater.[12] + +After retiring from the Hudson River Railroad he returned to Norwich and +became active in enterprises in that area, including the presidency of +the Norwich and Worcester Railroad. While the last years of Smith's life +were devoted to administrative work, he found time for mechanical +invention as well. In 1862 he patented a safety truck for locomotives, +and became president of a concern which controlled the most important +patents for such devices.[13] Alba F. Smith died on July 21, 1879, in +Norwich, Connecticut. + + +[Illustration: + +UNION WORKS, + +SOUTH BOSTON, + +SETH WILMARTH, Proprietor, + +[Illustration] + +MANUFACTURER OF + +LOCOMOTIVES, + +STATIONARY STEAM ENGINES AND STEAM BOILERS, + +OF THE VARIOUS SIZES REQUIRED, + +_Parts connected with Railroads, including Frogs, Switches, Chairs and +Hand Cars._ + +MACHINISTS' TOOLS, of all descriptions, including _TURNING LATHES_, of +sizes varying from 6 feet to 50 feet in length, and weighing from 500 +pounds to 40 tons each; the latter capable of turning a wheel or pulley, +_thirty feet in diameter_. + +PLANING MACHINES, + +Varying from 2 feet to 60 feet in length, and weighing from 200 lbs. to +70 tons each, and will plane up to 55 feet long and 7 feet square. + +Boring Mills, Vertical and Horizontal Drills, Slotting Machines, +Punching Presses, Gear and Screw Cutting Machines, &c. &c. Also, + +Mill Gearing and Shafting. + +JOBBING AND REPAIRS, and any kind of work usually done in Machine Shops, +executed at short notice. + +Figure 13.--ADVERTISEMENT OF SETH WILMARTH appearing in Boston city +directory for 1848-1849.] + + +_Seth Wilmarth_ + +Little is known of the builder of the _Pioneer_, Seth Wilmarth, and +nothing in the way of a satisfactory history of his business is +available. For the reader's general interest the following information +is noted.[16] + +Seth Wilmarth was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, on September 8, 1810. He +is thought to have learned the machinist trade in Pawtucket, Rhode +Island, before coming to Boston and working for the Boston Locomotive +Works, Hinkley and Drury proprietors. In about 1836 he opened a machine +shop and, encouraged by an expanding business, in 1841 he built a new +shop in South Boston which became known as the Union Works.[17] Wilmarth +was in the general machine business but his reputation was made in the +manufacture of machine tools, notably lathes. He is believed to have +built his first locomotive in 1842, but locomotive building never became +his main line of work. Wilmarth patterned his engines after those of +Hinkley and undoubtedly, in common with the other New England builders +of this period, favored the steady-riding, inside-connection engines. +The "Shanghais," so-called because of their great height, built for the +Boston and Worcester Railroad by Wilmarth in 1849, were among the best +known inside-connection engines operated in this country (fig. 14). +While the greater part of Wilmarth's engines was built for New England +roads, many were constructed for lines outside that area, including the +Pennsylvania Railroad, Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Erie. + +A comparison of the surviving illustrations of Hinkley and Wilmarth +engines of the 1850's reveals a remarkable similarity in their details +(figs. 14 and 15). Notice particularly the straight boiler, riveted +frame, closely set truck wheels, feedwater pump driven by a pin on the +crank of the driving wheel, and details of the dome cover. All of the +features are duplicated exactly by both builders. This is not surprising +considering the proximity of the plants and the fact that Wilmarth had +been previously employed by Hinkley. + +In 1854 Wilmarth was engaged by the New York and Erie Railroad to build +fifty 6-foot gauge engines.[18] After work had been started on these +engines, and a large store of material had been purchased for their +construction, Wilmarth was informed that the railroad could not pay cash +but that he would have to take notes in payment.[19] There was at this +time a mild economic panic and notes could be sold only at a heavy +discount. This crisis closed the Union Works. The next year, 1855, Seth +Wilmarth was appointed master mechanic of the Charlestown Navy Yard, +Boston, where he worked for twenty years. He died in Malden, +Massachusetts, on November 5, 1886. + + +Footnotes + +[1] _Minutes of the Board of Managers of the Cumberland Valley +Railroad._ This book may be found in the office of the Secretary, +Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia, Pa., June 25, 1851. Hereafter cited +as "Minutes C.V.R.R." + +[2] Ibid. + +[3] Minutes C.V.R.R. + +[4] _Franklin Repository_ (Chambersburg, Pa.), August 26, 1909. + +[5] _Railroad Advocate_ (December 29, 1855), vol. 2, p. 3. + +[6] C. E. FISHER, "Locomotives of the New Haven Railroad," _Railway and +Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin_ (April 1938), no. 46, p. 48. + +[7] Minutes C.V.R.R. + +[8] _Evening Sentinel_ (Carlisle, Pa.), October 23, 1901. + +[9] _Norwich Bulletin_ (Norwich, Conn.), July 24, 1879. All data +regarding A. F. Smith is from this source unless otherwise noted. + +[10] _Railway Age_ (September 13, 1889), vol. 14, no. 37. Page 600 notes +that Tyler worked on C.V.R.R. 1851-1852; Smith's obituary (footnote 9) +mentions 1849 as the year; and minutes of C.V.R.R. mention Tyler as +early as 1850. + +[11] Minutes C.V.R.R. + +[12] A. F. HOLLEY, _American and European Railway Practice_ (New York: +1861). An illustration of Smith's superheater is shown on plate 58, +figure 13. + +[13] JOHN H. WHITE, "Introduction of the Locomotive Safety Truck," +(Paper 24, 1961, in _Contributions from the Museum of History and +Technology: Papers 19-30_, U.S. National Museum Bulletin 228; +Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1963), p. 117. + +[14] _Annual Report_, C.V.R.R., 1853. + +[15] ZERAH COLBURN, _Recent Practice in Locomotive Engines_ (1860), p. +71. + +[16] _Railroad Gazette_ (September 27, 1907), vol. 43, no. 13, pp. +357-360. These notes on Wilmarth locomotives by C. H. Caruthers were +printed with several errors concerning the locomotives of the Cumberland +Valley Railroad and prompted the preparation of these present remarks on +the history of Wilmarth's activities. Note that on page 359 it is +reported that only one compensating-lever engine was built for the +C.V.R.R. in 1854, and not two such engines in 1852. The _Pioneer_ is +incorrectly identified as a "Shanghai," and as being one of three such +engines built in 1871 by Wilmarth. + +[17] The author is indebted to Thomas Norrell for these and many of the +other facts relating to Wilmarth's Union Works. + +[18] _Railroad Gazette_ (October 1907), vol. 43, p. 382. + +[19] _Boston Daily Evening Telegraph_ (Boston, Mass.), August 11, 1854. +The article stated that one engine a week was built and that 10 engines +were already completed for the Erie. Construction had started on 30 +others. + +[20] The restoration work has been ably handled by John Stine of the +Museum staff. Restoration started in October 1961. + +[21] S. H. OLIVER, _The First Quarter Century of the Steam Locomotive in +America_ (U.S. National Museum Bulletin 210; Washington: Smithsonian +Institution, 1956), pp. 38-46. + + +U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1964 + +For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing +Office Washington, D.C., 20402--Price 30 cents. + + +Index + + +Adams, W. B., 252 + + +Baldwin, Matthias William, 264 + +Boston Locomotive Works, 260 + + +Colburn, Zerah, 259 + + +Danforth Cooke & Co., 252 + +Drury, Gardner P., 260 + + +Eastwick, Andrew M., 259 + + +Harrison, Joseph, Jr., 259 + +Hinkley, Holmes, 252, 260, 263 + +Hull, A. S., 251, 268 + + +Smith, Alba F., 244, 246, 247, 259 + +Stephenson, Robert, & Hawthorns, Ltd., 253 + +Stuart, J. E. B., 249 + + +Taunton Locomotive Works, 247 + +Tyler, Daniel, 244, 253 + + +Union Works, 260 + + +Vulcan Foundry, 252 + + +Watts, Frederick, 249 + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Pioneer': Light Passenger +Locomotive of 1851, by John H. White + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIGHT PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE *** + +***** This file should be named 28160.txt or 28160.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/1/6/28160/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Louise Pattison, Joseph Cooper +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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