Milestones in the Mighty Age of Steam: The Grasshopper and the Corliss

South Station which houses the Grasshopper locomotive in Carillon Park.
South Station is a modest little building, representing in its style of construction a typical railroad station in the days when the railroad first came to the Miami Valley. However, its function is not to provide a waiting place for passengers but to serve as the home of one of the oldest locomotives still in existence. The miniature power house across the way is much more modern in its construction. The Corliss engine which has been re-erected in this building was in operation at NCR for almost fifty years.
The Corliss Engine Building has much the appearance of a small power house.
When James Watt gave the world the condensing steam engine in 1788 he ushered in an era in man’s progress which brought with it the Industrial Revolution and fundamental changes in our way of life. Steam has made possible the development of our vast industries, our modern transportation on land and on sea, and an immeasurable expansion of the horizons of our daily life.
Two of the most far-reaching uses of the principle of production of power through steam have been in transportation and in the generation of electricity. In both instances the first steps toward the ultimate achievement were crude and none too convincing, but they did lead to further development and outstanding accomplishment.
After the discovery of the power of steam, man toyed with the idea of a steam engine that could move itself. The implications of such an invention were far reaching. The first steps were taken in England in the early part of the nineteenth century and a locomotive which successfully hauled a train of vehicles was built there in 1825. The first American locomotive was the Tom Thumb built by Peter Cooper.
In a competition sponsored by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Phineas Davis, a watchmaker of York, Pennsylvania, built a locomotive which was referred to as the “grasshopper” type because of its appearance and the up-and-down motion of its driving rods. This was really the first successful steam railroad engine in this country.