IN SUMMARY
It can be stated that Hudson’s modification of the Bissell truck is of unquestioned importance, for without the introduction of the equalizer it is doubtful if the 2-wheel pony truck would have been a complete success on American railroads. Bissell’s 4-wheel truck was extensively employed, but it did not enjoy the universal popularity of the 2-wheel truck, and in the 1880’s was eclipsed by other forms of 4-wheel safety trucks. The Hudson-Bissell pony truck, however, survived in its basic form to recent times, when, in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the last steam locomotives were constructed in this country.
[1] Three-point suspension in a 4-2-0 was easily gained—the center plate of the truck and the two bearings of the driving wheel axle. On a 4-4-0 the center plate served as one point, while the fulcrum of each equalizing lever served as the other two points, thus providing the desirable and highly stable 3-point suspension.
[2] American Railroad Journal, 1853, vol. 9, p. 427.
[3] Connecting both truck axles with an equalizing lever so that they acted in sympathy with each other also did much to prevent derailments on rough trackage.
[4] Bissell states in the patent specification that inclined planes had been previously applied to railroad car trucks. His claim rested on the application of this device to locomotive trucks.
[5] From a sworn statement of G. M. Milligan dated July 2, 1857. This along with letters, petitions, receipts, and other such material quoted in this discussion are from the Patent Office papers housed in the National Archives, Washington, D.C. (hereafter referred to as Patent Office papers).
[6] The Lebanon was a 4-4-0, used in freight service, that had been built by the New Jersey Locomotive and Machine Company in December 1855.
[7] Letter dated July 2, 1857, from S. L. Moore (Patent Office papers).
[8] Statement cited in [footnote 5].
[9] Letter dated July 11, 1857, Charles Mason to Levi Bissell (Patent Office papers).
[10] American Railway Review, February 9, 1860, vol. 2, p. 71.
[11] U.S. patent 34377, February 11, 1862.
[12] Davenport & Bridges, car builders of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1841, obtained a U.S. patent for a swing-beam truck.
[13] Gustavus Weissenborn in his authoritative American Locomotive Engineering and Railway Mechanism (New York, 1871, p. 131), stated that when in use the V’s soon acquired a polished surface which seemed to defy wear.
[14] U.S. patent 42662, May 10, 1864.
[15] Engineering, July 12, 1867, vol. 4, p. 29.
[16] John Headden, master mechanic of the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company, built at the road’s Jersey City shops several locomotives equipped with Hudson’s variety of the Bissell truck. Headden, upon the death of Hudson, succeeded him in 1881 as superintendent of the Roger Works.
[17] It is believed that Harrison, Winans and Eastwick made one of the first uses of a 2-wheel radial truck on a 2-6-0 built at the Alexandrovsky Arsenal, St. Petersburg, in 1844–46. The success or exact particulars of these machines is unknown. See John Jahn, Die Dampflokomotive in Entwicklungsgeschichtlicher Darstellung Ihres Gesamtaufbaues, Berlin, 1924, p. 239; Richard E. Peunoyer, “Messrs. Harrison, Winans & Eastwick, St. Petersburg, Russia,” Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin no. 47, September 1938, p. 46; and Joseph Harrison, Jr., The Locomotive Engine, and Philadelphia’s Share in its Early Improvements, Philadelphia, 1872, p. 52.
[18] Zerah Colburn, Locomotive Engineering and the Mechanism of Railways, …, London, 1871, p. 99. Zerah Colburn (1832–1870) was one of the best informed and most vocal authorities on 19th-century American locomotive construction. He not only designed advanced machines while working at the New Jersey Locomotive Works but also advocated many reforms in locomotive design. He published the Railroad Advocate in New York City for several years. In 1858 he became editor of The Engineer and in 1866 founded the technical journal Engineering.
[19] American Railway Review, June 8, 1860, vol. 2, p. 392. Holley was a well known authority on locomotive engineering and the author of several books on the subject.
[20] Engineering May 11, 1866, vol. 1, p. 313. By this time (1866), the Eastern Counties Railway had become part of the Great Eastern system.
[21] American Railway Review July 26, 1860, vol. 2, p. 38.
[22] Whetstone was chief designer for Niles & Co., a Cincinnati locomotive builder. His invention apparently did not receive a test, since the company closed shortly before the patent was granted. No other builder seemed interested.
[23] Paul T. Warner, “Mogul Type Locomotives,” Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin no. 100, April 1959.
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