Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor Locomotive General, 1855
The smallest locomotive model in the National Museum ([figure 67]) is of the wood-burning locomotive General that figured so prominently in the famous Civil War locomotive chase of April 12, 1862. (In William Pittenger’s “The Great Locomotive Chase” is told the complete story of this epic adventure, which took place when a group of Northern raiders stole the General and its train at Big Shanty, Ga. The Confederates finally recaptured the General minus the cars, which had been cut loose to delay the pursuers, but with most of the raiders, after a thrilling pursuit that led them 90 miles away, to Ringgold, Ga., just south of Chattanooga, Tenn.)
The Museum’s display is constructed from a pair of model kits, to which a great many engineering details have been added. It shows two beautifully made reproductions, scaled ⅛ inch to the foot, passing in opposite directions on a slight curve. Each is 7 inches long. The builder, Adolph H. Schutz of Washington, D. C., in 1955 presented the model to the Museum (USNM 313724), where it had been on exhibit as a loan since 1951.
Built by the Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor plant at Paterson, N. J., in 1855, the original General was used on the Western and Atlantic Railroad for many years. It is now on permanent exhibit at Chattanooga in the Union Station of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. A 4-4-0, or American type, it is the earliest of this particular type represented in the Museum’s collection of models.
Figure 67.—Model of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor General, 1855.
American-Type Locomotive of about 1890
An operable model ([figure 68]) in the Museum’s collection (USNM 309515), appears to represent a New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 4-4-0 locomotive of the period of about 1890. This class of locomotive was built by the Schenectady Locomotive Works to the New York Central’s design, and had 78-inch driving wheels, cylinders with a bore of 19 inches and a stroke of 24 inches, and weighed 120,000 pounds.
Figure 68.—Operable model of an American-type locomotive of about 1890.