Fig. 4.—Peter Cooper's Locomotive, 1830.
As early as 1829 and 1830, Peter Cooper experimented with a little locomotive on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (Fig. 4). At a meeting of the Master Mechanics' Association in New York, in 1875—at the Institute which bears his name—he related with great glee how on the trial trip he had beaten a gray horse, attached to another car. The coincidence that one of Peter Parley's horses is a gray one might lead to the inference that it was the same horse that Peter Cooper beat, a deduction which perhaps has as sound a basis to rest on as many historical conclusions of more importance.
The undeveloped condition of the art of machine construction at that time is indicated by the fact that the flues of the boiler of this engine were made of gun-barrels, which were the only tubes that could then be obtained for the purpose. The boiler itself is described as about the size of a flour-barrel. The whole machine was no larger than a hand-car of the present day.
Fig. 5.—"South Carolina," 1831,
and Plan of its Running Gear.
In the same year that Peter Cooper built his engine, the South Carolina Railway Company had a locomotive, called the "Best Friend," built at the West Point Foundry for its line. In 1831 this company had another engine, the "South Carolina" (Fig. 5), which was designed by Mr. Horatio Allen, built at the same shop. It was remarkable in having eight wheels, which were arranged in two trucks. One pair of driving-wheels, D D and D′ D′, and a pair of leading-wheels, L L and L′ L′, were attached to frames, c d e f and g h i j, which were connected to the boiler by kingbolts, K K′, about which the trucks could turn. Each pair of driving-wheels had one cylinder, C C′. These were in the middle of the engine and were connected to cranks on the axles A and B.
The "De Witt Clinton" (Fig. 6) was built for the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, and was the third locomotive made by the West Point Foundry Association. The first excursion trip was made with passengers from Albany to Schenectady, August 9, 1831. This is the engine shown in the silhouette engraving of the "first[10] railroad train in America" which in recent years has been so widely distributed as an advertisement.
Fig. 6.—The "De Witt Clinton," 1831.
In 1831 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company offered a premium of $4,000 "for the most approved engine which shall be delivered for trial upon the road on or before the 1st of June, 1831; and $3,500 for the engine which shall be adjudged the next best." The requirements were as follows: