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Steam Trains
By Micah Blake-Smith
5/18/2014
The Steam Engine
"The wonderful progress of the present century is, in a very great degree, due to the
invention and improvement of the steam engine, and to the ingenious application of its
power to kinds of work that formerly taxed the physical energies of the human race."~
Robert H. Thurston
Introduction
Why are railroads so important? Without them, it would have taken much longer to get anywhere
especially the southwest area of the United States. There would be no southwest without California,
Nevada, Arizona, Texas, North and South Dakota, and Oregon. Without them, this U.S.A. would be much
smaller. By connecting people much faster, railroads allowed access to those faraway places and
transporting materials and supplies to those places as well.
Now on to the railroad pioneers. The steam engine pioneers are James Watt, Oliver Evans,
Richard Trevithick, and George Stephenson.
History
The person who invented the steam engine was James Watt. He was Scottish and lived in
Britain. One interesting fact is Britain threatened a penalty of a year in prison and 200
pounds for someone telling America about the steam engine. However, it still it got to
America. Later Oliver Evans made the first steam vehicle and it was an amphibious vehicle.
The creator of the first successful railway was Englishman named Richard Trevithick. Then
inventor named George Stephenson made the world’s first commercial railway. It went on to
have its first passenger in 1822. During the second half of the 1800’s builders made a new
train called the American type. It had eight wheels instead of four. In 1867, Cheyenne
Native Americans were destroying train tracks. Then in 1880’s, the Cheyenne’s were
scalping people left and right in the Wild West. The first Wild West town to be reached by
train was Abilene and the company was the Kansas pacific the town was reached in 1867.
During the civil war, trains played a huge part from transporting supplies to troops and
transporting cannons. Trains were used mostly by the north and the south had some but not
many. During the civil war, England invented steel rails. The most famous thieves of the late
1800’s were Jesse James and his brother who robbed their first train in 1873.
Types of Steam Engines
The Challenger no 39885 is the largest and strongest working steam train. It was retired
in 1962 then brought back out in 1981. The name Challenger was given to steam trains with
a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement. In the 1930’s, the 2-6-6-6 “Allegheny” was made. It was the
biggest train. The train type got its name from the mountains it worked on. The Alleghenies
were taken out of service starting in 1952 the last fire went out in 1956. The first,
Yellowstone was made in 1928. Only one was made and it had the largest firebox and before
it was used there was a party in it and 12 people were able to fit inside. It could not go fast
and only had 5,000 horsepower. Around the same time the Yellowstone was made the
Cabforward was made. The Cabforward used oil instead of coal. The Cabfoward got its
name from how its cab was in front. The last Cabfoward was scrapped in 1960. In 1937 the
first duplex drive was made for B&O railroad. It was scrapped in 1950. In 1939 the P.R.R
had its first duplex drive. It could pull a 1200 ton train at 100mph. In 1944 the duplex drive
16131 type was built for the P.R.R. They were the best types of duplex drive trains. Sadly
they were all scrapped for diesels. In 1930 At&Sf had the 2-10-4 built. They had the
nickname of “Madam Queen”. In 1938 ten Texas type trains were built. Instead of coal five
used oil while the other five used coal.
In 1970’s the 4-4-2 “Atlantic was built it was bought in 1975 to pull a train called Hiawatha
it went between Chicago and St.Paul Minneapolis. It could go up to 120mph with an average
speed of 60 mph. It usually pulled nine passenger cars. In 1926 the 4-6-4 “Hudson” type was
built. In 1902 the 2-10-2 “SantaFe” were built. They were used as pushers on AT&ST. In
1883 the 4-10-0 or “El Gobernador was built. In 1925 the 4-10-2 it was called the Southern
pacific or overland it was built for southern pacific and union pacific.
Steam Appliances
One steam appliance for the engine is the Bell. The bell was used to warn people and
animals of the train coming. The bell was one of the things capped after the train was
scrapped. Another steam appliance was the Dynamo. It is used steam to power the lights on
the train. Also, the lights they powered were heavy duty. Also, there were the stokers which
helped fireman. It helped the fireman by collecting coal from the tender and spreading the
coal around the firebox. Another steam appliance is the whistle.
1www. Steamlocomotive.com
Types of railroad cars
The railroad car used the most in the late 1800’s and 1900’s was the boxcar! 2Railroad used
boxcars to transport anything in them like cars, car parts, paper, and produce. Another over
used car is the Gondola.3 They carried scrap, tracks, and other junk. They are and were so
beat up the sides look like they pushed out. Another type of car is the Hopper car4 which
looks like the Gondola but has angled shouts at the bottom. Also there is the tank which is
most common. It usually carries fuel or oil. Another type of car is the flatcar.5 It usually
carries tracks or big shipping boxes. Now on to the passenger cars. There is the coach car. It
used to be very uncomfortable because they had no middle isle and to get in there were
doors right next to the seat. Also the seat was basically just a bench. Another car is the
probably second most liked car is the Dining car. It used to serve the best food that was as
good as or better than a five star restaurant. What this writer thinks is the most liked car is
the sleeper car. Sleeper cars used to be chairs that could be turned into beds. Also some beds
would be over others.
Steam Engine timeline
100 A.D. Hero's Engine is Created5th-15th Centuries Needs of the people surpass the ability of human and animal labor
1606 Giovanni Battista Della Porta uses steam to make water rise through a column
1690 Denys Papin discovers a way to produce a vacuum using steam but does not pursue the knowledge
1698 Thomas Savery combines the force of steam with the pressure of the atmosphere and patents the first atmospheric engine
1712 Thomas Newcomen produces a self acting atmospheric engine2 Railroad, Boxcars Good to Haul About Anything!3 Gondolas, The “Do Anything Railroad Freight car.4 Hopper Cars, the “coal car”5 Flatcars, The first freight train car.
1769 James Watt is granted a patent for the Separate Condenser
1780James Pickard and Matthew Wasborough create an engine with rotary motion by fitting a crank, rod and flywheel to Newcomer's Model
1783 A double acting engine is introduced by Watt - Steam pushes on each side of the piston alternately as opposed to just one side
1786 Boulton and Watt produce a double acting rotative engine
1802 A steam railway locomotive is built at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire A stern wheel steam paddle tug is created by William Symington
1807 Robert Fulton's ship the "Clermont" becomes the first steamship to provide regular passenger service in America
1825 The First Public Railway to use steam locomotives opens1827 The era of locomotive success begins in Britain1838 The Great Western Railway opens1844 The "Lancashire" boiler is introduced in Manchester by William Fairbairn
1846 The Regulation of Railways (Gauge) Act is passed The "Tank Engine" is born
1850 Randolph Elder fits the first marine compound engine
1865 Commuter Traffic becomes prominent in large cities - Passenger traffic locomotives are introduced by the railways
1878 Willans patents the high speed fully enclosed "inverted vertical" engine1890 Charles Pain patents the forced-lubrication-high-speed-enclosed engine1898 The first British express locomotive travels on the Great Northern Railway
1906 Superheating of steam is invented by Dokter Schmidt and used in British Railway locomotives
1938The streamlined "Pacific" 4-6-2 locomotive "Mallard" reaches a speed of 126 miles per hour (201 kph); This speed still stands as a world record.
1960 The final steam locomotive is built by British Railways -6
Meaning of railroad signs
6 http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Steam/steam.htm
The Pennsylvania railroad was one of the first railroads to use signal lights along the track.
PRR lights were displayed in rows of three. The meaning of the signal lights are close to car
signal lights. Green means clear, yellow mean approach, lunar means go at slowest speeds,
and red means stop. Bad weather such as rain and fog was one of the main reasons of the
creation of the railroad lights.
Famous P.R.R stations
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) started in 1846. It was the largest railroad in the U.S. and
headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PRR stations relied heavily on using steam
locomotives. Broad street station was the first of the P.R.R stations and it was the first hub
in Philadelphia. It was demolished in 1953. Another P.R.R station is Union station. It was in
Washington D.C it also served as a hub for the P.R.R. Yet another P.R.R station is Penn
station in the NYC. It was built so that people from New Jersey could get to Manhattan
without taking a ferry. It was built in 1910. Another P.R.R station is 30th street station. It was
built to replace the broad street station. Also another P.R.R station is Union station in
Chicago.
Important Railroad Facts
1810s-1830s: Various inventors and entrepreneurs make suggestions about building
model railways in the United States; In 1825 John Stevens (inventor) builds a test track
and runs a locomotive around it in Hoboken, New Jersey.
1820s and 1830s: The Baltimore and Ohio is incorporated in 1827 and officially opens in
1830. Other railroads soon follow, including the Camden and Amboy by 1832.
August 8, 1829: The Sturbridge Lion is tested along tracks built by the Delaware and
Hudson company.
1830s-1860s: Enormous railway building booms in the United States of America.
Railroads replace canals as a primary mode of transportation.
1853 Indianapolis' Union Station, the first "union station" in the world, opened by the
Terre Haute & Richmond, Madison & Indianapolis, and Bellefontaine railroads.
1865: George Pullman becomes well-known for luxury sleeping cars, called Pullman cars
in his honor, after he loans one of his cars to house the coffin of Abraham Lincoln after
Lincoln's assassination.
1869: Union Pacific and Central Pacific complete first transcontinental railway link at
Promontory Summit.
1869: George Westinghouse establishes Air Brake Company.
1870s and 1880s: Strikes break out against railroads and the Pullman Palace Car
Company. Corporations hire Pinkerton guards to break up the strikes. Nonetheless, much
violence occurs in the strikes. Many people were killed; buildings and rolling stock were
burned, and reports of rioting shocked middle-class Americans.
1886: Many southern states convert from broad gauges such as 1,524 mm (5 ft) to
standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in). See also Broad gauge United States.
1887: The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) is created to regulate railroads, to
ensure fair prices.
1891: Webb C. Ball establishes first Railway Watch official guidelines for Railroad
chronometers.
1901: Eight locomotive manufacturing companies are combined in a merger to form the
American Locomotive Company (ALCO).
1902: Twentieth Century Limited inaugurated by the New York Central railroad.
1910s: Pennsylvania Railroad builds Pennsylvania Station in New York City; New York
Central Railroad builds current version of Grand Central Terminal.
1916: US railway reaches peak length.
1920s and 1930s: Automobiles and airplanes contribute to a decline in ridership and
mileage, as well as the Great Depression.
1934: Burlington railroad's Pioneer Zephyr completes its inaugural run from Denver,
Colorado to Chicago, Illinois, first diesel-powered streamliner in America.
May 12, 1936: The Santa Fe railroad inaugurates the all-Pullman Super Chief between
Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
1940s: World War II brings railroads the highest ridership in American history, as
soldiers are being sent to fight overseas in the Pacific Theater and the European Theater.
However, automobile travel causes ridership to decline after the war ends.
March 20, 1949: The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Denver and Rio Grande
Western Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad jointly launch the California Zephyr
between Chicago, Illinois, and San Francisco, California, as the first passenger train to
include Vista Dome cars in regular service.
1950s and 1960s: Drastic decline in railroad travel in the United States of America, due
to automobiles, trucks, and airplanes, as first jetliners take to the air. Railroads respond
through mergers and attempts to shut down trains and railroad lines. However, the ICC
refuses to let railroads shut down many trains.
December 1, 1959: ICC approved Virginian Railway merger into Norfolk & Western
begins modern-day period of railroad mergers and consolidations
December 3, 1967: The New York Central's Twentieth Century Limited makes last run.
1968: Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central merge to form Penn Central.
June 21, 1970: Penn Central declares Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
1971: President Richard Nixon and the United States Congress create Amtrak and
eliminate several passenger routes.
March 22, 1970: The CB&Q, D&RGW and WP railroads' California Zephyr on its last
run, arrives in Oakland, CA from Chicago, Illinois; however the train name will soon be
resurrected by Amtrak on a train travelling almost the same route as the original
1970s: Conrail, a freight railroad, founded from the remains of the bankrupt Penn Central
and a number of other bankrupt railroads in the Northeastern US.
1970s and 1980s: Amtrak introduces double-deck Superliner rolling stock. Auto-Train
Corporation begins running as independent line (1971), but fails in 1981; In 1983,
Amtrak revives service and runs slightly renamed Auto Train as one of its more-heavily-
promoted lines.
1980 Railroads deregulated; ICC abolished.
September 15, 1981: The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the
world when it runs under its own power outside Washington, DC.
1981: Union Pacific 3985 is restored to operating condition, making it the largest
operable steam locomotive in the world.
January 1, 1986: The Milwaukee Road is merged into the Soo Line Railroad in the largest
railroad bankruptcy proceedings to date in America
1990s: Amtrak funding comes under heavier scrutiny by Congress, while Amtrak creates
new trains such as the Talgo and the Acela Express.
September 11, 2001: Terrorists destroy World Trade Center and destroy part of the
PATH system in the process. Full PATH service resumed November 23, 2003. 7
Conclusion
Unfortunately the steam locomotive is gone on to be housed in tourist sites all
over the United States. Many of the locomotives are being displayed at the Railroad
Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
Bibliography
www.Steam locomotive.com 4-25-10
World book inc.2002 Chicago
Passing trains By Greg McDonnell
Railroads in the days of steam
Published by 1960 American Heritage publishing co
Author Albert L. McCready
www.uprr/about up/excurs/up3985.shtml
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_railway_history
RAILROAD PICTURES