The _Sandusky_, first locomotive built by the firm of Rogers, Ketchum &
Grosvenor of Paterson, N. J., is represented in the Museum’s collection
by a 2-foot-long nonoperable model (figure 66) of the locomotive and its
tender. The model (USNM 180245) was built for the Museum in 1888 by D.
Ballauf.
Notice of the firm’s intention to produce locomotives was given in the
“American Railroad Journal” for December 24, 1836, and the original
_Sandusky_ was constructed during the following year. Intended for the
New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Co., it was built to the gauge of
that road—58 inches. However, after a trial trip on October 6 between
Paterson and New Brunswick, it was purchased for the Mad River and Lake
Erie Railroad by that road’s president, J. H. James of Urbana, Ohio.
[Illustration: Figure 66.—Model of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor
_Sandusky_, 1837.]
It was delivered to Sandusky, Ohio, on November 17, at which time not a
foot of track had been laid. The engine was used in the construction of
the road, which in consequence was built to the gauge of the engine.
This fact has been given as the reason why the legislature of Ohio at
one time passed an act requiring all railroads built in Ohio to be of
58-inch gauge. On April 11, 1838, regular trips for the conveyance of
passengers commenced between Bellevue and Sandusky, a distance of 16
miles, and the locomotive _Sandusky_ was used.
The _Sandusky_ resembled the early Stephenson engines in some respects,
but differed principally in having a 4-wheeled leading truck, the wheels
of which were 30 inches in diameter. The two driving wheels, made of
cast iron and with hollow spokes and rims, were 54 inches in diameter.
The crankshaft throws were counterbalanced by a method of balancing
devised by Thomas Rogers, who had filed a patent application on it dated
July 12, 1837. This consisted of having the part of the wheel rim
opposite the crank throw cast solid, while the rest of the rim was
hollow.
The driving wheels and the inclined 11- by 16-inch cylinders were inside
the frame, whereas the eccentric rods, working off the outer ends of the
driving axle, were outside. The bonnet-type smokestack had a deflecting
cone in its center and a wire mesh on the top to prevent the escape of
sparks.