The Cumberland Valley Railroad (C.V.R.R.) was chartered on April 2,
1831, to connect the Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers by a railroad
through the Cumberland Valley in south-central Pennsylvania. The
Cumberland Valley, with its rich farmland and iron-ore deposits, was a
natural north-south route long used as a portage between these two
rivers. Construction began in 1836, and because of the level valley some
52 miles of line was completed between Harrisburg and Chambersburg by
November 16, 1837. In 1860, by way of the Franklin Railroad, the line
extended to Hagerstown, Maryland. It was not until 1871 that the
Cumberland Valley Railroad reached its projected southern terminus, the
Potomac River, by extending to Powells Bend, Maryland. Winchester,
Virginia, was entered in 1890 giving the Cumberland Valley Railroad
about 165 miles of line. The railroad which had become associated with
the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859, was merged with that company in 1919.
By 1849 the Cumberland Valley Railroad was in poor condition; the
strap-rail track was worn out and new locomotives were needed. Captain
Daniel Tyler was hired to supervise rebuilding the line with T-rail, and
easy grades and curves. Tyler recommended that a young friend of his,
Alba F. Smith, be put in charge of modernizing and acquiring new
equipment. Smith recommended to the railroad's Board of Managers on June
25, 1851, that "much lighter engines than those now in use may be
substituted for the passenger transportation and thereby effect a great
saving both in point of fuel and road repairs...."[1] Smith may well
have gone on to explain that the road was operating 3- and 4-car
passenger trains with a locomotive weighing about 20 tons; the total
weight was about 75 tons, equalling the uneconomical deadweight of 1200
pounds per passenger. Since speed was not an important consideration (30
mph being a good average), the use of lighter engines would improve the
deadweight-to-passenger ratio and would not result in a slower schedule.
The Board of Managers agreed with Smith's recommendations and instructed
him "... to examine the two locomotives lately built by Mr. Wilmarth
and now in the [protection?] of Captain Tyler at Norwich and if in his
judgment they are adequate to our wants ... have them forwarded to the
road."[2] Smith inspected the locomotives not long after this resolution
was passed, for they were on the road by the time he made the following
report[3] to the Board on September 24, 1851:
In accordance with a resolution passed at the last meeting of
your body relative to the small engines built by Mr. Wilmarth I
proceeded to Norwich to make trial of their capacity--fitness or
suitability to the Passenger transportation of our Road--and
after as thorough a trial as circumstances would admit (being on
another Road than our own) I became satisfied that with some
necessary improvements which would not be expensive (and are now
being made at our shop) the engines would do the business of
our Road not only in a manner satisfactory in point of speed and
certainty but with greater ultimate economy in Expenses than has
before been practised in this Country.
[Illustration: Figure 2.--DIAGRAM COMPARING the _Pioneer_ (shaded
drawing) with the _Columbia_, a standard 8-wheel engine of 1851.
(Drawing by J. H. White.)]
_Columbia_
Hudson River Railroad
Lowell Machine Shop, 1852
Wt. 27-1/2 tons (engine only)
Cyl. 16-1/2 x 22 inches
Wheel diam. 84 inches
_Pioneer_
Cumberland Valley Railroad
Seth Wilmarth, 1851
12-1/2 tons
8-1/2 x 14 inches
54 inches
After making the above trial of the Engines--I stated to your
Hon. President the result of the trial--with my opinion of their
Capacity to carry our passenger trains at the speed required
which was decidedly in favor of the ability of the Engines. He
accordingly agreed that the Engines should at once be forwarded
to the Road in compliance with the Resolution of your Board. I
immediately ordered the Engines shipped at the most favorable
rates. They came to our Road safely in the Condition in which
they were shipped. One of the Engines has been placed on the
Road and I believe performed in such a manner as to convince all
who are able to judge of this ability to perform--although the
maximum duty of the Engines was not performed on account of some
original defects which are now being remedied as I before
stated.
Within ten days the Engine will be able to run regularly with a
train on the Road where in shall be enabled to judge correctly
of their merits.
An accident occurred during the trial of the Small Engine at
Norwich which caused a damage of about $300 in which condition
the Engine came here and is now being repaired--the cost of
which will be presented to your Board hereafter. As to the
fault or blame of parties connected with the accident as also
the question of responsibility for Repairs are questions for
your disposal. I therefore leave the matter until further called
upon.
The Expenses necessarily incurred by the trial of the Engines
and also the Expenses of transporting the same are not included
in the Statement herewith presented, the whole amount of which
will not probably exceed $400.00.
These two locomotives became the Cumberland Valley Railroad's _Pioneer_
(number 13) and _Jenny Lind_ (number 14). While Smith notes that one of
the engines was damaged during the inspection trials, Joseph Winters, an
employee of the Cumberland Valley who claimed he was accompanying the
engine enroute to Chambersburg at the time of their delivery, later
recalled that both engines were damaged in transit.[4] According to
Winters a train ran into the rear of the _Jenny Lind_, damaging both it
and the _Pioneer_, the accident occurring near Middletown, Pennsylvania.
The _Jenny Lind_ was repaired at Harrisburg but the _Pioneer_, less
seriously damaged, was taken for repairs to the main shops of the
Cumberland Valley road at Chambersburg.
[Illustration: Figure 3.--"PIONEER," ABOUT 1901, showing the sandbox and
large headlamp. Note the lamp on the cab roof, now used as the
headlight. (Smithsonian photo 49272.)]
While there seems little question that these locomotives were not built
as a direct order for the Cumberland Valley Railroad, an article[5]
appearing in the _Railroad Advocate_ in 1855 credits their design to
Smith. The article speaks of a 2--2--4 built for the Macon and Western
Railroad and says in part:
This engine is designed and built very generally upon the ideas,
embodied in some small tank engines designed by A. F. Smith,
Esq., for the Cumberland Valley road. Mr. Smith is a strong
advocate of light engines, and his novel style and proportions
of engines, as built for him a few years since, by Seth
Wilmarth, at Boston, are known to some of our readers. Without
knowing all the circumstances under which these engines are
worked on the Cumberland Valley road, we should not venture to
repeat all that we have heard of their performances, it is
enough to say that they are said to do more, in proportion to
their weight, than any other engines now in use.
The author believes that the _Railroad Advocate's_ claim of Smith's
design of the _Pioneer_ has been confused with his design of the
_Utility_ (figs. 6, 7). Smith designed this compensating-lever engine to
haul trains over the C.V.R.R. bridge at Harrisburg. It was built by
Wilmarth in 1854.
[Illustration: Figure 4.--MAP OF THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY Railroad as it
appeared in 1919.]
According to statements of Smith and the Board of Managers quoted on
page 244, the _Pioneer_ and the _Jenny Lind_ were not new when purchased
from their maker, Seth Wilmarth. Although of recent manufacture,
previous to June 1851, they were apparently doing service on a road in
Norwich, Connecticut. It should be mentioned that both Smith and Tyler
were formerly associated with the Norwich and Worcester Railroad and
they probably learned of these two engines through this former
association. It is possible that the engines were purchased from
Wilmarth by the Cumberland Valley road, which had bought several other
locomotives from Wilmarth in previous years. It was the practice of at
least one other New England engine builder, the Taunton Locomotive
Works, to manufacture engines on the speculation that a buyer would be
found; if no immediate buyers appeared the engine was leased to a local
road until a sale was made.[6]
[Illustration: Figure 5.--AN EARLY BROADSIDE of the Cumberland Valley
Railroad.]
Regarding the _Jenny Lind_ and _Pioneer_, Smith reported[7] to the Board
of Managers at their meeting of March 17, 1852:
The small tank engines which were purchased last year ... and
which I spoke in a former report as undergoing at that time some
necessary improvements have since that time been fairly tested
as to their capacity to run our passenger trains and proved to
be equal to the duty.
The improvements proposed to be made have been completed only on
one engine [_Jenny Lind_] which is now running regularly with
passenger trains--the cost of repairs and improvements on this
engine (this being the one accidentally broken on the trial)
amounted to $476.51. The other engine is now in the shop, not
yet ready for service but will be at an early day.
[Illustration: Figure 6.--THE "UTILITY" AS REBUILT TO AN 8-WHEEL ENGINE,
about 1863 or 1864. It was purchased by the Carlisle Manufacturing Co.
in 1882 and was last used in 1896. (Smithsonian photo 36716F.)]
[Illustration: Figure 7.--THE "UTILITY," DESIGNED BY SMITH A. F. and
constructed by Seth Wilmarth in 1854, was built to haul trains across
the bridge at Harrisburg, Pa.]
[Illustration: Figure 8.--THE EARLIEST KNOWN ILLUSTRATION of the
_Pioneer_, drawn by A. S. Hull, master mechanic of the Cumberland Valley
Railroad in 1876. It depicts the engine as it appeared in 1871.
(_Courtesy of Paul Westhaeffer._)]
The _Pioneer_ and _Jenny Lind_ achieved such success in action that the
president of the road, Frederick Watts, commented on their performance
in the annual report of the Cumberland Valley Railroad for 1851. Watts
stated that since their passenger trains were rarely more than a baggage
car and two coaches, the light locomotives "... have been found to be
admirably adapted to our business." The Cumberland Valley Railroad,
therefore, added two more locomotives of similar design in the next few
years. These engines were the _Boston_ and the _Enterprise_, also built
by Wilmarth in 1854-1855.
Watts reported the _Pioneer_ and _Jenny Lind_ cost $7,642. A standard
8-wheel engine cost about $6,500 to $8,000 each during this period. In
recent years, the Pennsylvania Railroad has stated the _Pioneer_ cost
$6,200 in gold, but is unable to give the source for this information.
The author can discount this statement for it does not seem reasonable
that a light, cheap engine of the pattern of the _Pioneer_ could cost as
much as a machine nearly twice its size.
[Illustration: Figure 9.--ANNUAL PASS of the Cumberland Valley Railroad
issued in 1863.]
[Illustration: Figure 10.--TIMETABLE OF THE Cumberland Valley Railroad
for 1878.]