The Grasshopper
and
The Corliss
_MILESTONES_
in the Mighty Age of Steam
[Illustration: South Station which houses the Grasshopper locomotive
in Carillon Park.]
South Station is a modest little building, representing in its style of
construction a typical railroad station in the days when the railroad
first came to the Miami Valley. However, its function is not to provide
a waiting place for passengers but to serve as the home of one of the
oldest locomotives still in existence. The miniature power house across
the way is much more modern in its construction. The Corliss engine
which has been re-erected in this building was in operation at NCR for
almost fifty years.
[Illustration: The Corliss Engine Building has much the appearance
of a small power house.]
[Illustration: Grasshopper locomotive]
When James Watt gave the world the condensing steam engine in 1788 he
ushered in an era in man’s progress which brought with it the Industrial
Revolution and fundamental changes in our way of life. Steam has made
possible the development of our vast industries, our modern
transportation on land and on sea, and an immeasurable expansion of the
horizons of our daily life.
Two of the most far-reaching uses of the principle of production of
power through steam have been in transportation and in the generation of
electricity. In both instances the first steps toward the ultimate
achievement were crude and none too convincing, but they did lead to
further development and outstanding accomplishment.
After the discovery of the power of steam, man toyed with the idea of a
steam engine that could move itself. The implications of such an
invention were far reaching. The first steps were taken in England in
the early part of the nineteenth century and a locomotive which
successfully hauled a train of vehicles was built there in 1825. The
first American locomotive was the Tom Thumb built by Peter Cooper.
In a competition sponsored by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Phineas
Davis, a watchmaker of York, Pennsylvania, built a locomotive which was
referred to as the “grasshopper” type because of its appearance and the
up-and-down motion of its driving rods. This was really the first
successful steam railroad engine in this country.
Turning to the stationary steam engine for the production of direct
power and for generating electricity, we find that the greatest advance
in this field was the Corliss engine. This engine which incorporated new
principles of control and fuel economy was the invention of George H.
Corliss, a New England inventor who, as much as any other man, was
responsible for the development of the power facilities which have made
possible the industrialization of this nation.
The Grasshopper locomotive and the Corliss engine, each in its own way,
made a vital contribution to the development of America. Each is
included in the Carillon Park exhibits because it represents a
significant forward step in man’s constant quest for a better and fuller
life.
[Illustration: Corliss engine]
Steam Comes to the Rails
[Illustration: The famed “Atlantic” drawing early type railroad
coaches in Baltimore and Ohio railroad exhibit. The “Atlantic” is
original, the coaches replicas.]
The steam railroad represents an evolution unique in the story of man’s
progress. Its expansion from almost primitive beginnings unfolds one of
the epics of transport. Today’s network of steel rails is tribute to the
originality and persistency of courageous and far-seeing men.
Nowhere has the railroad undergone such a transformation as in the
United States. Although England stood in the van of locomotive
construction, American ingenuity perfected the most powerful type. From
an average of twelve to fourteen tons, the weight of the first
Grasshopper engine, they have expanded to the monsters of more than five
hundred tons. In 1840, a little more than a decade after the
incorporation of our first railroad, the total mileage in this country
was 2,810. Today the operated mileage is 398,000.
The real birth of the railroad, however, was in England. As in the
United States, tramways provided the predecessor. They were first
employed in the coal districts adjacent to Newcastle, to convey coal
from the pits to the River Tyne for shipment abroad.
The weakness in all the early British engines was that they could not
produce steam as rapidly as they used it up, nor did they have
sufficient power to move quickly, or pull more than their own weight. It
remained for George Stephenson to overcome these weaknesses and prove
the practicability of the movable steam locomotive. Stephenson, born in
1781, was the son of a fireman at the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle.
Stirred by the story of James Watt’s achievements in the domain of
steam, George enrolled in a night school to study mechanics.
Steam traction continued to absorb the attention of many British
inventors, so Stephenson turned to it. He constructed an engine called
“Blucher,” which made a successful trial run July 25, 1814.
George Stephenson was a persistent fellow. To his doggedness of purpose
we owe the beginning of the steam railroad. In 1822 he “sold,” as we
would say today, the directors of the Stockton & Darlington Railway,
which had planned to use horses on its trams, on the idea of using a
steam locomotive. He was appointed engineer of the road and given
authority to carry out his plans.
The age of railroading in this country began with the chartering in 1827
of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the first road constructed in the
United States to carry passengers and freight. The first rails were laid
on July 4, 1828, with Charles Carroll, the only living signer of the
Declaration of Independence, turning over the first spadeful of dirt.
The first section of thirteen miles from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills
was opened in May, 1830. The man who jolted the Baltimore & Ohio
directors out of their horse fixation was the renowned Peter Cooper.
Cooper built a locomotive which he called Tom Thumb. The name was apt
because it was quite a small affair. In its construction he used odds
and ends of mechanical parts. The barrels of muskets, for example,
provided the tubes for the upright boiler.
The directors of the Baltimore & Ohio decided to have a competition. In
January, 1831, they advertised for locomotives to be entered in a series
of contests. They offered to give a $4,000 prize for the locomotive that
best met the test, and $3,500 for the second best engine.
Four engines entered the competition, one of which was built by Phineas
Davis, a watchmaker of York, Pennsylvania. The Davis entry fulfilled all
the requirements of the competition and won first prize. Soon after its
adoption the Baltimore & Ohio directors named that type of locomotive
the Grasshopper. This was due to its grasshopper-like construction. From
that parent engine sprang a fleet of Grasshoppers that operated for
nearly a century and made railroad history.
Phineas Davis and his partner, Gartner, now began to develop the
Grasshopper type. The next venture was the Atlantic which went into
service on the B & O in the summer of 1832. Once the Grasshoppers
demonstrated their utility, the steam locomotive idea spread rapidly.
The saga of the American Railroad is a stirring narrative of triumph
over obstacles. The road of the iron horse is part of the larger highway
over which progress has marched. In that drama of achievement the
Grasshopper locomotive played its full part. As such, it merits a niche
in the Transport Hall of Fame.