The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1875-01-30
Peter COOper's Locomotive.
rHE FIRST STEAM ENGINE EVER RUN ON AMeR;
CAN TRACKS.

Peter Cooper, the venerable mllliOnafe, was
found recently sitting at little desk in his pr-
vate office at his residence. Il bulit and ran
the first railroad" said he. lie was in excel
lent spiriLs, and conversed as vivacously as a
man of halt his age. 81 was in Baltimore at
the time. | owned three thousand acres oil
land in that city-the same property now own
ed by the Canton Company. | sold it to them.
1t cost me 200, but don't doubt it is valu
ed at 81 5 000, 900 to-day. Well, as was say ing,
railroad at that time-this was in l629-and
ran to Ellicott's Mills, distance Of thii teen
miles from Baltimore. The road didn't pay,
and the stockholders were beginning to get
frightened. They refused to invest any more
money in the road. | was afraid it would stop
running. | went to the directors and asked
them to hold on awhile until tried steam
locomotive that had an idea would do for the
road. You see in that short road there were d
good many curves-short curves-for it ran
through rough, rocky valley. The opinion
had come from Eng land that no engine could
be built to turn a curve of less than 900 feet,
and some of these curves were only 200 feet.
Gross Wynans, al engineer on the railroad
Ross is the man that made so many millions
out of the Russians, building locomotives for
them. Well, he gave me an invention OF his,
and l built the locomotive. 1t was little
thing, and weighed only ton. Why,sautf
Mr.. Cooper laughed at the recollection, "the
boiler wasn't as big barrel. But here. I'll
let you read what Mr.. Latrobe says about it.
He was counselor of the railroad, and l guess
he is yet. He rode on the engine with me-
Here, read what he says"
While Mr.. Cooper was speaking he had risen
from his easy chair, and was examining sever
al papers which he took from desk in the cor
ner, talking all the while. "Ah, here it is %
said he, unfolding g large printed chart and re
turning to his seat. His aged hand trembled
as he held out the sheet for the visitors inspec
ton. A rough wood-cut of primitive engine
and car adorned the top of the sheet; beneath,
the page was filled with extracts from lecture
delivered by Counselor Latrobe. The cut rep
resented a vehicle as large as hand-car, rest
ing on four slight wheels, and containing an
upright boiler and smoke-stack, and six per-
sons. Nothing else was visible except two up
right bars meeting like the strokes of an in
verted V in the front OF the engine. Mr.. Cooper
explained that this was the machinery, and
the an standing by it was himself. All the
people wore low hats except Mr.. Cooper (ac-
cording to the cut,) and he was distinguished
by a high, broad brimmed beaver. He was
thirty nine years Of age then, and Mr.. Latrobe
was few years younger. 81 had been Con-
mon Councilman at that time, said Mr.. Cooper,
in parenthesis. 81 represented the 18th ward,
when it extended from the Bible House to
Kingsbridge."
At Mr. Coopers suggestion the writer glanced
over the printed matter which explained the
engine and related its exploits. Mr.. Cooper, it
seems, invited the directors of the road, with
a few others, to accompany him on his trial
trip when the engine was completed. The
party that accepted the invitation numbered
about forty-one. Thirty six were conveyed in
one cara great carryail wagon on four car
wheels and the other five rode with Mr.. Cooper
on the engine The machinery OF the locomo-
tive dId not differ from that of the time in
which it was built. 1t was simply combina-
ton of belts and cog wheels. The draugbt
necessary to keep up steam in the little boiler
was supplied by blower, driven by drum
and cord attached to one Of the ar-wheels. On
the day of the trial trip, in the summer of 1880.
Mr.. Cooper lighted the fire under the boiler,
and when sufficient steam was generated and
the company had taken their places IN the
train he pulled the lever, and the first locomo
tive engine began its first trip. The ride is de-
scribed as mos. exciting. Grades were passed
over with ease, curves were turned without
slowing up, and with every moment the rate
of speed increased. Ten miles an hour at first,
then twelve, thirteen, fifteen, and even elgh-
teen miles an hour were made. 1t is recorded
that the enthusiastic passengers with one &C
cord produced their note books, and demon
strated the possibility of writing even at this
speed.
We are not told how long it took to reach Fl
lcoItS MlIls, Dut tue rtIuTH uIp was mou0 IL
fifty seven minutes.
WAS the locomotive used upon the road af-
terwards?" the visitor asked when he had read
the description referred to.
81 sold it to a man named Ward," said Mr..
Cooper, "and he ran it during the summer,
carrying pleasure parties to and fro. The next
wear three or four locomotives, each one an i'm .
provement on the other, were procured, and
every year afterwards locomotives were built
and used in different parts of the country"
What was the nature of your apparatus for
turning a short curve?"
''On the ends of the car axle, outside the
wheels, there was ring in which the axle rest
ed and moved sufficiently in rounding curve
to turn at good rate of speed. Now the wheels
are beneath a car on which the engine rests
The car turns on a central belt or pivot, you
know"