Evening star., 1915-12-26

curiosities. they would never be adapt
able to continued travel on American
| tracks, owing to the numerous shor,
curves found necessary to get around
/ huge powders and points of rock
! Blasting and rock tunneling in those
/ days were unknown.
| Cooper was one of a bakers dozen
who thought otherwise. Accordingly
he set to work to prove the rest of the
country wrong. His idea was to con-
quer short curves by decreasing the
size of the locomotive. He built d Lill-
putian affair of one horsepower, weigh
ing less than a ton, and with Il boiler
only twenty inches in diameter. His
funds were not ample Indeed. unable
to get regular tubes for his invention,
he was forced to substitute gun bar
rels. The little engine was finally COM
pleted. Its maker named it the Tom
Thumb" and finally tried il out on the
tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road. which at that time covered the
thirteen miles from Baltimore to Eli
colt. mills.
Several carriages were hitched to the
tom Thumb" al first, but it was found
! that the engine was so light that in
attempting to haul it's load it left the
track. To remedy this fault a coach
was placed in front of the locomotive,
and filled with passengers. Then, while
the populace cheered, Cooper himself
took the throttle and started. The trip
was an success. Engine
and coaches covered the thirteef, miles
to the mills and back in the remark
able time of two hours and sixteen
minutes.
This signalized the end of horsepower
locomotion. despite the fact that the
Fom Thumb" was actually beaten on
the return trip in a fair race with a
loaded passenger coach drawn by a
horse. And here, according to the mu-
scum authorities. is another country
wide belief that is incorrect. The gem
| eral impression is that the engine beat
the horse. The true facts are set forth
in description of the race written by
H. b. Latrobe, esq, counselor of the
| railroad company al that time, who
was one of Cooper's passengers. His
description of the engine and of the
| first trip follows:
| The boiler of Mr. Coopcr's engine is moi a
| large as the kitchen boiler attached T. many a
range in modern mansions. 1t is of About tie
| same diameter but not much more man ha!I "
| high. 1t stands upright in the ear AMI rs nlleu
above the furnace. which occupies the lower sec.
tion. with vertical tubes The ryinder Is nu,
| three and onehalf inches in diameter and speed
Is d G1tsn h %R ng faaE,ns m kaen up D" steam in SO small
! q boiler. and Mr.. Cooper has used. ttereloIe'
| blowing apparatus driven by drum aiiacned |. =
one of the ear wheels. over which there passes
cord that in its turn works pulley on the SHAFT
| of the blower ,,, .. ,roro
| passed without difficulty at The high speed o.
fifteen miles an hour: the grades were as.snt ~,
with comparative ease: the day was me ana tls m
company in the highest spirits. sois ,,n,n
gentlemen of ,he party pulled ont memorandum n
Looks and when at the highest speed M Will
WIS eighteen miles an hour wrote tne,r hanies ~
and some connected sentences to prove taat even
at that great velocity it was posslbie 10 no 50:
The return trip from the mills uS,mnre ,i,,nteS
thirteen miles. was made in hfty-seyen minutes.
But the triumph of this Tom Thumb eii.he was
! not without drawback. The great sttse % pro. pro-
prietors Stockton and Stokes. drove another car
out from town. the other track. TO which "us
bitched gallant gray OF great beauty ana
its way back From this point it was deter
mined 10 have a race home. and. the start being
even, away went horse and engine. the snort OF
one and the pun of the other keeping Time anu
time. r.. -;
AT first the gray had the best OF it. Tor ms
steam could he applied to the greatest adVan
tage on the instant. while the engine hhu 70
wait until the rota tion OF ITS wheeis sci tne
blower to work. The horse was perhaps a qua :
ter of a mile ahead when the safety valve OF
the engine lifted and the thin blue Vapor ISSUING
from II showed an excess of steam.
The blower whistled. the steam blew on IN
vapory Clouds the pace increased the passengers
shouted. The engine gained on the horse. soon
1t Tapped him. The whip was pedmthe race was
neck and neck nose and nose! Then. AFTER Il
moment the engine passed the horse and d great
hurrah hailed the victory,
But it was not repeated. for just at this time
when the gray master was about giving up. me
hand which drove the pulley which moved the
blower slpped from the drum: the safety waive
ceased to scream and the engine Tor want Oh
breath becan to wheeze and pant. In vain Mr.
Cooper who was his engineer and fireman
lacerated his hands in attempting to replace the
band upon the wheel: In vain am ne taea insd m
the machine and passed it,. and although tne
band was presently replaced and steam again
did its hest. the horse was too far anefio 10 pe
oyertaken and came home the winner of the
But the real victory was with Cooper.