Colonel John Stevens' 1825 Experimental Locomotive Model
date: label: date made
content: 1898
notes: label: Description
content: Colonel John Stevens, Revolutionary War veteran and wealthy businessman of Hoboken, New Jersey, was a staunch advocate of steam railway transportation in the United States. Many Americans of his time, however, believed that canals, not railroads, would satisfy the country’s growing transportation needs. To demonstrate the practicality of the railway, Stevens constructed a small steam locomotive in the spring of 1825 and offered rides to the public on a circular track in Hoboken. His efforts were ultimately successful; in 1830, the Camden and Amboy Railroad was chartered to build a rail line across New Jersey. Stevens’ son, Robert Livingston Stevens, become the company's first president and chief engineer.
label: Description
content: John Stevens operated his locomotive around his circular track until 1828 or 1829 after which the machine was later disassembled. The boiler and safety valve survive in the Smithsonian’s collection.
label: Description
content: This is a 1-1/2 inch scale model of an experimental locomotive built by John Stevens in 1825. The only surviving mechanical information derives from a description written by a grandson of Stevens in 1883. The museum’s model was reconstructed from this information. It shows four wheels, a horizontal boiler on the carriage platform, and gearing centered in the middle of the carriage and extending underneath.
label: Location
content: Currently on loan
place: label: place made
content: United States: District of Columbia, Washington
setName: label: See more items in
content: America on the Move
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2017.3011.01
label: catalog number
content: 2017.3011.01
label: accession number
content: 2017.3011
objectType: label: Object Name
content: model, locomotive
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 16 1/4 in x 10 1/2 in x 24 1/4 in; 41.275 cm x 26.67 cm x 61.595 cm