Model of the Steam Locomotive, <i>Tom Thumb</i>
date: label: date made
content: 1960
label: date made
content: ca. "t1960
label: date made
content: ca. 1830
label: Tom Thumb locomotive constructed
content: 1830
notes: label: Description
content: This is a 1/2" scale four-wheel model of Peter Cooper’s <i>Tom Thumb</i>, which operated on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1830. Few contemporary details about the locomotive’s construction have survived. The model is based on Peter Cooper's recollection printed in the an 1875 issue of the American Railway Master Mechanics Association. The model shows a verticle boiler, a verticle cylinder and piston and a stack.
label: Description
content: After making a modest fortune in glue manufacturing in New York City, Peter Cooper purchased property in Baltimore on which he constructed the Canton Iron Works. He was therefore anxious about the future of the newly opened Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, since only a successful line would increase the value of his land holdings. In England, where the railway was first developed, companies operated steam locomotives over farely straight lines. B&O officials believed that their route’s sharp curves were unsuitable for locomotives, and operated trains hauled by horses instead. Cooper, by contrast, insisted that steam locomotives were not only practical but necessary if the line was to make a profit. To argue his position, he constructed a small locomotive that hauled trains carrying B&O Railroad officials during the summer of 1830. The <i>Tom Thumb’s</i> ability to traverse the sharp curves of the line with a speed of 18 mph proved Cooper’s point, and steam locomotives were adopted on the B&O the following year.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Associated Place
content: United States: Maryland
label: Associated Place
content: United States: Ohio
topic: label: Subject
content: Railroads
label: Subject
content: Locomotives
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Transportation, Railroad
label: See more items in
content: America on the Move
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.318210
label: catalog number
content: 318210
label: accession number
content: 233853
objectType: label: Object Name
content: locomotive, 1830
label: Object Name
content: locomotive
label: Object Name
content: model, locomotive
label: Other Terms
content: locomotive, 1830; Rail
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 7/8 in x 3 1/8 in x 6 5/8 in; 12.3825 cm x 7.9375 cm x 16.8275 cm