A 1927 replica of Tom Thumb, the first American-built steam locomotive.
Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad. It was designed and constructed by Peter Cooper in 1830 to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) to use steam engines; it was not intended to enter revenue service.
It is especially remembered as a participant in an impromptu race with a horse-drawn car, which the horse won after Tom Thumb suffered a mechanical failure. However, the demonstration was successful, and the railroad committed to the use of steam locomotion and held trials in the following year for a working engine.
The replica remains on display at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum. The museum lists the replica as operational, and the locomotive makes special appearances each year.
Trivia[]
- The first railroads were little more than tracks on roads; horses pulled wagons and carriages with their wheels modified to ride on the rails.
- Trains could not be moved by steam power until the steam engine could be mounted on wheels.
- The first steam locomotives were built in England, the birthplace of steam power, and the first locomotives in America were imported from England. Soon, however, Americans began to plan their own locomotives.
- The replica was built in 1927 for the Fair of the Iron Horse when the B&O hosted a centennial exhibition near Baltimore, titled "Fair of the Iron Horse," and had a replica constructed for the exhibition
- Because Tom Thumb was not intended for revenue service, the locomotive was not preserved.
- There's a ride able model of Tom Thumb at the Riverside & Great Northern Railway.
- Tom Thumb has a vertical boiler and vertically mounted cylinders that drove the wheels on one of the axles.
- The replica once visited the Strasburg Rail Road for a rebuild.
- The Hesston Steam Museum has a half scale replica built by Rick Weber
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