File:Bulletin - United States National Museum (1956) (14598205007).jpg

Identifier: bulletinunitedst2101956unit (find matches)
Title: Bulletin - United States National Museum
Year: 1877 (1870s)
Authors: United States National Museum Smithsonian Institution United States. Dept. of the Interior
Subjects: Science
Publisher: Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press, (etc.) for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt Print. Off.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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ls they represent are either no longer inexistence, are of too recent vintage, or were not used inNorth America. Among them are five operable models—four steam and one electric. The originals represented by many of these models wereinvolved in notable events in the history of railroading ormark major steps in its progress. For these reasons, and inorder to provide the reader with a complete catalog of thelocomotive collection of the United States National Museum,a brief description of each will be given on the pages thatfollow. 75 Trevithick Locomotive, 1804 The National Museums nonoperable model shown infigure 61 represents the probable form of the first raillocomotive of Richard Trevithick, the Cornish engineer whowas one of the early advocates of the high-pressure steamengine. The Museums model (USNM 180058) is about 20inches in length, and its flywheel is about 10 inches in diam-eter. It was obtained in 1888 from its builder D. Ballauf, amodel maker often employed by the Museum.
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Figure 6 1. —Model of Trevithick locomotive, 1 804. 76 Trevithick, who a few years earlier had constructed sev-eral successful steam vehicles for use on the highways, inFebruary 1804 completed the construction of a machine atPen-y-darran, near Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales,for use at the Pen-y-darran Iron Works of Samuel Homfray.It is thought to have been the first steam locomotive everpropelled along a railway. The first trip was made on Monday, February 13, 1804.Among the several trips made by the locomotive was one of9 miles, between Merthyr Tydfil and Abercynon, drawing5 cars with a load of 10 tons of iron and 70 men. Althougha satisfactory machine, and one that proved that a usefulload could be hauled through the adhesion of wheels onsmooth track, it was not long in use because of frequentbreakage of the primitive railway. The single horizontal steam cylinder, projecting partlyinto the end of the boiler, operated a crankshaft fitted with alarge-diameter flywheel. The dr

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