Early Technology: The Lafayette & Maryland
One of the most significant changes in early railroad technology was the switch to a horizontal boiler from the vertical boiler used on Grasshopper locomotives. By 1837, B&0 President Louis McLane took interest in the Norris Locomotive Works in Pennsylvania. Their locomotives could travel faster because of the flexible 4-2-0 wheel arrangement and fuel efficient and higher capacity honizontal boiler. The horizontal boiler allowed larger, more powerful engines that burned bituminous coat and wood.
The B&O purchased its first horizontal boiler engine from Norris and named it Lafayette." It was nicknamed a "one-armed-Billy" for its single piston connecting to its driving wheel and after its designer, William Norris. The Lafayette entered service in 1837 and represents the first true passenger engine. The 4-2-0 locomotives on the B&O were used for passenger service and pulled small closed coaches with end platforms and center aisles on the newly opened Washington Branch between Baltimore and Washington. In the fall of 1839, the B&O received its first 4-4-0 locomotives. Shortly after, the 4-2-0s were regulated to light local trains.
Though this locomotive's design was popular at its inception, it was short lived; most were gone by the 1860s. In 1927, a replica of the "Lafayette" was built for the Fair of the Iron Horse. The "Lafayette" was renamed after one of the B&O's first engineers, William Galloway. The "Lafayette" has appeared in the following motion pictures: "Wells Fargo" (1937), "Stand up & Fight" (1939), "The Great Locomotive Chase" (1956) and "Amistad" (1997).
The Lafayette pulls a reproduction of an early B&O passenger coach called the "Maryland." Richard Imlay, a Baltimore carriage builder, built six carriages for the B&O for use on the track leading to Ellicott's Mills from Baltimore in 1830. Imlay used the pattern and design of the standard turnpike stagecoach to develop his rail cars. The carriage body was perched on four un-sprung wheels and cradled by heavy leather straps, and a brake lever was placed next to the outside seat. These carriages were meant for use on low speed horse operation railroads and, later, early steam locomotives. The railroad soon learned that these desians were impractical because they were unstable and passengers were discomforted by the hot ash and cinders blowing back in their direction. In addition, railroads found that passengers wanted the freedom to stand up and move around while traveling, which eventually led to the adoption of standard rectangular coaches with center aisles and bench seats.
(From museum label)
Early Technology: The Lafayette & Maryland
One of the most significant changes in early railroad technology was the switch to a horizontal boiler from the vertical boiler used on Grasshopper locomotives. By 1837, B&0 President Louis McLane took interest in the Norris Locomotive Works in Pennsylvania. Their locomotives could travel faster because of the flexible 4-2-0 wheel arrangement and fuel efficient and higher capacity honizontal boiler. The horizontal boiler allowed larger, more powerful engines that burned bituminous coat and wood.
The B&O purchased its first horizontal boiler engine from Norris and named it Lafayette." It was nicknamed a "one-armed-Billy" for its single piston connecting to its driving wheel and after its designer, William Norris. The Lafayette entered service in 1837 and represents the first true passenger engine. The 4-2-0 locomotives on the B&O were used for passenger service and pulled small closed coaches with end platforms and center aisles on the newly opened Washington Branch between Baltimore and Washington. In the fall of 1839, the B&O received its first 4-4-0 locomotives. Shortly after, the 4-2-0s were regulated to light local trains.
Though this locomotive's design was popular at its inception, it was short lived; most were gone by the 1860s. In 1927, a replica of the "Lafayette" was built for the Fair of the Iron Horse. The "Lafayette" was renamed after one of the B&O's first engineers, William Galloway. The "Lafayette" has appeared in the following motion pictures: "Wells Fargo" (1937), "Stand up & Fight" (1939), "The Great Locomotive Chase" (1956) and "Amistad" (1997).
The Lafayette pulls a reproduction of an early B&O passenger coach called the "Maryland." Richard Imlay, a Baltimore carriage builder, built six carriages for the B&O for use on the track leading to Ellicott's Mills from Baltimore in 1830. Imlay used the pattern and design of the standard turnpike stagecoach to develop his rail cars. The carriage body was perched on four un-sprung wheels and cradled by heavy leather straps, and a brake lever was placed next to the outside seat. These carriages were meant for use on low speed horse operation railroads and, later, early steam locomotives. The railroad soon learned that these desians were impractical because they were unstable and passengers were discomforted by the hot ash and cinders blowing back in their direction. In addition, railroads found that passengers wanted the freedom to stand up and move around while traveling, which eventually led to the adoption of standard rectangular coaches with center aisles and bench seats.
(From museum label)