The George
Washington, 1836
Source: John White, Jr.
This engraving purports to represent
the George Washington. The remarkable performance
of this machine in surmounting the Belmont incline
on the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in 1836
won an international reputation for its maker, William
Norris of Philadelphia. However, contemporary evidence
shows that the original machine differed in several
important mechanical details, notably inside cylinders.
The engraving does accurately portray a standard
Norris locomotive of about 1840.
One of the most historic events
in railroading history occurred on July 10, 1836,
when the Norris Brothers ran a test of a 4-2-0 locomotive
on the Belmont Inclined Plane of the Philadelphia
and Columbia Railroad. (The two-track incline ran
from the Schuylkill River for 2,805 feet towards
present-day Belmont Avenue, rising one foot in 15
for a total of 187 feet.) Named George Washington,
the 14,400-pound engine hauled a load of 19,200
pounds—including 24 people riding on the tender
and a freight car—up the grade at 15miles
per hour. This engine, the first in the world to
ascend a hill by its own power, proved that a steam
locomotive could climb a grade while pulling a load.
So remarkable was this accomplishment that reports
published in engineering journals emphatically doubted
its occurrence. A second, more formal trial with
an even greater load proved the engine's capabilities
on July 19, 1836
Return to Pictorial Catalogue
of Steam Engines
About
the Hopkin Thomas Project
November 2009