American Locomotives: An Engineering History, 1830-1880

xxiii, 504 pp. In 1835, there were 175 steam locomotives in service in the United States. By 1900, that number had increased to 37,663. In this newly revised and expanded edition of his classic work, renowned railroad historian John H. White, Jr., chronicles the explosive growth and development of the steam locomotive in America -- from the first British imports to the New York elevated locomotives of the 1880s -- and adds more than fifty new pages of superb illustrations and text. Beginning with the early era of locomotive design, White describes the background and methods of the first American builders, the special requirements of American railroads, construction materials, locomotive types, performance, and costs. He then turns to the development of individual components: boilers and running gears, headlights and cowcatchers, sandboxes, bells, and whistles. Throughout, remarkably detailed scale drawings -- many reproduced from the original working drawings -- illustrate design features and modifications.