The First Steam Locomotive in the U.S. | Mystic Stamp Discovery Center

On August 8, 1829, the Stourbridge Lionbecame the first steam locomotive to be operated in the United States.The locomotive had been built for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company (D&H). The company was founded in 1823 to construct canals between the coalfields near Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and New York City. In 1825, the project’s engineers began to consider using trains to transport the coal to the canal.D&H hired John B. Jervis to serve as their engineer. Jervis later designed the 4-2-0 or Jervis type locomotive. He planned the new line as a gravity railroad, in which the trains would travel along an incline, allowing gravity to move the cars. While this system was little known in the US, it was used in Europe. So D&H sent Deputy Engineer Horatio Allen to England to research trains that could be used in this system.In England, Allen met with the Stephenson family and purchased one locomotive from them. He then met with John Rastrick in the town of Stourbridge and was so impressed...