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| ID # 890 |
OLD IRONSIDES
Because of the success of Matthias W. Baldwin's first locomotive, a small working model that ran on miniature tracks at the Philadelphia Museum in 1831, officials of the six-mile Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad (now part of the Reading system) ordered a full-size locomotive from him. Baldwin had so much difficulty in finding mechanics and securing tools to build her that he told a friend, "This is our last locomotive." But after completing the engine which was named Old Ironsides, he went on to new triumphs. Eventually he built locomotives for railroads all over the world, gaining a reputation as a builder second to none. Old Ironsides weighed 11,000 pounds, had a crank axle connected to two horizontal cylinders and made 28 miles an hour on a trial run, November 23, 1832, over trackage which previously mounted horse-drawn vehicles.
READING COMPANY
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