Looking for info (photos/drawings) about the B&O Grasshopper engine

[peteski]

Wasn't there a long trainboard thread about building a AFT? Perhaps the author could be of assistance...

Yeah, I discovered it several years ago (that is how I found out about the decal set available for the AFT). Not cheap, but wonderfully made with excellent instructions.  I actually found some dimensional discrepancies with the set which were corrected and I was given the corrected replacements.

But I don't recall much info about the Grasshopper in that AFT build thread.  Maybe I need to revisit that too. This is my long time project which I revisit from time to time.

[Chris333]

In 1832, Phineas Davis and Israel Gartner developed their first "Grasshopper" type locomotive, the No. 2 "Atlantic," in the Mt. Clare shops. These locomotives were called "Grasshoppers" because the long vertical rods resembled enlarged mechanical insect legs when in motion. They comprised the B&O's first operational fleet of steam locomotives. Although the "Grasshopper" design was short lived, a number of these locomotives were used well into the second half of the 19th century. The original "Atlantic" was scrapped in 1835.

Andrew Jackson, the first sitting president to use a railroad, rode behind the "Atlantic" in 1833.

The "Andrew Jackson" was completed at the Mt. Clare shops in 1836 by Ross Winans and George Gillingham. The "Andrew Jackson" operated until 1892 when it was altered to resemble the original No. 2 for an exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The "Andrew Jackson" has been known as the "Atlantic" ever since the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The cab and side rods were removed to represent the Atlantic of 1832 and it was renumbered as the "No.2" in January of 1884.

[peteski]

Ah, that explains it. So Grasshopper is just engine type (like Mikado or Northern).

[Chris333]

Yeah and the "Atlantic" was scrapped so the "Andrew Jackson" was changed to look like the Atlantic for the fair. Looks like the Atlantic was B&O's 3rd loco ever and the Andrew Jackson was their 14th.

Here:
http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/jack/jack.htm
Loco #7 (Some locos didn't have numbers) is the Andrew Jackson. They took the rear cab off and did other stuff to make it look like the Atlantic.

BIG photo here:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/17486?size=_original#caption

[peteski]

Nice finds Chris!  I like the the photo showing how tiny the Atlantic is compared to a more modern loco. Speaking of which, I like the Shriners decorations on it.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I looked at my book of B&O drawings. Nothing older than a P-7 pacific.

[Chris333]

Hey look even video of it running:

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Good side shot here:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dD3ZuV0jHew/Tz_qM6ovfHI/AAAAAAAADe8/NlC73fLbk8A/s1600/IMG_4910_1.jpg

[peteski]

Thanks again!  I think the reason I didn't have much luck finding info was because I was searching for B&O Grasshopper (not Atlantic).

[Chris333]

Can you scale from a stamp