Ohio State School for the Blind Tom Thumb locomotive   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: Photograph of a Tom Thumb Locomotive replica from a collection of models for the Ohio State School for the Blind. The Tom Thumb, the first-American built steam locomotive, built by wealthy New Yorker, Peter Cooper in 1830. Copper and others designed the little engine that weighted barely a ton. The locomotive was not expected to succeed on a road with grades and sharp curves, but in August 1830 the locomotive succeeded in hauling 4 1/2 tons, at a speed of 12 to 15 miles an hour, around curves and up grades. The Tom Thumb was built to demonstrate and convince owners of the Baltimore to Ohio Railroad, the first in the United State, to use steam engines. The Tom Thumb is most remembered for its race with a horse-drawn car in which it lost due to a belt slip from the drum that drove the blower. Later races demonstrated the Tom Thumb defeating the horse-drawn car by great distances. Model dimensions: length 14", width 4", height 10". Photographs and descriptions of a few models were included in the book "Models for the Blind," compiled by workers of the Ohio Writers' Program. The book was meant as a guide, to be used in the building and study of models, and as documentation of the achievements at the Ohio State School for the Blind. The models were a result of research, design and construction by employees of the Works Projects Administration. Models were made of durable materials to withstand regular usage. The average cost of labor for larger models was $45. A special room was built to store the models where teachers could borrow them to be used in classroom instruction. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B11F02_013_001
Subjects: United States. Work Projects Administration; Blind--Education--Ohio; Ohio State School for the Blind; Locomotives
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)