Bulletin - United States National Museum (1956) (14781559661)

Braithwaite, Milner and Co. "Rocket", built in 1838 for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway. It is pictured in 1887 with the cab (and possibly the wheels) added during a renovation in 1868, which included modification from wood to anthracite coal burner, and as a tank locomotive.
Identifier: bulletinunitedst2101956unit (find matches)
Title: Bulletin - United States National Museum
Year: 1877 (1870s)
Authors: United States National Museum Smithsonian Institution United States. Dept. of the Interior
Subjects: Science
Publisher: Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press, (etc.) for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt Print. Off.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries



Text Appearing Before Image:
the opening of thisportion of the road in May 1838. It was first used in passen-ger service in July 1838, but in 1845, as the need grew forheavier motive power, it was relegated to the Constructionand Roadway Department, where it remained in serviceuntil 1865. Next used for a short time to move and assortcars at Reading, it was finally transferred to the wharves atPort Richmond, Philadelphia, where it worked until retire-ment in March 1879, covering during its career some310,164 miles. The Rocket was constructed as a wood burner, but in 1862was modified to burn anthracite coal. At that time it wasalso converted into a tank locomotive, a cab was added, and,it is now thought, the original wheels were replaced by thestandard Philadelphia and Reading wheels shown in figure51. Its present wheels, undoubtedly installed when the loco- Figure 51. — Photo, taken about 1887, of Roclcet as it appeared during finalstages of its life as P & R locomotive No. 1. Note absence of builders plate.
Text Appearing After Image:
motive was refurbished in 1893, are 49V2 inches in diameterand contain 20 round metal spokes staggered around thehub. Published descriptions of the Rocket refer to 41%-inchwheels, but this figure probably applies to an earlier set, pos-sibly that installed in 1862. The Rocket was formerly drivenby all four wheels, but today only the rear two wheels aredrivers. The cylinders of the locomotive, which are inside, have a10V2-inch bore and a 16-inch stroke. The wheelbase is 58inches and the weight was originally 8.4 tons. This wasraised during the 1862 rebuilding to 11.8 tons. The gauge isstandard—56V2 inches. The present smokestack is not orig-inal, and a headlight was not installed until recent years.The tank and cab added in 1862, as well as the bell, wereremoved at the time of the refurbishment. After its retirement in 1879, the Rocket stood neglected atReading until it was placed in condition for exhibition andpermanent preservation at the time of the Worlds Colum-bian Exposition in