Tom Thumb (locomotive)

The Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad. Designed and built by Peter Cooper in 1830, it was intended to demonstrate the feasibility of using steam engines on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). The B&O was initially reliant on horse-drawn cars.

The Tom Thumb was a small, experimental locomotive, utilizing a vertical boiler and powered by anthracite coal. Its trial run involved a race against a horse-drawn car on a stretch of the B&O line. While the Tom Thumb initially pulled ahead, a mechanical failure involving a slipped belt on the blower for the boiler caused it to lose the race.

Despite the loss, the Tom Thumb proved the practicality of steam power for rail transport to the B&O's management and investors. It paved the way for the railroad's adoption of steam locomotives, leading to significant advancements in railway technology and contributing to the expansion of railroads throughout the United States. The Tom Thumb itself was not commercially produced, but its success spurred further development and competition in the design and manufacture of locomotives.