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John H. White

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Title: Introduction of the Locomotive Safety Truck
Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology: Paper 24

Author: John H. White

Release Date: May 12, 2008 [EBook #25454]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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INTRODUCTION OF
THE LOCOMOTIVE
SAFETY TRUCK

_by John H. White_

Paper 24 pages 117-131, from
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM
OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Bulletin 228

Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C., 1961

Contributions from
The Museum of History and Technology:
Paper 24

Introduction of
The Locomotive Safety Truck

_John H. White_

INTRODUCTION OF
THE LOCOMOTIVE SAFETY TRUCK

_John H. White_

_Pioneer railroading was dangerous. With increased speed and density
of traffic came an increase in catastrophic wrecks that forced
operators to take heed for the safety of their passengers and
freight. This safety was painfully achieved through the slow process
of improving equipment part by part._

_Antedating such spectacular post-Civil War advances as the steel
rail, automatic coupler, and airbrake, was the invention of the
safety truck for locomotives. Intended to lead the bobbing, weaving
locomotive around curves on the rough track of the early roads, it
did much to reduce the all too numerous derailments that were a
major cause of accidents._

The Author: _John H. White, is associate curator, in charge of land
transportation, in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History
and Technology, United States National Museum._

American railroads of the early 19th century were cheaply and hastily
built. They were characterized by inferior roadbeds, steep grades, sharp
curves, and rough track. In spring, poor drainage and lack of ballast
might cause the track to sink into the s