1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: show that rides the rails of history every day of 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gabeluesier, and in this episode, we're looking 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: at a peculiar piece of American folklore about the age 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: old battle between muscles and machines. The day was August 7 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, eighteen thirty. American engineer Peter Cooper raced his 8 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: Tom Thumb locomotive against a horse drawn railroad car. The 9 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: impromptu showdown was meant to prove the superiority of steam power, 10 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: and while the Tom Thumb didn't actually win the race 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: due to a mechanical failure, the locomotive's early lead still 12 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:01,279 Speaker 1: convinced railroad officials that steam powered track really was the 13 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: wave of the future. The groundwork for that historic event 14 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: had been laid several years earlier, when the city of Baltimore, Maryland, 15 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: found itself at an economic crossroads. For more than a decade, 16 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: the National Road had linked Baltimore's harbor to the vital 17 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: transportation hub of Wheeling, Virginia now West Virginia, which lies 18 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: along the Ohio River. The federally financed wagon road was 19 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: the fastest, cheapest way to transport goods and raw materials 20 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: from the East Coast to the western territory. But in 21 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: the late eighteen twenties, a new competitor began to eat 22 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: into Baltimore's profits canals. The newly opened Erie Canal had 23 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: given New York City access to the Great Lakes, and 24 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: the planned construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal would 25 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: link the nation's capital to the major trade artery of 26 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: the Ohio River. Baltimore official worried that the new water 27 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: routes might tank the city's economy in the process. Why 28 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: ship your goods through the Baltimore Harbor and then pay 29 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: to have them hauled all the way over to Wheeling 30 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: when you could simply float them through the Chesapeake Bay 31 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: and right into the Ohio River. To combat this financial threat, 32 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: the city's fathers decided to cast their lot with another 33 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: budding form of transportation, the railroad. Former Maryland Senator Charles 34 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: Carroll led the charge, and in eighteen twenty eight he 35 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: teamed with a group of local merchants and bankers to 36 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: create the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, or the B and 37 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: O for short. At the time, rail transport was still 38 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: in its infancy. England had just opened its first steam 39 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: railway in eighteen twenty five, but most American business owners 40 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 1: weren't ready to invest in the experimental and expensive new technology. Instead, 41 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: they built small commercial tracks like the Granite Railway in Massachusetts, 42 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: and used horses to pull wagons with special wheels designed 43 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: to ride on rails. The B and O intended to 44 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: do the same, believing that the sharp curves of its 45 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: route were unsuitable for high speed locomotives, which were typically 46 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: operated over straight lines. The railroad briefly considered using wind 47 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: powered sail cars instead, but when the cars kept tipping 48 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: over in high winds, officials circled back to using trustee 49 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: sturdy horses. The railroad's decision to fore go steam power 50 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: altogether drew concern from Peter Cooper. After making a small 51 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: fortune in glue manufacturing and New York City, Cooper purchased 52 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: three thousand acres of land in Baltimore and developed it 53 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: as the Canton Iron Works. He knew that his property 54 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: would be worth far more if the B and O 55 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: line were successful, so when he saw it struggling along 56 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: with horse drawn carriages, he decided to step in to 57 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: protect his investment. Cooper approached the B and O directors 58 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: and tried to convince them to switch to steam engines, 59 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: but they remained unconvinced that the machines could function along 60 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: their curving tracks. There was also the added cost of 61 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: steam power to consider. At the time, the only steam 62 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: locomotives in the United States had been shipped over from England, 63 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: a much costlier prospect than wrangling up a few horses. 64 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: To prove that steam power really was up to the challenge, 65 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: Cooper volunteered to build a small demonstration locomotive right there 66 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: in Baltimore. B and O took him up on the offer, 67 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: and in the summer of eighteen thirty he began piecing 68 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: together a diminutive steam engine, which he nicknamed Tom Thumb. 69 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: Cooper repurposed an old brass engine for the job, along 70 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: with a set of discarded wheels from the B and 71 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: O Railroad shop. He also constructed a small upright boiler, 72 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: but because he couldn't find iron pipes to fit it, 73 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: he had to fashion boil biler tubes from the barrels 74 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 1: of a pair of muskets. The makeshift locomotive wasn't much 75 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: to look at, but it proved it could get the 76 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: job done. During its first test run on August twenty fourth, 77 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty, Cooper's engine carried a dozen passengers along a 78 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: seven mile run from Baltimore to Relay, Maryland, marking the 79 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: first time that an American built steam locomotive had ever 80 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: operated on a commercial track. Four days later, on August 81 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, Cooper took B and O officials and local 82 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: dignitaries for another ride aboard the Tom Thumb. This time 83 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: they would run the entire thirteen miles of track that 84 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: B and O had completed thus far for its projected 85 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: three hundred and seventy nine mile route. The locomotive itself 86 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: carried six people, including Cooper the engineer, and another eighteen 87 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: passengers were towed behind in an open car. They cruised 88 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: along the track from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills at a 89 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: time top speed of eighteen miles per hour, almost twice 90 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: as fast as a horse drawn wagon, and at every 91 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: curve and bend in the track, the passengers thrilled at 92 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: Tom Thumb's graceful handling. The journey was smooth and uneventful 93 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: all the way there, but on the return trip the 94 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: train was flagged down by a horse drawn railroad car 95 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: waiting on the adjacent twin track. Apparently, the owners of 96 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: the Stockton and Stokes stagecoach company had watched the tom 97 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: Thumb chug by earlier, and knowing it would pass their 98 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 1: way again, they decided to challenge its driver to a 99 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: race to show that horses still ruled the rails. Cooper 100 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,119 Speaker 1: accepted the challenge, and once the tom Thumb had built 101 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: up ahead of steam, it quickly pulled ahead of its 102 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: equine competitor. The tiny engine proceeded to lead the race 103 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: for several minutes, rounding curves at fifteen miles per hour. 104 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: Its victory seemed assured, but then out of nowhere, a 105 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: belt slipped off the blower pulley, causing the engine to 106 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: lose power. Cooper worked as fast as he could to 107 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: make the repair, burning his hand on the red hot 108 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: engine in the process, but by the time he got 109 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: the belt reattached, it was too late. The horse drawn 110 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: car had already crossed the finish line. Tom Thumb had 111 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: lost the race, but the railroad directors didn't let it 112 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: dampen their new found enthusiasm for steam power, they were 113 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: still immensely pleased with the locomotive speed, power, and handling, 114 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: and they knew that with a little tinkering they could 115 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: reduce the chance of another mechanical mishap. The following year, 116 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: B and O showed its commitment to steam power by 117 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: retiring all of its horses and replacing them with a 118 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: new and improved locomotive. The railroad continued its aggressive expansion, 119 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: and by eighteen thirty two its track stretched one hundred 120 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: and thirty seven miles west from Baltimore, making it the 121 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: world's longest stretch of railway at the time. As for 122 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: the Tom Thumb, it was never put into regular service, 123 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: but it continued to carry passengers until B and O's 124 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: new train was ready. After that, Tom Thumb was deemed 125 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: too small to continue using and was ultimately disassembled in 126 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty four. Luckily for train enthusiasts, Peter Cooper later 127 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: wrote a detailed description of his contraption, allowing for the 128 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: creation of several scale replicas, including the one at the 129 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: B and O Museum in Baltimore. All that said, it's 130 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,559 Speaker 1: worth noting that the story of Tom Thumb's big race 131 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: has never been verified through documentation. The first mention of 132 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: the story was at an eighteen sixty eight lecture at 133 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,679 Speaker 1: the Maryland Institute given by John H. B. Latrobe. He 134 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: was one of the B and O officials who would 135 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: rode the train during its test runs in the summer 136 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,199 Speaker 1: of eighteen thirty. Admittedly, it is a bit odd that 137 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: neither La Trobe nor anyone else who was supposed to 138 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: be there ever mentioned the race until nearly four decades later. 139 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: But on the other hand, the horse drawn car is 140 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: said to have won that day, so maybe it's no 141 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: surprise that people connected to the railroad wouldn't be in 142 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: a rush to bring it up. Cooper himself later alluded 143 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: to the race in an eighteen eighty two interview, but 144 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: he didn't go into detail, merely saying that quote it 145 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: didn't amount to anything. It was rather funny, and the 146 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 1: locomotive got out of gear. The race on August twenty 147 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: eighth may not have amounted to anything, if it even 148 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: happened at all, but there's no question that Peter Cooper 149 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: and Tom Thumb helped get the B and O Railroad 150 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,199 Speaker 1: back on track, setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution 151 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: to come. I'm Gay Blues gay, and hopefully you now 152 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 153 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: If you'd like to keep up with the show, you 154 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI 155 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 156 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 1: feel free to send them my way by writing to 157 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazb Bias 158 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 159 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 160 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: in History class.