In 1830 the first Steam Locomotive was put into operation on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The locomotive was called the Tom Thumb carried 36 passengers at a speed of 18 mph. This locomotive was not very impressive, but it opened the way for more locomotives to follow. Then in 1831 The De Whitt Clinton hauled 5 stage coach bodies mounted on railroad wheels, and traveled at a speed of 25 mph. The locomotives became bigger and more powerful, and by 1932 the first 4-4-0 was unveiled, with a speed of 60 mph. In 1869 the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific meet at Promontory Summit in Utah, where the golden spike was driven on May 10th. On May 10th 1893 #999 reached a speed of 112.5 mph on a downhill grade. The famous Casey Jones rode the Cannonball into history a Vaughn Mississippi on April 30, 1900. The Steam Locomotives are etched in the history of the United State. Even though, the Steam Locomotive were massive machines that built America, they were also, considered to be elegant machines moving goods and passengers across this great land.
Although; the great steam era is a part of the past it can still be enjoyed in model steam trains. You can bring back that great eras with 4-8-8-4 Big Boy pulling a string of freight cars up a mountain side, with black smoke pouring out of the smoke stack as the massive engine huff and puffs its way to the top of the mountain. Off in the distance is a Shay locomotive pulling log cars down the mountain to a saw mill below. Up the other side of the mountain a 4-8-4 steams along with a string of passenger cars following behind, carrying people across the country to new homes, or back home from a job far away, or even family members traveling back home for a family reunion.
In the small town at foot of the mountain a 2-4-2 is waiting for the passengers to load and unload at the depot. Where the porters are busy making sure everybody luggage is loaded or unloaded onto the train. Out in the switch yard beyond the trains station there is a couple of steam locomotives moving cars from one track to another in order to make up a freight train for the next through freight train to pick up and carry on up the line where customers are waiting for the freight on these cars. There are cars loaded with lumber for a new housing project in a faraway city. Some cares are loaded with grain to feed the livestock on farms across the country. Also, you can find train cars loaded with steel on its way to a factory to build bigger and better locomotive and rolling stock for the railroads.
Therefore; you see that it is possible to live in the great eras of steam trains, even if it is in a miniature version of the real thing. The model railroads are a great way to escape from the day-to-day grind of the modern world we live in. So if you would like to travel back in time, just build yourself a model train layout representing what time in history you would like to be in. As always when modeling a train layout, be sure you have lots of fun.
Model for fun,
Steve Barnett
Steve Barnett is a model train expert. For more information on Bachmann model trains, visit [http://trainmodelingbook.com/]
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