Many of you have probably read that Peter Cooper's experimental steam locomotive, used briefly on the B&O, was actually NOT called the Tom Thumb during its lifetime. The name probably came into common use decades later.

Here's a challenge for the 19th century steam buffs on this list: Find the earliest documented source that links Cooper's engine with the name "Tom Thumb". No prize for the winner, but it should prove interesting.

tr2manz@frontiernet.net

Judging by the overwhelming number of nonresponses, I guess this will be one of those eternal mysteries. For whatever it's worth, I believe that P.T.Barnum introduced his famous "Tom Thumb" in 1842, and although I think the name goes further back than that, I'd imagine that it wasn't a household word in the U.S. until after Barnum's prize exhibit appeared. So let's start with 1842 as the earliest possible date. I've read that the name for Cooper's engine may have originated with J. H. B. Latrobe's famous (or infamous) 1868 speech, which was the first reference anywhere to the race with the horse. (And let's not get into that question.) But I've never seen a full printed text of Latrobe's speech, so I'm not even sure he used the name.

> Many of you have probably read that Peter
> Cooper's experimental steam locomotive, used
> briefly on the B&O, was actually NOT
> called the Tom Thumb during its lifetime.
> The name probably came into common use
> decades later.

> Here's a challenge for the 19th century
> steam buffs on this list: Find the earliest
> documented source that links Cooper's engine
> with the name "Tom Thumb". No
> prize for the winner, but it should prove
> interesting.


herbhar@yahoo.com