Invention: Steam Locomotive Inventor: Peter Cooper Date of Invention: 1830 Location of Invention: Maryland and Ohio
Background: A version of the steam engine has been around since the 1600's. Over the years, several inventors have worked to improve the inner workings of the steam engine so that it could provide better transportation. The steam engine is powered by steam from water. The idea is that water will be heated in a boiler, as the water gets hot, steam will raise into different pipes to turn pistons that would then turn the wheels on the vechile.
In 1830, Peter Cooper was able to take a steam engine and put it in a locomotive (train). The landscape of America was changing, more and more people were beginning to move west and people despised the long journey it could be. Railroads began to criss-cross the country because they allowed for faster transportation. Many of the railroad tracks went up, down, and around hills. The trains could be too heavy for the engines to make it up the hill effectively. Cooper saw this problem and put his mind to the task of creating an engine that would do the job. In 1830, Cooper created a steam locomative known as "Tom Thumb," whose engine was powered by steam.
"Tom Thumb" was a four-wheel locomative with a vertical boiler and vertically mounted cylinders that drove the wheels.
Signifiance: The creation of a steam locomative made it easier to connect cities together, the train allowed for increased trade rates and passanger travel because the train was a faster way to travel.
Due to most factories being located in the north, and the north having a higher population than the south, the north thrived with the steam locomative. The economy of the north increased due to being able to trade with more people in a faster way.