U. S. railways, hobbled by limited manufacturing…

U. S. railways, hobbled by limited manufacturing capability, begin importing English steam locomotives, one of the first being the “Stourbridge Lion” imported by the Delaware and Hudson Railroad.

The Stourbridge Lion, which has earned the name Lion from the picture of a lion's face that had been painted on the front of the locomotive by its builder, is not only the first locomotive to be operated in the United States, it is also one of the first locomotives to operate outside of England, where it had been manufactured in 1828.

Assembled after shipment at the West Point Foundry in New York where it is first tested under steam in 1829, its first official run takes place on August 8 of this year in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

The locomotive performs admirably, but the track that is built on which to run it is insufficient for the task.

John B. Jervis, who will later become the designer of the 4-2-0 (the Jervis type) locomotive, had in 1827 been named the D & H's chief engineer, Jervis had specified that the locomotives should weigh no more than 4 tons; the Stourbridge Lion weighs nearly double that, 7.5 tons.