View source for Sandusky (locomotive)

{{Infobox Locomotive|
  name=''Sandusky''|
  powertype=Steam|
  whytetype=[[4-2-0]]|
  builder=[[Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works|Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor]]|
  builddate=[[1837]]|
  railroad=[[Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad]]|
  gauge=4&nbsp;[[foot (unit of length)|ft]] 10&nbsp;[[inch|in]] (1,473&nbsp;[[millimetre|mm]])|
  cylindersize=11&nbsp;in (279&nbsp;mm) dia. x 16&nbsp;in (406&nbsp;mm) stroke|
  driversize=4&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in (1,372&nbsp;mm) dia.|
  leadingsize=2&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in (762&nbsp;mm) dia.|
  firstrundate=[[December 2]] [[1837]] in [[Ohio]]|
}}

'''''Sandusky''''' was the name of a steam [[railroad]] [[locomotive]], a [[4-2-0]], built in the [[United States]].  This locomotive included engineering features that hadn't been used before in locomotive construction and it played an integral role in the railroad history of [[Ohio]].

==History==
''Sandusky'' was the first locomotive built by [[Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works|Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor]]; it was completed in [[1837]].  [[Thomas Rogers (locomotive builder)|Thomas Rogers]], the manufacturing company's founder, designed the locomotive.  While some references cite ''Sandusky'' as the first locomotive built in the [[United States]], the ''[[Best Friend of Charleston]]'' is more widely accepted as the first; the ''Best Friend of Charleston'' was built in [[1831]].

The ''Sandusky'', however, was the first locomotive to feature counterweights in its [[driving wheel]]s to offset the force of the piston stroke and the combined weight of the axle, wheels and piston rod against the [[rail tracks|railroad track]].  Rogers filed a [[patent]] for the engine's counterbalance on [[July 12]] [[1837]].  ''Sandusky'' also featured the first use of hollow oval-shaped spokes in its driving wheels.<ref>{{White - History of the American locomotive}} p 177</ref>

While ''Sandusky'' was built for the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company, that railroad never actually purchased the engine.  It was eventually sold to the [[Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad]] (MR&LE), the first railroad built in [[Ohio]].  Through this purchase, ''Sandusky'' earned a couple more firsts &mdash; it became the first locomotive to cross the [[Allegheny Mountains]] (although this crossing was made by river ferry and not by rail) and it was the first locomotive to operate in Ohio.  Its transportation to Ohio was supervised by [[Thomas Hogg (MR&LE)|Thomas Hogg]].  The ''Sandusky'' pulled the first train on the MR&LE from [[Sandusky, Ohio|Sandusky]] to [[Bellevue, Ohio|Bellevue]].

==Timeline==
* [[October 3]] or [[October 6]] [[1837]]: The ''Sandusky'' makes its first trial run between [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]], [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]], and [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]] [[New Jersey]].  Some references cite [[October 3]] while others cite [[October 6]] as the locomotive's first trial operations.
* [[October 14]] [[1837]]: The Mad River & Lake Erie railroad purchases ''Sandusky''.
* [[December 2]] [[1837]]: ''Sandusky'' makes its first run on the MR&LE in [[Ohio]].

==References==
* Moshein, Peter and Rothfus, Robert R., ([[1992]]) Rogers locomotives: A brief history and construction list, ''Railroad History'' (167) 13-147.
* [http://www.steamlocomotive.com/builders/ ''Steam Locomotive Builders'']
* [http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/absa3.Html ''The Evolution of the American Locomotive'']
* [http://www.onebellevue.com/madriver/MR&LERRH.htm Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad History]
* [http://www.onebellevue.com/madriver/MadRiverHogg.html Obituary of Thomas Hogg]
<references />

[[Category:Famous locomotives]]
[[Category:4-2-0 locomotives]]
[[Category:Early steam locomotives]]