Introduction of the Locomotive Safety Truck

Introduction of the Locomotive Safety Truck is Paper 24 by John H. White, in Contributions from The Museum of History and Technology. The paper says that pioneer railroading was dangerous, and that with increased speed and density of traffic came an increase in catastrophic wrecks that forced operators to take heed for the safety of their passengers and freight. The text says the first locomotives used in this country had been imported from England and, designed for well-ballasted track with large-radius curves and gentle gradients, all too frequently left the rails.

A figure shows a design drawing of the 4-wheel leading truck, developed in 1831 by John B. Jervis, applied to the Brother Jonathan. The British journal Engineering, in an article otherwise friendly to the inventor, expressed some skepticism as to the real merit of Hudson’s invention. The text says that by 1860 there had been perfected and adopted a successful 4-wheel safety truck for 4-4-0’s and 4-6-0’s used in general mixed and passenger service.