B&O Grasshopper Questions

Try planning a visit to the wonderful B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.

The engine is there to examine, and the people who volunteer there will

gladly share all that they know.

It's a great museum to visit, and the Baltimore Streetcar Museum is close by.

Lee

You might want to check out SMR models: http://www.smrtrains.com/grass...hopperlocomotive.htm

There are three grasshoppers at the museum that when examined nicely show how the design advanced and matured over time (including the addition of a crude cab for the crew).  I believe they are all slide valves.  The drive/gearing system changes over time as well.

Bob

If you're going to make a model in O gauge, I suspect any valve gear will be nearly invisible anyway, and certainly non-operable...so why bother trying to model it?

I think you will find your project challenging. 

All of the surviving Grasshoppers have been heavily rebuilt, as you might expect from engines which had an operating lifetime in the 60-year range.  They have extended frames, rebuilt boilers, major early components removed, new components added.  So your best bet is to decided what period your model will represent.  Mine (SMR) will represent the engine on early period mainline service (late 1830s).  As such it will have things like a wood-lagged boiler, steam-powered forced draft, no cab and a tender.  If you use the B&O's "John Hancock" display engine you will be building an 1890s tank-engine yard goat.  If you decide to build their "Atlantic" engine, you will be building a "concept" engine, the "Andrew Jackson" rebuilt in 1893 to resemble (somewhat) the original Grasshopper, pulling some stagecoach cars which are fascinating but also represent a very brief, but colorful, historical reality.  BTW, in addition to the engines in Baltimore, there is also one on display in Ohio.

The hopper's valve gear is very simple and operated by pedals (its really just a reverse mechanism), but overall the engine itself is very complex to model with many moving parts.

Have Fun!

If any of you plan to attend the York Meet next week, check out the various updates on SMR's Grasshopper project at our booth in Orange Hall, AA-01.  I will also be giving a presentation of our new projects at the OGR Forum on Friday.  See you there!  Dave

PS:  SMR is only building 65, MADE IN USA, hand-built brass models (both 2- and 3-rail combined).  41 are already reserved.  Delivery this Spring.  Priced less than many major manufacturer's China-built-by-the-thousands engines.  Check out my web site, www.smrtrains.com for details.

Ordinarily I would recommend John White's excellent History of the American Locomotive for anything dealing with pre 1875 American locomotives.  Unfortunately White's emphasis was on development of standard locomotives, so more unique designs such as the Grasshopper only gets minor mentions.  However you might still find it useful in helping to understand how locomotive components developed.