Grasshopper locomotive

Atlantic
The former Andrew Jackson, rebuilt to resemble the Atlantic, preserved on static display at the B&O Railroad Museum.
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Phineas Davis Build date 1832
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-4-0 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Loco weight 6.5 short tons (5.9 t; 5.8 long tons) Fuel type anthracite coal Boiler pressure 50 psi (340 kPa) Cylinders 2
Performance figures Power output 63 hp (47 kW) Tractive effort 1,570 lbf (7,000 N)
Career Operators Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Nicknames "Grasshopper" Retired 1835 Disposition scrapped

Atlantic was the name of a very early American steam locomotive built by inventor and foundry owner Phineas Davis for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1832. It is in fact the first commercially successful and practical American built locomotive and class prototype, and Davis' second constructed for the B&O, his first having won a design competition contest announced by the B&O in 1830.

Built at a cost of $4,500, the Atlantic weighed 6.5 short tons (5.9 t; 5.8 long tons) and had two vertical cylinders. It was commissioned after Davis' entry had won the competition for a steam locomotive design, but the contract was awarded to the inventor of the Tom Thumb; when the five locomotives commissioned failed the contracted delivery, B&O bought out the patents. A few of these were incorporated in the Atlantic by Davis, whether by specification or because Davis wanted them is unclear. The locomotives he delivered before his death in 1835 were the first commercially feasible, sufficiently efficient coal burning steam locomotives produced domestically in the United States and placed into traction service.

Ox teams were used to convey the engine to Baltimore, where it made a successful inaugural trip to Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, a distance of thirteen miles (21 km). Nicknamed the 'Grasshopper' for its distinctive horizontal beam and long connecting rods, the locomotive carried 50 psi (345 kPa; 3.45 bar) of steam and burned one short ton (0.91 t; 0.89 long tons) of anthracite coal on a 40-mile (64 km) trip from Baltimore. Satisfied with this locomotive's operations, the B&O built 20 more locomotives of a similar design at its Mt. Clare shops in Baltimore. Despite this success, the Atlantic prototype engine was scrapped in 1835 after the death of Phineas Davis. The reason was unclear.