DeWitt Clinton Steam Locomotive As-Built Condition 1831

This model represents the famous locomotive DeWitt Clinton, the fourth full-size locomotive built in the United States, the third to go into regular scheduled service, and the first to run in the state of New York. The locomotive was built in 1831 to the designs of Adam Hall, chief engineer of the West Point Foundry. It was ordered by John B. Jervis for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad.

This model is the result of several years of research and shows DeWitt Clinton in its original, as-built form. The large steam dome seen on the replica locomotive, and in most illustrations of the original was not added to the locomotive until the middle of August 1831, after weeks of trial runs showed problems with water getting into the cylinders of the locomotive. This original, domeless form of the locomotive has never before been available as a model. It is scaled from copies of the original drawings from West Point Foundry, with additional details from later depictions of the loco to fill in any blanks (the WPF drawings show only mechanical and structural details, so things like the footplate, etc. are not present in them).

This model is intended to take the wheels and siderods of the Bachmann DeWitt Clinton (still available on the parts list of their website, or used on ebay). The axle opening may need to be reamed with a needle file to get achieve smooth running.

This model is not intended to be powered, but can be pushed along by a suitable powered tender mechanism.