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• circa 1904
• Collections - Artifact

Michigan Central Steam Locomotive, "An Engineer at His Post," circa 1904

This circa 1904 photograph shows a train engineer in a Michigan Central Railroad locomotive. The company had lines throughout Michigan's Lower Peninsula running from Detroit to Chicago and north to Mackinaw City.

• circa 1905
• Collections - Artifact

Steam Train Traveling Through the Countryside, circa 1905

For nearly thirty years, 1895 to 1924, the Detroit Publishing Company was one of the major image publishers in the world. The company had a wide-ranging stock of original photographs, including this image of a steam locomotive chugging across the North American countryside. It pulls a short load: just one passenger car and a caboose.

• 1882
• Collections - Artifact

Steam Engine Lubricator, 1882

African American mechanical engineer Elijah McCoy patented this version of his of lubricator in 1882. The many moving parts on a steam locomotive required constant lubrication, and crews had to apply oil regularly. McCoy's lubricator automatically deposited metered amounts of oil, reducing the need for manual lubrication.

• 1902
• Collections - Artifact

American Locomotive Company Steam Locomotive, 1902

The American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, built this locomotive in 1902. It is a 4-4-2 Atlantic type, with four leading wheels, four driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. The Atlantic was designed to pull light wooden passenger cars at high speeds. This locomotive operated on the Michigan Central Railroad's Detroit-Chicago line until heavier steel cars made it obsolete.

• July 01, 1941
• Collections - Artifact

Replica of 1831 "DeWitt Clinton" Steam Locomotive in Greenfield Village, 1941

This replica of the DeWitt Clinton steam locomotive was built by the New York Central Railroad for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The original locomotive was built in 1831 and operated on the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, an NYC predecessor.

• January 13, 1922
• Collections - Artifact

Davenport Saddle Tank Switching Locomotive, 0-4-0 ST, 1922

This locomotive was built for industrial switching service. Its gauge -- the width between its wheels -- is just two feet rather than the standard four feet, eight and one-half inches. Instead of using a conventional separate tender, the locomotive carried water in a tank set atop its boiler and coal in a bin on the left side of its cab.

• August 16, 1932
• Collections - Artifact

Manchester Locomotive at Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, August 1932

Henry Ford acquired this 0-4-0 steam locomotive in 1932. The engine was built in the 1870s by Manchester Locomotive Works of Manchester, New Hampshire. Ford had the engine rebuilt at Ford Motor Company's Rouge locomotive shop, converting it to a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement in the process. The locomotive, renamed Edison, later operated on Greenfield Village's Weiser Railroad.

• November 03, 1969
• Collections - Artifact

Torch Lake Steam Locomotive Loaded on a Flatcar for Transport from Ahmeek Mine near Calumet, Michigan, November 1969

Built by Mason Machine Works in 1873, the steam locomotive Torch Lake was used in copper mining operations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula until 1933. The Henry Ford acquired the locomotive in 1969. After its arrival here, the engine was returned to operating condition and put into service on the Greenfield Village railroad.

• 1956
• Collections - Artifact

Allegheny Steam Locomotive in Greenfield Village, 1956

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway's Allegheny steam locomotive #1601 joined The Henry Ford's collection in a ceremony at Smiths Creek Depot in July 1956. C&O president Walter Tuohy presented the engine on behalf of the railroad while museum director Donald Shelley and board president William Clay Ford graciously accepted it. The Allegheny has been a visitor favorite ever since.

• September 20, 1836
• Collections - Artifact

Letter from F.M. Guyonneau De Pambour to John Dixon, 1836