Henry Roe Campbell (September 9, 1807 – February 6, 1879) was an American surveyor and civil engineer. Campbell contributed to American railroading and bridge-building in the first half of the 19th century. Campbell patented his 4-4-0 design in February 1836, just a few months before the patent law was changed to require that claims include proof of originality or novelty. The 4-4-0 or American type steam locomotive was the most popular wheel arrangement in 19th century American railroads and was widely copied. White noted that the design was successful because it "... met every requirement of early United States railroads". At the end of Campbell's career. a Harper's Magazine article in March 1879 noted that the impact Campbell's design played in railroad development in the United States when it wrote: Not only did the new American Type steam locomotive deliver more horsepower, tractive effort, and reliability it also laid the groundwork for locomotive engineering in the 19th century with boilers mounted horizontally (instead of vertically), smoke stacks mounted vertically at the front to expel the smoke and cinders away from the crew and passengers. This design also provided greater protection with an enclosed cab and many other features including things like cowcatchers, front-mounted headlamps/lights, etc.). While Campbell's 4-4-0 design was less attractive by the end of the 19th century as more powerful locomotives took their place such as the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement and Consolidations of the 2-8-0 wheel arrangement even though some 4-4-0s remained in service into the 1940s, over 100 years after the design was initially conceived.

Early life and works

Henry Roe Campbell was born on September 9, 1807 in

Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state. Schopp posted in an email additional biographical data Amos Campbell was a bridge builder and of Scottish descent, settled in Pennsylvania in 1837. His mother's family, the Roe's were among the early settlers of New Jersey. Henry was one of nine children in the family. Henry's brother John D. Campbell (1821–1863) would also go on to become a civil engineer while helping his brother Henry construct bridges for the Vermont Central Railroad, and then went on to become superintendent of the

Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833 and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the ...

. Henry Roe Campbell married Sidney Boyd of Lancaster, Pa. in 1833. Henry met Sidney while he worked on the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad. Two are their sons were Joseph Boyd Campbell (1836-1891), a graduate of West Point (Class of 1861) and civil war veteran (Battle of Antietam) and Henry Roe Campbell Jr., who was also involved in railroads and civil engineering.

Covered bridge builder

His father, Amos Campbell, was a well-known

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

builder using

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

's patented lattice truss bridge. Starting in 1820, the father, a master carpenter, built covered bridges over the Delaware ( Centre bridge - 1840), Schuylkill and Conestoga Rivers. In 1849, at age 70, Amos traveled to Maumee, Ohio to erect the largest covered bridge he had ever built. As a young person, Henry Campbell learned architecture and civil engineering while working as an apprentice to his father. 2016-09-30 PGN First Locomotive from Baldwin Campbell

2016-09-30 PGN First Locomotive from Baldwin Campbell

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad

In April 1828, Major John A. Wilson, US Army Corps of Engineers was charged with locating the route of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

between

Columbia, Pennsylvania Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, ac ...

and Philadelphia, with a survey party that included among others John Edgar Thomson, future Pennsylvania railroad engineer and president, assistant engineers; John P. Baily, Samuel W. Mifflin (18051885), future chief engineer of the Huntington and Broad Top Railroad, Major Wilson's son and future PRR executive, William Hasell Wilson, and Campbell. Henry R. Campbell remained on the Columbia Railway as assistant and principal assistant engineer until February, 1832, when he received the appointment of chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad.

Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad

In 1832 Campbell became the chief engineer of the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad (PG&N).

Herman Haupt Herman Haupt (March 26, 1817 – December 14, 1905) was an American civil engineer and railroad construction engineer and executive. As a Union Army General officer, General during the American Civil War, he revolutionized U.S. military transpo ...

, fresh out of West Point, served Campbell as an apprentice on the PG&N. During this period, Campbell became quite busy designing other rail lines and structures while still employed as the PG&N's chief engineer. He drafted plans for a bridge on the

Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad The Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad was chartered on April 14, 1832. It completed between Troy and Ballston Spa on March 19, 1836. The railroad was largely conceived and built by businessmen of Troy in response to Albany's construction of the ...

in New York. He also served as engineer for the West Philadelphia railroad in 1835-1836. Campbell resigned his position with the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad in 1839 to become an independent civil engineer, taking on a variety of projects such as engineering the Norristown & Valley Railroad.

West Philadelphia Railroad

The West Philadelphia Railroad as conceived of as a way to eliminate the use of an inclined plane (

Belmont Plane The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various long-proposed can ...

) on the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad. In March 1835, Campbell reported on his engineering recommendations for the proposed railroad alignment starting near the Columbia Bridge over the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

and converged with the existing State owned railway on Lancaster pike. The total length of the alignment as proposed varied from 8 to 9 miles with a practical grade of 40 feet per mile.

Camden & Woodbury Railroad

With his father, Amos Campbell, Campbell constructed the 8-mile Camden & Woodbury Railroad which opened on January 29, 1838.

Gettysburg Railroad

Working for the State of Pennsylvania, Campbell drafted a map and profile of the proposed Gettysburg Railroad in Pennsylvania in 1839.

Locomotive designer and builder

1836 Campbell 4-4-0 Steam Locomotive patent

One of the most visually striking features of a steam locomotive is its ''

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

'' which is largely a function of its intended application and purpose. The fundamental principle of design for 19th century steam locomotives was

tractive force As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...

which relies on

adhesion Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another ( cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles/surfaces to cling to one another). The forces that cause adhesion and cohesion can b ...

. A switching locomotive for example, is relatively low-powered but with a high starting tractive effort for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. These locomotives are geared to produce high torque but are restricted to low top speeds and have small diameter driving wheels. Switchers are rail analogs to tugboats. For higher speeds, larger boilers were required which in turn led to the development of lead trucks. Prior to 1832, the typical locomotive for general road service on American roads was a

2-2-0 Under Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and no trailing wheels. This configuration, which became very ...

which could be built with either inside or outside steam cylinders. The critical element of the design was the single pair of driving wheels placed either in front of the firebox, as in the Norris engines, or in back of the firebox, as patented in 1834 by E. L. Miller and used extensively by in the Baldwin engines. The key constraint in this approach was that it had limited traction because of the single driver. These locomotives were equally characterized by both axles, powered or unpowered, being of equal size. Even though the locomotive had the 2-2-0 designation, the leading axle was unpowered and not a lead truck. During this period, Baldwin had already assembled one British locomotive, the ''Delaware'' for the Newcastle and Frenchtown railroad and made a detailed inspection of another, the

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...

intended for the

Camden and Amboy railroad The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...

. It was ready for its American design locomotive. In 1832, Campbell was chief engineer for the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad when that line first adopte
steam power
with the delivery of Matthias Baldwin's first locomotive,"'' old ironsides''" an

with 54 inch diameter driving wheels, 45 inch lead wheels and 9.5 inch cylinders that was a copy of

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father ...

's "

Planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

" locomotive. Baldwin experienced considerable difficulties before the locomotive performed satisfactorily, but the difficulties encountered were as nothing compared with those the English builders had to overcome. Baldwin's locomotive traversed one mile in 58 seconds. Still, Baldwin's problems arose from defective exhaust pipes, valve gear and steam joints, all required reconstruction. Baldwin was forced to wait on payment and in the end took a $500 penalty on the price. As a design, Baldwin never repeated it as the locomotive amply demonstrated the problems with using rigid British locomotives on American railroads. This Baldwin delivery was only one year after the

Best Friend of Charleston The ''Best Friend of Charleston'' was a steam-powered railroad locomotive widely considered the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States for revenue service. It produced the first locomotive boiler explosion in the United St ...

was built, the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States for revenue service. It also produced the first locomotive boiler explosion in the US. Over the next five years, the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad with Campbell as Chief Engineer would take delivery of the following locomotives, all 2-2-0s: * Old Ironsides 10 hp Baldwin 1832 * Sampson 12 hp Newcastle Co. 1832 * Velocity 12 hp

West Point Foundry The West Point Foundry was a major American ironworking and machine shop site in Cold Spring, New York, operating from 1818 to about 1911. Initiated after the War of 1812, it became most famous for its production of Parrott rifle artillery and ot ...

1834 * Star 8 hp Wm. Norris 1834 * Eagle 20 hp Baldwin 1835 * Arrow 10 hp Newcastle Co. 1835 * Arabian 20 hp Baldwin 1836 The problem with these locomotives was weight distribution. This concern influenced Campbell to design a locomotive that would be easy on American track which was relatively light and very flexible. By 1835, strap rails laid on wooden stringers were still the rule, and the Beaver Meadow railroad which was the site of the recent improvements with Jervis' 4-2-0, was considered particularly substantial with strap rails, 2.5 inches wide, laid on substantial pine stringers. Campbell's solution to the problem of weight distribution and tractive effort was to develop two coupled drivers, one in front of the boiler and one at the rear with a two axle lead truck. With the issuance of his patent in 1836, Campbell worked with James Brooks to build the first 4-4-0 using his idea. Although it proved to develop 60 percent more tractive effort than the Standard Baldwin 4-2-0, it was not widely adopted. This was largely because of the rigid frame which did not allow for maintaining equal weight on the drivers and it was prone to derail. This problem was solved by Joseph Harrison Jr., partner in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

steam locomotive manufacturing firm of Eastwick and Harrison with the development of the

equalising beam An equalising beam, equalising lever or equalising barOr "equalizing" beam,etc. (german: Ausgleichshebel or ''Ausgleichhebel'') links the suspension of two or more adjacent axles of a vehicle with more than two axles, especially railway locomotiv ...

. Campbell tried to sue Eastwick for patent infringement With no success. By 1840, Campbell established his own locomotive works in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. Campbell then engineered and built three locomotives for the

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (P&CR) (1834) was one of the earliest commercial railroads in the United States, running from Philadelphia to Columbia, Pennsylvania, it was built by the Pennsylvania Canal Commission in lieu of a canal from Colu ...

. These locomotives weighed thirteen tons, cylinders were twelve and a-half inches in diameter; stroke was sixteen inches, driving wheels fifty-four inches diameter, and capable of transporting from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and forty tons over the road. Several years later in 1843, Campbell sued Locks and Canals over its production of 4-4-0 locomotives with an unknown degree of success. Campbell's design with Harrison's equalizer as a concept was criticized at first by the other locomotive builders. But by 1845, the advantages were apparent and Matthias Baldwin unable to sell any of its proprietary 4-2-0 designs, bought the Campbell and Harrison patents. This ended Campbell's career as a locomotive builder.

Vermont Central Railroad

By the late 1840s, Campbell had left Philadelphia for New England, where he worked as chief engineer for the Vermont Central Railroad and the Vermont & Canada Railroad. He designed and constructed many covered bridges in New England and became known as the bridge-builder of New England.

Philadelphia and Erie Railroad

During the 1860s, Campbell returned to Pennsylvania and continued to accept a variety of bridge and construction contracts. Campbell was resident engineer for the construction by the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad of a freight classification yard and repair facility at Renovo, Pennsylvania in 1866.

Keystone Bridge Company

In 1875, Campbell working for

Keystone Bridge Company Keystone or key-stone or ''variation'', may refer to: * Keystone (architecture), a central stone or other piece at the apex of an arch or vault * Keystone (cask), a fitting used in ale casks Business * Keystone Law, a full-service law firm * D ...

, completed what was then attributed to be the longest swing-span movable bridge (472 feet in length) in the world at Perth Amboy in New Jersey but the harsh winter weather of that project eventually caused his demise.

Works

* Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Rail Road Company., Campbell, H. R., & Strickend, W. (1833). Report and estimates of the engineers of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Rail-Road Company. Philadelphia: publisher not identified. * The Committee on Science and the Arts constituted by the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the promotion of the Mechanic Arts to whom was referred for examination a Spirit Level invented by Mr Henry R Campbell of Philadelphia. (1835) * Campbell, H. R., Kramm, G., & Lehman & Duval Lithrs. (1835). Plan of the West-Philadelphia Rail-Road. Philadelphia: Lehman & Duval Lithrs. For Map see thi
website
* West Philadelphia Rail Road Company. First annual report of the West Philadelphia Rail Road Company. Philadelphia, 1835. 9pp. Source Library:The American Antiquarian Society * Campbell, H. R. (1837) Report of Surveys Made to Avoid the Inclined Plane Upon and for the Improvement of the Columbia and Philadelphia Rail Road; by Order of the Canal Commissioners of the State of Pennsylvania. A. Seyfert & Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. * Campbell, H. R., & Gettysburg Railroad. (1839). Map and profile of the Gettysburg Rail Road as surveyed by order of the legislature of Pennsylvania, 1839. Philadelphia. * Strickland, W., Gill, E. H., & Campbell, H. R. (1841). Reports, specifications, and estimates of public works in the United States of America: Comprising the Philadelphia gas works ;

reservoir dam A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

across the Swatara ; twin locks on the Schuylkill Canal ; Delaware Breakwater ; Philadelphia Water Works ; dam and lock on the

Sandy and Beaver Canal The Sandy and Beaver Canal was a canal and lock transportation system which ran seventy-three miles from the Ohio and Erie Canal at Bolivar, Ohio, to the Ohio River at Glasgow, Pennsylvania. It was chartered in 1828 and completed twenty years l ...

; dam on the

James River and Kanawha Canal The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a ...

, Virginia ; locks of eight feet lift, on the same aqueducts across Rivanna River and Byrd Creek, on the same ; superstructure, etc., of farm bridges, on the same ; lock gates and mitre sills. London: J. Weale. US11003-1854

Patents

Campbell received two patents for his work: * Patent No. 9,355 For the 4-4-0 Locomotive configuration. This locomotive had a three-point suspension and a leading truck and operated well on uneven tracks as well as powerful because of its four connected driving wheels. * Patent No. 11,003 which was for a double rail system of inverted "U" rails where the flange on the carriage wheel rode between the rails such that it allowed the flanges of the wheels to run freely between them.

Legacy

While Campbell originally conceived of and patented the 4-4-0 design and would later sue for any patent infringement, he originally included a rigid front truck which could not successfully negotiate curves in the rails or uneven track. The Eastwick & Harrison Company beat him to the punch on this much needed design improvement, delivering its first, the Hercules (locomotive) to the Beaver Meadow Railroad in 1837. A number of American Type steam locomotives have been preserved and a few even remain in operation. *Baltimore & Ohio Railroad #25, the

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

o
exhibition
in Baltimore, Maryland at the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balt ...

built in 1856, used in "

The Great Locomotive Chase ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions, based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the fil ...

, and later the movie ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

''. Second oldest operating locomotive after KFNB Licaon in Western Hemisphere, and third oldest in the world after the 1855 ''

Fairy Queen In folklore and literature, the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fairies is a female ruler of the fairies, sometimes but not always paired with a king. Depending on the work, she may be named or unnamed; Titania and Mab are two frequently used name ...

''. *Central Pacific's numbers 60,

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

, and 63 Leviathan. Although both engines have been scrapped, and therefore technically do not count as having been preserved, there were exact, full size operating replicas built in recent years. The Jupiter was built for the National Park Service along with a replica of Union Pacific's 119 for use at their Golden Spike National Historic Site. Leviathan was finished in 2009, is privately owned, and travels to various railroads to operate. * Wilmington & Western #98 4-4-0 American #98 was built by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, NY in January 1909 (construction #45921). The locomotive was built for the

Mississippi Central Railroad Mississippi Central Railroad (reporting mark MSCI) is a short line railroad operating over 51 miles from Oxford, Mississippi, to Grand Junction, Tennessee, owned by Pioneer Railcorp. The railroad's principal commodities are wood products and ...

of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The engine ran for the Mississippi Central Railroad from 1909 to 1944, before it was sold to Paulsen Spence, the owner of the Louisiana Eastern Railroad. The engine was sold again to Thomas C. Marshall, in 1960, and was moved to the

Strasburg Rail Road The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Ra ...

in 1961 for storage. The locomotive was moved to the Wilmington and Western in 1964, and would start operating on the Wilmington and Western, in the fall of 1972. The Engine is currently one of two operational American Type steam locomotives, east of the Mississippi. The engine is expected to be taken out of service in 2019 for its Federally Mandated 1,472 Day Inspection. *Pennsylvania D16 #1223. *

Santa Cruz Railroad The Santa Cruz Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad that ran from Santa Cruz to Pajaro, California. It started operation in 1874, running from the east bank of the San Lorenzo River to Soquel, California. With completion of a bridge over the Sa ...

No. 3 is a narrow gauge steam locomotive in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

It is one of three preserved Baldwin Class 8/18 C 4-4-0 locomotives in the United States, the other two being the

North Pacific Coast Railroad The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and which rebuilt the southern section into a standa ...

no. 12, the "Sonoma" displayed at the California State Railroad Museum, and the Eureka and Palisade Railroad no. 4, the "Eureka" which is privately owned, the latter of which it is the only operable example. It was common practice for American railroads of the 19th century to name their engines after Jupiter, "King of Gods", and other mythological figures to attract attention, thus the engine should not be confused with the engine of Golden Spike fame.

Death

Campbell died in Woodbury, New Jersey on February 6, 1879, and is interred in Green Cemetery, Woodbury, Gloucester, New Jersey. Source Information: Ancestry.com. Web: BillionGraves.com Burial Index atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.Original data: Headstone Search. BillionGraves. http://billiongraves.com/.

References

Sources

* * * * *For details on Campbell's early life and some of his career, see