Delaware & Hudson RR high-pressure locomotive, Horation Allen (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928)

Horatio Allen (May 10, 1802 – December 31, 1889) was an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and inventor, and President of

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

in the year 1843–1844.

Biography

Born in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, he graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1823, and was appointed Assistant Engineer of the

Delaware and Hudson Canal Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...

(precursor to 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 ...

). In 1827 he quit the Canal Company and went to England to study the emerging rail road technology, particularly locomotives. He was therefore asked to arrange for the construction of 3 locomotives for the Canal Company's projected railway (as per his June 25, 1880 letter to the editor of the New York Times). There he made the acquaintance of engineer

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...

. In 1829 he operated the first

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, one of the ones he ordered for the D&H, to run in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the ''

Stourbridge Lion The ''Stourbridge Lion'' was a railroad steam locomotive. It was the first foreign built locomotive to be operated in the United States, and one of the first locomotives to operate outside Britain. It takes its name from the lion's face painted ...

'', which ran successfully at

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recrea ...

on August 8, 1829. From 1829 to 1834 he was the chief engineer of the

South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company was a railroad in South Carolina that operated independently from 1830 to 1844. One of the first railroads in North America to be chartered and constructed, it provided the first steam-powered, schedul ...

, at that time the longest railway in the world (about 136 miles/218 km). He was the inventor of the so-called " swiveling truck" for railway cars. He wrote: ''The Railroad Era; First Five Years of its Development'' (1884). In his other activities, from 1838 to 1842 he was principal assistant engineer of the

Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity from ...

, the major water supply system for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

; in 1842 he became connected with the

Novelty Iron Works The Novelty Iron Works was an ironworking firm founded to make boilers in New York City. Located at 12th street, New York. The founder was the Rev. Eliphalet Nott President of Union College of Schenectady, New York. Eliphalet Nott had invented ...

, a major builder of marine steam and other engines; at various times chief engineer and president of the

Erie Railway The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Eri ...

; consulting engineer for the

Panama Railway The Panama Canal Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Panamá) is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón (Atlantic) to Balboa (Pacific, near ...

and the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

; and in 1872 and 1873 was president of the

American Society of Civil Engineers 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 ...

. In 1924 the

Delaware and Hudson Railway The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...

built its first experimental high-pressure locomotive, No. 1400 and named it ''"Horatio Allen"''.

Publications

* * M. N. Forney, ''Memoir of Horatio Allen'' (reprinted from the ''Railroad and Engineering Journal'')

References

External links

The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Horatio American railroad pioneers Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Delaware and Hudson Railway Erie Railroad American railroad mechanical engineers Businesspeople from Schenectady, New York 19th-century American railroad executives 1802 births 1889 deaths American civil engineers 19th-century American engineers Engineers from New York (state) Engineers from New Jersey

Biography

Publications

See also

References

External links