John Souther (March 1, 1816 – September 12, 1911) was the founder of

Globe Locomotive Works The Globe Locomotive Works was a late-19th century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives and other machinery based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1846, the firm built some one hundred steam locomotives for railroads throughout the U ...

, an

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 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 ...

manufacturing company. In his obituary published in the

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

, ''Town Crier'', he is credited with designing the pattern for the fence around

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beacon ...

. In 1852 he built the first Tunnel Boring machine using Charles Wilson's Patented design (Nos. 14,483 and 17,650). The machine was tried at the Hoosac Tunnel work but after only 12 feet the steel was not up to the test of grinding rock. In 1854 Souther would build two 4-4-0 locomotives for the Fitchburg Railroad, the Hoosac and the Champion. He also built two 25-horsepower steam shovel for Norman Carmine Munson to use in filling the Boston Back Bay. On his death in 1911, he was survived by a son and a daughter. Souther attended the funeral on May 4, 1870 of Zerah Colburn, the well-known locomotive engineer and journalist, who for a time (circa 1853) was employed by Souther.

References

American Railway Times 4, no. 19 (6 May 1852): Souther's Works at South Boston. American Railway Times 4, no. 43 (21 October 1852): machine shop in South Boston. American Railway Times 5, no. 5 (3 February 1853: machine was commenced at South Boston in the month of December 1851. Weekly Transcript 10, no. 2 (1852), 2: “Globe Works, South Boston.” Souther's business, located on Foundry Street, was known as the Globe Works and Globe Locomotive Works. 1816 births 1911 deaths 19th-century American inventors American railroad mechanical engineers American people in rail transportation 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-rail-bio-stub