USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The race on August 28, 1830, between Peter Cooper’s diminutive Tom Thumb locomotive and the horse-drawn Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad car demonstrated the superiority of steam power.

Detailed explanation-2: -A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.

Detailed explanation-3: -To the amazement of the passengers, the locomotive traveled at an impressive speed of 10-14 miles per hour. The locomotive was later given the name “Tom Thumb” because of its small size and weight.

Detailed explanation-4: -Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive used on a common-carrier railroad. Designed and built by Peter Cooper in 1830, its purpose was to showcase American steam engine potential to owners of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O).

Detailed explanation-5: -The boiler tubes were made from rifle barrels and a blower was mounted in the stack, driven by a belt to the powered axle. The engine was fueled by anthracite coal. Cooper’s interest in the railroad was by way of substantial real estate investment in what is now the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore.