Thomas Rogers (locomotive builder)

For other people with the same name, see Thomas Rogers (disambiguation).
Thomas Rogers
Born 1792
Groton, Connecticut
Died 1856 (aged 63–64)
Occupation Mechanical engineer and businessman
Known for Founder of Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works

Thomas Rogers (1792 – 1856) was an American mechanical engineer and founder of Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey. Fellow locomotive designer and builder, Zerah Colburn said that "Thomas Rogers maybe fairly said to have done more for the modern American locomotive than any of his contemporaries."[1]

Biography

Thomas Rogers was born in Groton, Connecticut, in 1792. Before moving to Paterson in 1812, he studied carpentry and blacksmithing. In 1832 he partnered with Morris Ketchum and Jasper Grosvenor to form Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor, building agricultural and textile machinery as well as springs, axles and other small parts for the first railroads of America.

In 1837 Rogers built his first locomotive, Sandusky, which became the first locomotive to operate in Ohio.

References

  • White, John H. Jr. (Spring 1986). "America's most noteworthy railroaders". Railroad History. 154: 9–15. ISSN 0090-7847. OCLC 1785797. 
  • White, John H. Jr. (1968). A history of the American locomotive; its development: 1830-1880. New York, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23818-0. 
  1. ↑ Walker, Herbert T. (May 8, 1897). "The Evolution of the American Locomotive - part 3". Scientific American. Retrieved 2005-10-05.
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