American Locomotives: An Engineering History, 1830-1880 (review)

book reviews277 period of thirty years, C. A. Weslager, who has written extensively about the history, archeology and Indian tribes of the Delaware region, has covered much of the same ground and has added a considerable amount of detail to Shurtleff's work. He deals with the origins and distribution of the log cabin as well as with its place in folk culture and in American political campaigns, and in so doing he has added some revisions and has indicated the Russian contribution to log housing along the northwest coast. Weslager points out, as did Shurtleff, that colonists constructed the same type of houses that they were familiar with in their homeland. He discussed the distribution of log houses in Europe and demonstrates that they were introduced in the Delaware Valley by Swedish and Finnish settlers in New Sweden. German settlers, however, also introduced log cabins and contributed to their diffusion as did the Scotch-Irish, who quickly adopted this form of construction. Despite new emphasis on the contribution of the Germans and the suggestion that log cabins, which not only were adapted to the environment but which were cheap and easy to build, were an important element in facilitating migration by American pioneers, the author becomes too involved in details. Long passages which deal with style and construction techniques and which include lists of log cabins in various areas will be of interest primarily to local historians and log cabin enthusiasts and will be less useful to historians interested in the broader implications of the study. There are, for example, sections dealing with the development of the term, log cabin, as well as with the debate over whether Andrew Jackson was born in such a structure. Also included are accounts of log cabins built by Thomas Lincoln and of the subsequent history of a cabin which might have been the birthplace of James Buchanan. The result, then, is the addition of an extensive body of detail along with some interpretive changes to the pioneering Shurtleff study. The author, however, has acknowledged that it was written for the general reader rather than for the serious historian. Richard N. Ellis University of New Mexico American Locomotives: An Engineering History, 1830-1880. By John H. White, Jr. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1968. Pp. 495. $20.00.) The American locomotive is "the grandest and most important development of modern civilization and human skill." However, the author points out that it was the demands of modern civilization rather than the "inspired insights of designers" which produced the basic design and technical breakthroughs of locomotive construction. Economy-minded railroad managers, determined to produce profits from the outset of railroad construction, built railroads and purchased equipment inexpensive 278civil war history in cost and operation. When improvement became necessary, practical and experienced mechanics were motivated by the need to increase locomotive power without increasing weight, speed, or complexity, since managers did not desire to construct expensive roadbeds in order to support fast heavy trains. Throughout the three sections, The Era of Fundamental Locomotive Design, Components, and Representative American Locomotives, the topical approach is utilized. Although an encyclopedic format is suggested by the way in which each subject is introduced with bold type headings, the author does not lose historical awareness or chronological perspective. While there is no attempt to describe social or political backgrounds he does search for the reasons for change, emphasize the contributions of the various mechanics, and describe the usefulness of each invention, arranging his material in chronological sequence. Even though this is a history of standard practice, the author does depict significant designs and components of short-lived existence and limited acceptance . Mr. White does a splendid job of writing an interesting narrative which prevents the reader from becoming mired in the sometimes compactly detailed information. This engineering history is intended to provide new insights for those already familiar with the construction of steam locomotives rather than providing a picture history for the novice. This is accomplished admirably through the combined use of narrative and over 230 highly detailed, sharp and clear pictures and drawings. One regrettable weakness is an incomplete bibliography. Some journals and books referred to in the footnotes for...