4-4-0 Peoples Railway, #3, “Shamokin”
Inside the Franklin Institute, date unknown. (photographer unknown)
Background & History
Popularly known today as “Peoples’ Railway No. 3”, this may be the second oldest extant Reading steam locomotive. Its original identity is unknown, but it was probably built in 1842 by Eastwick & Harrison for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and later sold to an industrial user. The Peoples Railway Company of Pottsville, PA purchased it from a private owner in 1873, and it came back under Reading ownership through the acquisition of the Peoples Railway by the Reading in 1923. Conveyed to the Franklin Institute in 1933.*[1]
Archival Photos
• Photos to come.
| “Shamokin” Engine Specifications: *[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Builder: | Eastwick & Harrison, Philadelphia, PA | Cylinders (2): | 12.75" dia. x 18" stroke |
| Date built: | 1842 | Cylinder horsepower: | unknown |
| Wheels: | 4-4-0 | Boiler pressure: | unknown |
| Length: | unknown | Tractive effort engine: | unknown |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 42.5" | Tractive effort w/Booster: | n/a |
| Weight on drivers: | unknown | Horsepower rating: | unknown |
| Total engine weight: | unknown | Top speed: | unknown |
| Total weight in working order: | unknown | Tender capacity: | unknown |
| Grate area: | unknown | Fuel: | Coal |
| Notes: | |
|---|---|
| *1 (info courtesy Steam Locomotives
of the Reading and P&R Railroads by Edward Wiswesser) *2 (info courtesy steamlocomotive.info) |
(last updated: 6/03) |