The Stourbridge Lion: America's First Locomotive - Hardcover

Zimmermann, Karl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590788591 ISBN 13: 9781590788592

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 2012

Synopsis

On August 8, 1829, a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania witnessed something never seen before in America: the first locomotive to run on commercial rails. The engine was named the Stourbridge Lion. The iron contraption chugged down the track, belching steam, to the sound of cheers and booming cannon. This concise and lively history follows the Stourbridge Lion's journey from Stourbridge, England, where it was built, to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where it made its historic run, marking the dawn of American railroading. Here is the story of the real little engine that could.

About this title

About the Author:

Karl Zimmermann is the author of Steam Locomotives: Whistling, Chugging, Smoking Iron Horses of the Past; and All Aboard! Passenger Trains Around the World. He lives in Oradell, New Jersey.
 Steven Walker is the illustrator of Rosa's Bus by Jo S. Kittinger, winner of an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. He lives in Westerville, Ohio.

From Booklist:

Sure to appeal to train enthusiasts, this is the story of the first locomotive to operate on commercial rails in America. Built in Stourbridge, England, and painted with a lion’s head on its front, the Stourbridge Lion was brought to haul coal in the mountainous stretch between Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and the head of the canal basin. Full-page oil paintings in dusty, subdued colors allow the locomotive to be the focus (relegating the happy or dismissive people to indistinct smudges), which nicely spotlights the quiet surroundings and wide open spaces. The minimal text is supplemented by a two-page afterword that gives additional information about the locomotive, early steam engines, and gravity railroads. Since the Lion was twice as heavy as the loads for which the tracks were designed, it was soon discontinued, but it, as well as a reconstruction, can be viewed at museums. Grades 1-3. --Randall Enos

About this edition

• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1590788591
• ISBN 13: 9781590788592
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Walker Steven