John Hancock

The B&O No. 8 “John Hancock” was built at the Mt. Clare shop in 1836 by Ross Winans and George Gillingham. Like its predecessors, the “York” and the “Atlantic,” the No. 8 is a 0-4-0 “grasshopper” type locomotive named for its resemblance to the spindly-legged insect. In Maryland, these locomotives were often referred to as “crabs.” Defined by its upright boiler, 4 small boilers, and vertical rods, the 0-4-0 design was great for traversing the sharp and winding routes. A total of 18 grasshoppers were built for the B&O between 1832 and 1837. Together, they made up the railroad’s entire locomotive roster. In 1837, the railroad began purchasing more conventional engines with horizonal boilers, like the No. 13 “Lafeyette,” which soon became the standard.   

The “John Hancock” is the first American locomotive equipped with a covered cab. Because of this feature, the locomotive weighed 14.5 tons – twice as heavy as the earlier “Atlantic.” The “Hancock” had a lengthy career with the B&O, continuously working at Mt. Clare from 1836 to 1892. In 1850, the B&O began numbering its locomotives, and the “Hancock” was stripped of its name and redesignated as B&O No. 8. In 1884, the No. 8 was renumbered as the No. 3, alluding to its status as the third oldest B&O locomotive in existence.  

In 1893, the retired No. 8 was placed on display at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. There, it was celebrated as 1 of only 4 surviving grasshopper type locomotives. To the dismay of railroad historians, the No. 3 was mislabeled as the “Thomas Jefferson” during this prestigious event. In 1949, the No. 3 was restored to its original appearance. Now designated as the B&O No. 8 “John Hancock,” the historic steam locomotive is now a treasured piece of the B&O Railroad Museum collection.