"Atlantic"

The B&O No. 2 “Atlantic” was built by inventors Phineas Davis and Israel Gartner in 1832 for the B&O Railroad. Like Davis’s earlier “York” engine, the No. 2 is a 0-4-0 “grasshopper” type steam locomotive named for its resemblance to the spindly-legged insect. In Maryland, they were often referred to as “crabs.” In the earliest days of the American railroad, the B&O fleet was comprised entirely of 0-4-0s like the No. 2.   

The “Atlantic” was the B&O’s first true mainline locomotive. In 1833, the grasshopper pulled a coach carrying President Andrew Jackson and his cabinet from Ellicott’s Mills to Baltimore. It was the first time a United States president had ever ridden the rails. According to some historians, the No. 2 was also to pull President Jackson from Baltimore to Washington, DC in 1835. Despite its historical significance, the “Atlantic” was scrapped after just 4 years of service and replaced with a new grasshopper named the “Andrew Jackson.”  

Completed at the Mt. Clare shops in 1836, the “Andrew Jackson” worked for the B&O Railroad for nearly 60 years. In 1884, the locomotive received an official number: No. 2, just like its predecessor. The grasshopper eventually retired in c.1893 when it was reconstructed to resemble the original “Atlantic” and showcased at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For the next 4 decades, the replica moved from one railroad exhibition to the next. Today, the 1892 reproduction of the No. 2 “Atlantic” is on display at the B&O Railroad Museum. It is one of the world’s oldest surviving steam locomotives, and the oldest surviving locomotive in the United States.