Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company facts for kids

The Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company was one of the first companies in the United States built specifically to make steam locomotives. These are the powerful train engines that run on steam! The company was located in Taunton, Massachusetts. It was started in 1849 and officially became a company in 1850. Key people involved were William A. Crocker, Willard W. Fairbanks, and William R. Lee. Their very first engine, named the Rough and Ready, was delivered in May 1849.

How the Company Started and Grew

Willard W. Fairbanks was a skilled machinist, someone who builds and repairs machines. He had experience building engines in Providence, Rhode Island. The first engine made by the Taunton company used parts and plans from George S. Griggs. Griggs had worked with the Boston & Providence Railroad, which was one of the first railroads in New England and started running in 1849.

The company's workshops were on Wales Street in Taunton. They were right next to the Taunton Branch Railroad, which later became part of the large Old Colony Railroad system.

Facing Competition and Changes

In 1852, the Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company got a new competitor. This was the Mason Machine Works, another successful company in Taunton that made textile machines. They decided to start building locomotives too!

By 1860, Taunton Locomotive had built almost 300 engines. In 1861, Harrison Tweed took over the company from Fairbanks. He led the company through its busiest and most productive time. Around 1871, Parley I. Perrin (also known as P.I. Perrin) became the new leader. Perrin had started at the company in 1846 as a machinist and a draftsman, someone who creates detailed plans. He worked his way up to lead the company.

Challenges and New Ideas

By 1877, Taunton Locomotive had built its 675th locomotive. However, by this time, the company was falling behind bigger locomotive builders. Companies like Baldwin and Schenectady were much larger. The engines made by Taunton and other New England companies were seen as old-fashioned compared to these bigger factories.

To help their business, the locomotive company started the Huber Printing Press Company in 1883. This was a way to make money from something other than locomotives, as their main business was slowing down. In the same year, Nahum Stetson became president after Samuel L. Crocker passed away.

The very last locomotive built by Taunton Locomotive was in 1889. The company also tried making other things, like steam-powered snow plows. But sales slowly went down during the last ten years of the 1800s. The company finally closed in 1899. In its roughly sixty years, the Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company had produced over 900 steam locomotives.

What Happened Next?

In 1906, a large group of textile mills called New England Cotton Yarns bought the land where the locomotive works used to be.

Later, in 1947, all the buildings of the Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company were torn down.

Today, the site is a shopping center. It was built in the 1970s as part of a city plan to redevelop the area in Taunton.

Images for kids

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  The Champlain, built by Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company in 1849 for the Hudson Valley Railroad

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  P.I. Perrin

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  This Union Pacific Railroad locomotive was built by Taunton in July 1868.