adweight of 1200
pounds per passenger. Since speed was not an important consideration (30
mph being a good average), the use of lighter engines would improve the
deadweight-to-passenger ratio and would not result in a slower schedule.

The Board of Managers agreed with Smith's recommendations and instructed
him "... to examine the two locomotives lately built by Mr. Wilmarth
and now in the [protection?] of Captain Tyler at Norwich and if in his
judgment they are adequate to our wants ... have them forwarded to the
road."[2] Smith inspected the locomotives not long after this resolution
was passed, for they were on the road by the time he made the following
report[3] to the Board on September 24, 1851:

In accordance with a resolution passed at the last meeting of
your body relative to the small engines built by Mr. Wilmarth I
proceeded to Norwich to make trial of their capacity--fitness or
suitability to the Passenger transportation of our Road--and
after as thorough a trial as circumstances would admit (being on
another Road than our own) I became satisfied that with some
necessary improvements which would not be expensive (and are now
being made at our shop) the engines would do the business of
our Road not only in a manner satisfactory in point of speed and
certainty but with greater ultimate economy in Expenses than has
before been practised in this Country.

[Illustration: Figure 2.--DIAGRAM COMPARING the _Pioneer_ (shaded
drawing) with the _Columbia_, a standard 8-wheel engine of 1851.
(Drawing by J. H. White.)]

_Columbia_

Hudson River Railroad
Lowell Machine Shop, 1852
Wt. 27-1/2 tons (engine only)
Cyl. 16-1/2 x 22 inches
Wheel diam. 84 inches

_Pioneer_

Cumberland Valley Railroad
Seth Wilmarth, 1851
12-1/2 tons
8-1/2 x 14 inches
54 inches

After making the above trial of the Engines--I stated to your
Hon. President the result of the trial--with my opinion of their
Capacity to carry our passenger trains at the speed required
which was decidedly in favor of the ability of the Engines. He
accordingly agreed that the Engines should at once be forwarded
to the Road in compliance with the Resolution of your Board. I
immediately ordered the Engines shipped at the most favorable
rates. They came to our Road safely in the Condition in which
they were shipped. One of the Engine