Atlantic was the name of an early American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 built by Phineas Davis

Phineas Davis

Phineas Davis was a well-known clockmaker and inventor who designed and built the first practical American coal-burning railroad locomotive....

 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 (B&O) in 1832.

Design and construction

Built at a cost of $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

4,500, the Atlantic weighed 6.5 tons and had two vertical cylinder

Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...

s. Ox teams were used to convey the engine to Baltimore, where it made a successful inaugural trip to Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, a distance of thirteen miles (19 km). Nicknamed the "Grasshopper" for its distinctive vertical pushrods, the locomotive carried 50 pounds of steam and burned a ton of anthracite coal

Anthracite coal

Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...

 on a 40 miles (64.4 km) trip from Baltimore. Satisfied with this locomotive's operations, the B&O built 20 more locomotives of a similar design at its Mt. Clare shops in Baltimore.

Replica Atlantic

In 1892, the B&O rebuilt another locomotive, originally named Andrew Jackson, to resemble the 1832 Atlantic. It was intended to be used as a heritage showpiece, and it was first exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

 in Chicago, Illinois. It was exhibited again at the 1939 New York World's Fair

1939 New York World's Fair

The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...

 and then in 1948-49 at the Chicago Railroad Fair

Chicago Railroad Fair

The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is often referred to as "the last great railroad fair" with 39 railroad companies...

as part of the latter fair's "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant.