The General Haupt - a fine picture of 1863 American railroading. This impressive 4-4-0 locomotive was named after General Herman Haupt, chief of construction and transportation for the U.S. Armys military railroads at that time. It was a wood burning locomotive and appears to have a tender full of firewood. The tender bears the marking U.S. Military R.R. The large structure in the background is the roundhouse of the Alexandria Station in Virginia. This photograph was taken by Alexander J. Russell, who had been a painter before joining the U.S. Army, where he became the first photographer ever employed by the U.S. military. Russell continued taking photographs of trains after the Civil War and became the official photographer for the Union Pacific / Central Pacific transcontinental railroad. Six years after taking this photo, Russells camera would capture the famous scene when two locomotives were brought together at Promontory Point, Utah, for the driving of the Golden Spike. Most of the text for this caption came from info from the Library of Congress. Thanks to JR Sanders for sharing the link to this photo. -Phil
Posted on: Thu, 08 May 2014 20:44:37 +0000
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