Reuben Wells (locomotive)
Encyclopedia
The Reuben Wells is a 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...

 in the permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the world's largest children's museum. It is located in the United Northwest Area neighborhood on Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums. It is with five floors of exhibit halls...

 located in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

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

. Beginning in 1868, it operated for 30 years in Madison, Indiana
Madison, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...

, pushing train cars
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

 up the steepest "standard-gauge main-track grade" in the United States.

Description

The Reuben Wells is a helper locomotive that was built in 1868. It was designed to push train cars up the 5.89% incline of Madison Hill in Madison, Indiana, the steepest segment of standard-gauge main-track in the United States. Weighing 55 short tons (49.1 LT), it was the most powerful locomotive in the world at the time. It is 35 feet (10.7 m) long. The train is named after its designer, engineer Reuben Wells.

Historical information

The Reuben Wells was made specifically for Madison Hill, Indiana, a 2 miles (3.2 km) long stretch of track that is known for having the steepest regular incline in the United States. The Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad
The Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad was formed in 1866 as a merger between the Indianapolis and Madison Railroad and the Jeffersonville Railroad.- Genealogy :*Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad...

 tried many different methods to get train cars up the hill. The couplers used to connect the train cars
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

 were not strong enough to withstand being pulled up the hill, making it necessary for the cars to be pushed. Initially a team of horses was used to pull the train cars up the hill. Following this, a cogwheel system
Rack railway
A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...

 was in use for about twenty years. The Reuben Wells was the first steam engine to work the grade by adhesion
Rail adhesion
The term adhesion railway or adhesion traction describes the most common type of railway, where power is applied by driving some or all of the wheels of the locomotive. Thus, it relies on the friction between a steel wheel and a steel rail. Note that steam locomotives of old were driven only by...

 alone, pushing the cars up the hill as well as supporting them on the descent.

After the Reuben Wells was completed in the railroad shops in 1868, it pushed train cars up Madison Hill for thirty years before it was retired in 1898. It stayed in reserve for another seven years before it was retired permanently and sent to Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

 in 1905. In the years that followed the Reuben Wells was included in several exhibitions, including the Chicago World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair may refer to:*World's Columbian Exposition of 1893*Century of Progress Exposition of 1933...

 in 1933–34 and 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...

 in 1948–49. Afterward, it remained in Pennsylvania at Penn Central Railroad Company railroad yards. In 1968, the Reuben Wells was brought back to Indiana, where it was placed on permanent display at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Acquisition

In 1966, Tom Billings, head of the Children's Museum advisory board, learned that the Reuben Wells was being kept in storage in Pennsylvania. On a vacation to Washington and Williamsburg, Billings decided to stop by to see the Reuben Wells. After he saw it, he started trying to get the Reuben Wells to be permanently back in Indiana, specifically at the Children's Museum. Billings contacted Otto Frenzel, a member of the Pennsylvania Railroad board of directors, who disclosed that the railroad company was currently trying to find museums for its steam locomotives. At the time, the Reuben Wells was already promised to a museum in St. Louis. Advocates pointed out that the St. Louis museum was already getting several pieces, and St. Louis had no historical connection to the engine. The campaign was successful, and in May 1967, the Pennsylvania railroad president, Allen Greenough, announced that the Reuben Wells was coming to Indiana. It was shipped from Pennsylvania to Indiana on flatcar
Flatcar
A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...

s.

The Reuben Wells entered Indianapolis with much fanfare on June 11, 1968. A parade was organized to escort the train on the last leg of its journey, accompanied by the Central Indiana Council Boy Scout band and a motorcycle motorcade
Motorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...

. The parade made its way down 38th Street and south on Meridian Street before turning into the Children's Museum. After successful fund-raising efforts from the Indiana Junior Historical Society and the Children's Museum Guild, the Reuben Wells was installed in a new train shed
Train shed
A train shed is an adjacent building to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof...

on the museum campus the next year. The train was moved into the new building in 1976, where it remains on view on the museum's lower level. Originally acquired as a permanent loan, the Reuben Wells is now within the permanent collection of the Children's Museum.

External links

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