Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company

The Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company was one of the earliest firms in the United States

United States

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

established especially for the manufacture of 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...

s. Located in Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...

, the company was organized in 1849 and incorporated the following year by William A. Crocker, Willard W. Fairbanks, William R. Lee and their associates. Their first engine, the Rough and Ready was delivered in May 1849.

Company history

Willard W. Fairbanks was a machinist who had worked in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

building stationary and marine engines. The company's first engine was built from castings and plans prepared by George S. Griggs

George S. Griggs

George S. Griggs was a pioneer master mechanic in the earliest days of railroading in the United States.Griggs, like other mechanics of his age, learned the art of machining at Locks and Canals Machine Shop...

, who had been associated with the Boston & Providence Railroad, one of the earliest railroads in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, which began operation in 1849.

The company's shops were located on Wales Street just west of downtown Taunton

Taunton, Massachusetts

along what was then the Taunton Branch Railroad

Taunton Branch Railroad

The Taunton Branch Railroad was one of the earliest railroads to be established in Massachusetts. It was chartered by the state in 1835 as a branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad running between Mansfield and Taunton, Massachusetts...

, and later part of the Old Colony Railroad

Old Colony Railroad

The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

's vast system in Southeastern Massachusetts.

In 1852 the company faced new competition from their neighbor across the tracks, the Mason Machine Works

Mason Machine Works

The Mason Machine Works was a machinery manufacturing company located in Taunton, Massachusetts between 1845 and 1944. The company became famous for an early invention by its creator, William Mason, the self-acting mule, first patented in 1840. The company also later produced locomotives, rifles...

, a successful Taunton

Taunton, Massachusetts

textile machine company, that decided to enter the locomotive-building trade.

By 1860, Taunton Locomotive had produced almost 300 engines. In 1861, Harrison Tweed would take over control the company from Fairbanks, and lead it through perhaps its most productive period. He was succeeded by Parley I. Perrin (P.I. Perrin) in about 1871. Perrin began as a machinist

Machinist

A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...

had joined the company in 1846 as a forman and draftsman

Technical drawing

Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....

, and worked his way up through the leadership ranks.

By 1877, Taunton Locomotive had its 675th locomotive. However, by then the company lagged far behind the larger locomotive builders of the time, such as Baldwin

Baldwin Locomotive Works

The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...

and Schenectady

Schenectady Locomotive Works

The Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company in 1901.After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New York....

. The engines of Taunton, and the other New England locomotive builders were considered obsolete compared to these larger establishments.

In 1883, the locomotive works established the Huber Printing Press Company to supplement its dwindling locomotive business.

The last locomotive produced by Taunton Locomotive was built in 1889. The company also ventured into steam-powered snow plows, and other items, but sales gradually declined during the last decade of the 19th century.

The company lasted until 1899. Over 900 steam locomotives had been produced by the Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company in its roughly sixty years in existence.

Legacy

In 1906 the site of the locomotive works was purchased by New England Cotton Yarns, a large conglomerate of textile mills, based in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

.

In 1947 the buildings of the Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company were demolished.

The site is now occupied by a shopping center, constructed in the 1970s as part of an urban redevelopment plan by the City of Taunton.

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