Wednesday, 21 July 2021

The Agenoria Locomotive

 This strange looking contraption, named after the Roman goddess of activity and industry, was built in 1829 by the Foster, Rastrick & Co. in Stourbridge, England. It was purchased by a mining partnership near Kingswindsford, England to haul minerals three miles to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The locomotive served on this line until it was retired in about 1864. The original locomotive has been restored and is on display at the National Railway Museum, York. This Blender model is based on photos of the locomotive in the N.R.M.

In an interesting footnote this story: Three engines, nearly identical to the Agenoria, named Stourbridge Lion were purchased by an American engineer representing the Delaware and Hudson Canal Co. These were delivered in New York in 1829 and tested on specially prepared rails in Pennsylvania. This was the first use of steam locomotives on rails in the United States. The trials were a success for the locomotive. However, due to an error in the specifications (the locomotives were twice as heavy as expected) and the trial runs destroyed the tracks. The engines were never actually used.