|First English Locomotive on Delaware & Hudson Canal track.|
The "Lion" was purchased in England in 1828 and arrived in New York the
next spring. It was intended for use in hauling coal from the mines to the
head of the D & H canal. However, it was never used for that purpose
because of it's eight ton weight which was nearly double the design strength
of the wooden and iron strapped rails.
|These double-hulled craft incorporated and iron-sheathed |
snag beam at the bow joining the two hulls. During operations
the boat was run full speed at the projecting snag,
forcing it up and out of the water. The snag was then hauled
onto the boat deck and cut into pieces. Snag boats
were capable of removing snags weighing up to seventy-five tons.
The A. H. Sevier, Snag Boat No. 4 worked
under the direction of the Superintendent of Western River
Improvements, within the War Department. Built during the 1840's
each hull of the Sevier was about one hundred and fifty
feet long, twenty-two feet wide, with twelve feet between the hulls.
-- 19th Century"xxxxxx, St. Louis, 1858" sketch book.