B&O's Mt. Clare Shop's 1836 "Andrew Jackson"/"Atlantic"In 1832, Phineas Davis and Israel Gartner developed their first "Grasshopper" type locomotive, the No. 2 "Atlantic," in the Mt. Clare shops. These locomotives were called "Grasshoppers" because the long vertical rods resembled enlarged mechanical insect legs when in motion. They comprised the B&O's first operational fleet of steam locomotives. Although the "Grasshopper" design was short lived, a number of these locomotives were used well into the second half of the 19th century. The original "Atlantic" was scrapped in 1835.
Andrew Jackson, the first sitting president to use a railroad, rode behind the "Atlantic" in 1833.
The "Andrew Jackson" was completed at the Mt. Clare shops in 1836 by Ross Winans and George Gillingham. The "Andrew Jackson" operated until 1892 when it was altered to resemble the original No. 2 for an exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The "Andrew Jackson" has been known as the "Atlantic" ever since the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The cab and side rods were removed to represent the Atlantic of 1832 and it was renumbered as the "No.2" in January of 1884. - taken from the B&O RR Museum's site.
