Description:
side of engine with smoke coming from stack and cow-catcher at front pulling coal car; transportation
Label Text:
The format of this colorful painting, a profile view of an engine and coal car shown against a plain background, is similar to that of locomotive advertisements of the 1880's. The train is a typical "American Standard" locomotive from the 1880's and early 1890's, with a square windowed engineer's cab, straight-capped smoke stack, and light box mounted on top of an extended boiler. Clues to the identity of this train are inscribed on the side of the locomotive, painted with the name "C.H. Hathaway," and on the coal car, where "Conn. River R.R." and the number "46" appear. Locomotives and their cars usually shared the same number. According to the Connecticut River Railroad records, the last locomotive purchased before its merger with Boston and Maine Railroads in 1892 was number 46. This lively work may have been painted to commemorate the last locomotive of the Connecticut line. After 1880 engines were listed by their number. There is no record of the C.H. Hathaway, but it was common for locomotives to be named after their engineers. Records show an engineer for the Boston and Maine named Carl H. Hathaway retired in 1919. Hathaway most likely worked for the Connecticut River Railroad company before the merger. it is possible that he was both the engineer of locomotive 46 as well as the artist responsible for this picture.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1974.26 |
