when were engineer cabs added to locomotives? what year was this?

Question

I need a web site to print off for verification for a teacher that the information is true.

Answer 1

Well, I would type it in the search line of my browser. I have never seen a picture of a locomotove without a cab.

Answer 2

A question broader in scope than it seems. Though the improvement was adopted in short order once conceived, the cabs were introduced at different times by different manufacturers, so I don't believe there is a "precise" date. But, let's see how close we can get.

The first locomotive built by Baldwin was "Old Ironsides", in 1832, with the cab conspicuously absent in photos. The first from this builder to use an engineer's cab was The "Governor Paine", out-shopped in 1849. This engine was also capable of speeds of 60 MPH.

The "John Bull", built at the Stephenson works at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, was shipped in pieces, without a cab, to the US for service on the Camden and Amboy Railroad. A young mechanic named Isaac Dripp constructed a four wheel tender for the locomotive with an overhang that provided some shelter from the elements for the engineer, though this was more a "reverse cab", open to the front, rather than the rear. It was out-shopped in 1831. Technically a "cab", but certainly not in the conventional sense.

A locomotive called the "Monster" was built by the Camden and Amboy shops in 1834, with a large, more "conventional" cab, yet still open to the front, for the most part. The locomotive was unsuccessful.

So, I think a fair estimate is that the engineer's "cab" became a permanent fixture on US locomotives between 1831 and 1849. As I said, a precise date will be hard to determine.

At any rate, your question was a good one and I hope this information is useful to you. Thanks for asking.