John B. Jervis

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John Bloomfield Jervis

Born 1795
Died 1885
Rome, New York

John Bloomfield Jervis (1795 – 1885) was an American civil engineer. Working as chief engineer for the Delaware and Hudson Canal and Railroad, he designed the Stourbridge Lion, as well as the first steam locomotives with a leading bogie that became the 4-2-0 locomotive type. The 4-2-0 type is called Jervis in his honor.

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[edit] Youth and education

Jervis was born at Huntington, New York (on Long Island), and raised in Rome, New York (then called Fort Stanwix).

[edit] Canals, aqueducts and railroads

Jervis was hired for work on the Erie Canal as an axeman in 1817. While working in the construction teams, he studied engineering and by 1819 he became the lead engineer on the canal's 50 mile (80 km) long center section.

In 1827, Jervis became the chief engineer for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. In this position, he designed the Stourbridge Lion, which was built by Foster, Rastrick and Company of England.

In 1831, he became the chief engineer for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, a predecessor of the New York Central.

Jervis was the first railroad engineer to design a 4-2-0 steam locomotive; the 4-2-0 type is called the Jervis type in his honor. A 4-2-0 is a locomotive with a four-wheel leading truck that guides the locomotive into curves and two powered driving wheels on a rear axle underneath the locomotive's firebox.

The High Bridge over the Harlem River as seen in 1890.
The High Bridge over the Harlem River as seen in 1890.

In 1836, Jervis was chosen as the chief engineer on the 41-mile (66 km) long Croton Aqueduct, which operated from 1842 to 1965, bringing fresh water to New York City. Many of Jervis's original diagrams for this project are now preserved at both the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The High Bridge which still stands across the Harlem River in New York City, connecting Manhattan and the Bronx, was part of this project.

After successful work on the Croton Aqueduct, Jervis also worked on the Boston Aqueduct.

In the 1850s and into the early 1860s he worked on railroads in the Midwestern United States, serving as chief engineer for both the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad, Chicago and Rock Island Railroad (a predecessor of the Rock Island Railroad), also serving as President of the latter from 1851 to 1854,[1] and finally the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway.

[edit] Retirement and legacy

Jervis retired in 1864 to his homestead in Rome, New York, but he did not simply rest on his laurels in his retirement. In 1869, he helped form the Merchants Iron Mill, known today as the Rome Iron Mill.

Much of the remainder of Jervis's life was spent writing. He published The Question of Labor and Capital on economics in 1877.

Upon his death, Jervis bequeathed his homestead to the city of Rome to use as the location for a public library. His personal library now forms the John B. Jervis collection of the Jervis Public Library.

In 1927, the Delaware and Hudson Railroad built an experimental steam locomotive that was designed to run at 400 psi (2.8 MPa or 28 kgf/cm²) steam pressure; this locomotive, road number 1401, was named John B. Jervis.

The city of Port Jervis, New York is also named in his honor.

[edit] Works

  • Railway Property (1859)
  • The Construction and Management of Railways (1861)
  • Labor and Capital (1877)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Beydler, John. The Rock founders faced tragedy and travail before triumphing. The Railroad Comes to Town. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.

[edit] Further reading

  • Jervis, John B.; FitzSimmons, Neal, ed. (1971). The Reminiscences of John B. Jervis. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York. ISBN 0-8156-0077-1. 
  • Larkin, F. Daniel (1990). John B. Jervis: An American Engineering Pioneer. Iowa State University Press. ISBN 0-8138-0355-1. 


Preceded by
James W. Grant		 President of Chicago and Rock Island Railroad
1851 – 1854		 Succeeded by
Henry Farnam