Locomotive

Until 1868, when master mechanic Reuben Wells built this special engine, no train had been able to climb from the Ohio River to the top of the steep Madison Hill in Madison, Indiana. Because the 55-ton Reuben Wells steam engine was capable of pushing, instead of pulling, more than 150 tons up the incline, it earned the title of the world’s most powerful engine!

 

For 30 years, from 1868 until 1898, the Reuben Wells locomotive worked as the main engine on the steepest-grade (5.9%) regular train track in the world. The Reuben Wells came to The Children’s Museum in 1968 where it was displayed in a shed on the museum grounds until the current facility was built in 1975. At that time, the engine was moved inside the new building during construction. The Reuben Wells and a tool car were installed on the track inside, and the final exterior wall was bricked up behind it.