Danforth, Cooke & Co. Locomotive and Machine Works, Paterson New Jersey

Share

Danforth, Cooke & Co. built locomotives in Paterson, New Jersey, a city whose Passaic River falls powered a long run of textile and machine mills. The firm grew out of the partnership of Danforth and Cooke, who took over a site on the river and turned it toward steam engine production as the railroad network expanded across the Northeast in the mid-19th century. Paterson's machine shops were among the places where American railroads got their rolling stock, so the works formed part of a larger industrial chain tying the city's water power to the nation's expanding rail lines. Worth noticing is how the factory's yards and shops reflect that moment, when a single manufacturing town could supply the engines that carried goods and passengers far beyond it.

More from the Railroads & Depots collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.