About the Engine:
The 1850’s were a bustling time in the City of Saint Louis, Missouri. Trans-continental railroad fever was high as the city tried to out do other midwestern towns for the starting point in railroad’s western expansion. The Pacific Railroad, whose name clearly states the ambitions of the builders, was formed.
Construction began in 1851 on first leg west from Saint Louis. The line reached Kirkwood in 1853 and the capital of Jefferson City in 1855.
The 4-4-0 steam engine Gasconade, was one of the new engines purchased for the Pacific Railroad. The picture of No. 6 (shown here) was taken by daguerreotypist Thomas Easterly of Saint Louis, in 1855. By all indications the engine as pictured here, had not seen much, if any work. It looks shiny and new, with a well dressed man positioned in the fireman’s side of the cab.
As we will learn in the next post, the name of this engine, Gasconade, and its name sake, the Gasconade River would play a significant, if disastrous role in the future of the fledgling Pacific Railroad.
About the Photograph.
This particular daguerrotype shows the immense skills of Thomas Easterly. At a time when most daguerreotypes were portraits produced in a controlled studio setting, Easterly had command of the skills necessary to produce work outside of the studio. This image shows a well composed and well lit image. It also shows the clarity of this medium when compared to the newer wet plate collodion pictures coming into vogue. During the 1860’s daguerreotypes were out of fashion. Thomas Easterly stubbornly refused to adapt to the demand of the public for images made with wet plate collodion, believing that daguerrotypes were of much superior quality and sharpness (which was true). He stated : “save your old daguerreotypes for you will never see their like again"