Locomotive Illustrations by William Linsley

This collection contains 46 illustrations of locomotives used in Vermont and on other railroads during the period 1848-1875 drawn by William Linsley (1852-1910) of Burlington, Vermont. Twenty-six of the locomotives drawn by Linsley were on the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, of which Linsley's father was director. The Rutland and Burlington Railroad became the Rutland Railroad in 1867. There are also four locomotives owned by the Vermont Central/Central Vermont, three by the Erie, and one each by the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain, St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain, and Burlington & Lamoille Railroad, as well several other railroads.

The illustrations are almost all watercolors on paper mounted onto a thick paper board. Some of the illustrations are incomplete. Most have legends that include the manufacturer of the locomotive, the place where it was manufactured, the year in which it was manufactured, the type of train it pulled, and specifications such as number of cylinders and the size of the drivers.

William Linsley was born in Middlebury, Vermont, on March 3, 1851, the son of Charles (1795-1863) and Emmeline (1818-1895) Linsley. The elder Linsley was a prominent attorney who served as director and solicitor of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad Company. William Linsley learned to be a machinist in Winooski, Vermont, and then worked as a fireman on the Erie Railroad. He returned to Vermont and worked for 14 years as a fireman and engineer on the passenger train of the Burlington & Lamoille Railroad. He then moved to Muncie, Indiana, for health reasons. In 1893 he returned to Burlington and worked as a motorman on the depot line of the Burlington Traction Company trolley line until his death. At the time of his death in 1910, Linsley was described as "one of the best known of the old time railroad men." His obituary reported, "Mr. Linsley was an enthusiastic collector of railroad relics, pictures, curios, etc., of which he succeeded in gathering a most interesting museum."

The collection was donated to the Vermont Historical Society by the Rutland Railroad Historical Society in December 2020. The donor had received the collection from the Pacific Coast Chapter (PCC) of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, which sent the collection directly to the Vermont Historical Society. The PCC had owned the collection for at least 40 years and did not know who donated it to them.

• Leahy Library, Vermont Historical Society, 60 Washington Street, Barre, Vermont 05641