**SOLD**
51”H x 15”L x 5”W
Ross Winans (1796-1877) was an American inventor, mechanic, and builder of locomotives and railroad machinery. Winans was one of the United States' first multi-millionaires, and was related to James McNeill Whistler through marriage .
In 1828 he developed a friction wheel with outside bearings, which established a distinctive pattern for railroad wheels for the hundred years. His wealth grew from a series of inventions for wheels, locomotives, patents, manufacturing, and…litigation over his ideas.
During the Civil War Winans was a member of the Maryland state legislature, and was arrested twice due to his anti-Federal activities and speeches. His firm is also recorded as supplying munitions to Confederate forces during the war.
In the mid 1800s Winans and his son Thomas designed and built a series of spindle-shaped boats, usually referred to as the "cigar ships.” The intent was to allow the ship to progress with less disturbance from weather and waves. This ship was discussed at length in the pages of Scientific American, and in the end remained tied up at the Winans docks in England for many years, after a series of trials and modifications.
Some believe that Jules Verne observed these “Nautilus-like” contraptions, which later figured prominently in his novels
|
