Vauclain, Samuel M. (Samuel Matthews), 1856-1940

Samuel Matthews Vauclain Jr. (1880-1913) was the son of Samuel Matthews Vauclain, inventor of the compound locomotive. After studying at Central High School in Philadelphia, then mechanical engineering at Cornell University, he began working for his father at The Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1902. Sam was only employed a few months when the company decided to send him to Japan. While staying in Hawaii, war broke out between Russia and Japan. He continued his business trip to Japan, and later Australia. Sam later obtained a new position in the company and spent the rest of his short career in the Philadelphia office. In the spring of 1912 he contracted tuberculosis and later passed away in Castle Hot Springs, Arizona.

From the description of Samuel Matthews Vauclain Jr. papers, 1896-1929. (Southern Methodist University). WorldCat record id: 752311424

Cornell University Class of 1902.

From the description of Samuel Matthews Vauclain class notes and thesis, 1901-1902. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 63934973

Vauclain was the president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works.

From the description of Papers, 1905-1931. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 151371180

In 1832 Mathias Baldwin constructed the “first practical locomotive built and run in Pennsylvania” with the help of a railroad mechanic named Andrew Constant Vauclain. By 1856 Vauclain had risen to become a roundhouse foreman for the Pennsylvania Railroad. With the promotion came an increase in pay, but it also forced Vauclain to separate from his family. In February 1856 he left hi s children and his wife, Mary A. Vauclain, who was five months pregnant, and he relocated to Altoona, Pennsylvania. Shortly after the birth of a son, Samuel, she moved the family from Port Richmond to Altoona, the center of Pennsylvania Railroad Company operations and the place of Samuel M. Vauclain’s rearing and education.

Samuel Matthews Vauclain (May 18, 1856 – February 4, 1940) gradually acquired his father’s taste for locomotives and quickly ascended from the lower ranks of the railroad production community to become a locomotive manufacturer, inventor, salesman, and international businessman. When he turned 16 S. M. Vauclain decided not to attend college and, with his father’s help, found employment in the repair shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The next year he signed a four-year indenture contract with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. When the period of indenture ended in 1877, Vauclain was promoted to Assistant Foreman. The $150-200 per month salary allowed Vauclain to provide for a family, and on April 17, 1879, Vauclain married Annie Kearney of Altoona.

At the age of 24 Samuel Vauclain was earning a decent salary and living with his wife in a newly constructed home outside of Altoona. Vauclain's big opportunity came when he was offered a position as engine inspector for sixty locomotives being constructed at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Vauclain impressed the employers at the plant with his attention to detail. Thus, when a position fell vacant in 1883 for the general foreman of the 17th Street shops, Vauclain was offered the job. From that day in 1883 until the end of his life in 1940, Samuel Vauclain worked for the Baldwin Locomotive Works Company.

Vauclain moved up the promotion ladder quickly at Baldwin Locomotive Works. He soon became Superintendent of the 17th Street Shops. Later he was hired as the Superintendent of Equipment, and by the age of 30 Vauclain was the General Superintendent of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In January 1896 Vauclain was asked to become a member of the board of directors.

During his early years at the Baldwin Locomotive Works Vauclain also engineered locomotive engine prototypes and first of a kind electrical machinery. He was one of the first men to apply to processes of heavy equipment and in 1889 Vauclain invented the compound locomotive. Also in 1902 he performed developmental work on the balanced compound.

Vauclain’s hard-working attitude and inventive spirit earned him the position of Vice President in 1911. As V.P. and later Senior V.P. (1917), Vauclain was responsible for the sale of locomotive engines and locomotive parts to Allied nations during World War I. His performance in Europe was exemplary and in May 1919 after Alba Johnson’s Death, Vauclain was appointed president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. As president Vauclain continued to negotiate sales of locomotives with near-bankrupt European countries.

By 1929 Vauclain had witnessed the construction of the 60,000 locomotive built by Baldwin. With the onset of the Great Depression he organized the cross-country trek of the “Prosperity Special.” Nonetheless, with his wife’s health ailing, Vauclain decided to resign as President of the Baldwin Locomotive Works at the age of 73. He was appointed the Chairman of the Board and served in that position until his death in 1940. At the time of his death, Baldwin Locomotive Works was enjoying its most prosperous period. Just 16 years later all work was suspended.

Vauclain performed many duties outside of his business environment. Samuel and Annie Vauclain parented six children; two, Sam, Jr., and Constance, died at an early age. Samuel Vauclain was a faithful member of the Republican Party and also a member and/or director of over 50 other organizations. Vauclain received his numerous honorary degrees, decorations, and awards, and was president of the Bryn Mawr Children’s Hospital. He and Annie most enjoyed gardening at their “Broadlawn” estate in Rosemont, Delaware County.

From the guide to the Samuel M. Vauclain papers A1980. 0220., 1856-1940, (DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University)