This book focuses on the Baltimore Engines of Ross Winans, using a transcription of his engine deliveries from his personal pocket notebook, in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society. The Winans patents are included, allowing a chronological trace of his design ideas. This book has been in work since 1997.

The book contains a list of 267 motive power deliveries of the Crab, Muddigger, and the Camel engines, including the unique 4-8-0 Camel. It presents a technical and economic analysis of the engines, notes on design details, maintenance and service life, performance, and failure modes. A section on war damage is included. The B&O was Winans’ biggest customer. The delivery data was cross-checked with ante-bellum roster information.

Ross Winans was a man of wide ranging interests, and his writings include political and religious tracts, his shipbuilding ventures, and his work as a water commissioner for the city of Baltimore. He was a fervent supporter of States Rights during the Civil War, and served in the Maryland House of Delegates. He was forcibly removed from a train by Federal troops as he was returning from a meeting of the Assembly and was interned briefly at Fort McHenry. He was also involved in a steam powered cannon. He changed focus from steam locomotives to steam ships during the civil war, building some in Maryland, and others in England and France. Of a unique design, the spindle-shaped Winans Cigar ship may have been Jules Verne’s inspiration for the Nautilus in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. A vast amount of dealings in railroads and ships, including war ships, was done with the Czar of Imperial Russia.

Winans was associated with the B&O from the very beginning of the application of steam power. He worked with Stevenson, Davis, and other pioneers. The Winans Camel engines were responsible for the construction of the 17-Mile Grade, and the conquering of the Alleghenies.