John Jervis

February 14, 1795 (age 89)

Huntington, New York, United States

Jervis served as an expert axeman on the survey for the Erie Canal, of which Benjamin Wright was chief engineer, and then as rodman. His promotion was rapid. In 1819 he was made a resident engineer in charge of construction of seventeen miles of the middle section of the canal. In 1823 he was made superintendent of fifty miles of completed canal with the responsibility of maintaining the flow of traffic in this section. In 1825 he became principal assistant on the projected Delaware & Hudson canal and railway system of which Wright was now the first chief engineer. Jervis with John B. Mills made an examination of the surveyed route and recommended the construction that was finally adopted for the canal. The system was built to convey anthracite coal from the Lackawaxen Valley in Pennsylvania to the Hudson River for cheap transport to the New York market and as constructed consisted of a canal from Rondout on the Hudson to Honesdale, Pennsylvania (108 miles), and a railway from Honesdale to the mines at Carbondale, Pennsylvania. (16 miles). On the resignation of Wright in 1827, Jervis became chief engineer at a salary of $4, 000 a year. Since the engineering of the canal was then practically completed, he was directed to devote his attention to the location and planning of the railway. At this time there was no railway worthy of the name in America and practically nothing was known of the primitive developments in England. Jervis' report is most interesting in that the total absence of precedent forced him to present a complete argument for and against every method that he proposed to employ. He compared the efficiency of single-and double-rail tracks, discussed the relative costs of locomotive and horse power, compared stationary engines with locomotives, and recommended the use of inclined planes and stationary engines for the steep ascents, and locomotive engines on the level middle section of the route. Very few essential details escaped his consideration, and to govern the speed of cars descending the planes he invented a successful contrivance of rotating sails that he geared to the cable sheaves to slow them down. In addition to building the road he trained the operating personnel (which included Horatio Allen) and drew up the specifications for all equipment including the "Stourbridge Lion, " the first locomotive to run in America. Jervis left the Delaware & Hudson Company in May 1830 to become chief engineer of the Mohawk & Hudson Railway. He located a line for this company that permitted the use of locomotives over the whole route and dispensed with the inclined planes. His observation of the severe action of the heavy four-wheel locomotive "John Bull" led him to devise a better method of suspension of locomotive weight. In 1832 the West Point Foundry Company built the "Experiment" according to Jervis' plans, employing his most important invention, the swiveling, four wheel, "bogie" truck to support the forward end of the locomotive. J. Snowden Bell, railroad historian, in his foreword to the Development of the Locomotive (1925) describes the swivel truck which Jervis used on the "Experiment" as the first and the most radical and universally approved advance in locomotive design. The "Experiment" was also one of the first locomotives to have six wheels and was in its day the fastest locomotive in the world, capable of speeds of sixty and eighty miles an hour. Upon the completion of the Mohawk & Hudson Railway and of the Schenectady & Saratoga (of which he was also chief engineer), Jervis became chief engineer of the Chenango (New York) Canal, April 1833. This was the first canal in the country to employ artificial reservoirs to supply water to the upper levels, and in this connection Jervis did considerable original work to determine the percentage of total rainfall that could be depended upon to replenish this supply of water. His determination of forty percent. of the total was higher than the constant used for similar works in Europe and was used successfully in the design of this canal. Some of Jervis' constants for the computation of rainfall and run-off were given in standard engineering handbooks as late as 1900. While he was with the Chenango Canal, Jervis was consulted regarding the enlargement of the Erie Canal and in 1836 he became the chief engineer of the eastern division of the Erie Canal enlargement. The canal board increased the width of the locks to eighteen feet over Jervis' objection and in September 1836 he resigned to accept the position of chief engineer on the Croton (New York) Aqueduct. In this position he directed the completion of the dam, the Ossining Bridge, the Harlem River Bridge, and the distributing reservoir. In 1846 Jervis was employed by the city of Boston, Massachussets, to investigate (with Walter Johnson of Philadelphia) the possible sources of a water supply for the city. The Cochituate River was recommended and work on this project was begun in 1846 with Jervis as consulting engineer. He held this position until the completion of the work in 1848. Meanwhile, in 1847, he became chief engineer for the proposed Hudson River Railroad and directed its construction to Poughkeepsie. He remained with the company until 1850 when he spent four months in Europe. He was next engaged on the construction of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad of which he was chief engineer until 1858. During this time he also built the Chicago & Rock Island Railway. In 1861 he became general superintendent of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, then in the hands of trustees for the bondholders. He resigned in 1864 but remained with the company as consulting engineer until 1866 when he retired to his home at Rome, New York, where he lived until his death.

John Bloomfield Jervis Edit Profile

civil engineer

Background

Jervis was born on December 14, 1795, in Huntington, New York, the son of Phoebe Bloomfield and Timothy Jervis (or Jarvis). When John was three the family removed to Rome, New York, where he grew up, attending the common school and working with the timber crews of his father's lumbering business.

Career

Jervis served as an expert axeman on the survey for the Erie Canal, of which Benjamin Wright was chief engineer, and then as rodman. His promotion was rapid. In 1819 he was made a resident engineer in charge of construction of seventeen miles of the middle section of the canal. In 1823 he was made superintendent of fifty miles of completed canal with the responsibility of maintaining the flow of traffic in this section. In 1825 he became principal assistant on the projected Delaware & Hudson canal and railway system of which Wright was now the first chief engineer. Jervis with John B. Mills made an examination of the surveyed route and recommended the construction that was finally adopted for the canal. The system was built to convey anthracite coal from the Lackawaxen Valley in Pennsylvania to the Hudson River for cheap transport to the New York market and as constructed consisted of a canal from Rondout on the Hudson to Honesdale, Pennsylvania (108 miles), and a railway from Honesdale to the mines at Carbondale, Pennsylvania. (16 miles).

On the resignation of Wright in 1827, Jervis became chief engineer at a salary of $4, 000 a year. Since the engineering of the canal was then practically completed, he was directed to devote his attention to the location and planning of the railway. At this time there was no railway worthy of the name in America and practically nothing was known of the primitive developments in England. Jervis' report is most interesting in that the total absence of precedent forced him to present a complete argument for and against every method that he proposed to employ. He compared the efficiency of single-and double-rail tracks, discussed the relative costs of locomotive and horse power, compared stationary engines with locomotives, and recommended the use of inclined planes and stationary engines for the steep ascents, and locomotive engines on the level middle section of the route. Very few essential details escaped his consideration, and to govern the speed of cars descending the planes he invented a successful contrivance of rotating sails that he geared to the cable sheaves to slow them down. In addition to building the road he trained the operating personnel (which included Horatio Allen) and drew up the specifications for all equipment including the "Stourbridge Lion, " the first locomotive to run in America.

Jervis left the Delaware & Hudson Company in May 1830 to become chief engineer of the Mohawk & Hudson Railway. He located a line for this company that permitted the use of locomotives over the whole route and dispensed with the inclined planes. His observation of the severe action of the heavy four-wheel locomotive "John Bull" led him to devise a better method of suspension of locomotive weight. In 1832 the West Point Foundry Company built the "Experiment" according to Jervis' plans, employing his most important invention, the swiveling, four wheel, "bogie" truck to support the forward end of the locomotive. J. Snowden Bell, railroad historian, in his foreword to the Development of the Locomotive (1925) describes the swivel truck which Jervis used on the "Experiment" as the first and the most radical and universally approved advance in locomotive design. The "Experiment" was also one of the first locomotives to have six wheels and was in its day the fastest locomotive in the world, capable of speeds of sixty and eighty miles an hour.

Upon the completion of the Mohawk & Hudson Railway and of the Schenectady & Saratoga (of which he was also chief engineer), Jervis became chief engineer of the Chenango (New York) Canal, April 1833. This was the first canal in the country to employ artificial reservoirs to supply water to the upper levels, and in this connection Jervis did considerable original work to determine the percentage of total rainfall that could be depended upon to replenish this supply of water. His determination of forty percent. of the total was higher than the constant used for similar works in Europe and was used successfully in the design of this canal. Some of Jervis' constants for the computation of rainfall and run-off were given in standard engineering handbooks as late as 1900. While he was with the Chenango Canal, Jervis was consulted regarding the enlargement of the Erie Canal and in 1836 he became the chief engineer of the eastern division of the Erie Canal enlargement. The canal board increased the width of the locks to eighteen feet over Jervis' objection and in September 1836 he resigned to accept the position of chief engineer on the Croton (New York) Aqueduct. In this position he directed the completion of the dam, the Ossining Bridge, the Harlem River Bridge, and the distributing reservoir.

In 1846 Jervis was employed by the city of Boston, Massachussets, to investigate (with Walter Johnson of Philadelphia) the possible sources of a water supply for the city. The Cochituate River was recommended and work on this project was begun in 1846 with Jervis as consulting engineer. He held this position until the completion of the work in 1848. Meanwhile, in 1847, he became chief engineer for the proposed Hudson River Railroad and directed its construction to Poughkeepsie. He remained with the company until 1850 when he spent four months in Europe. He was next engaged on the construction of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad of which he was chief engineer until 1858. During this time he also built the Chicago & Rock Island Railway. In 1861 he became general superintendent of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, then in the hands of trustees for the bondholders. He resigned in 1864 but remained with the company as consulting engineer until 1866 when he retired to his home at Rome, New York, where he lived until his death.

Achievements

Jervis was an American civil engineer who made outstanding contributions in the construction of U. S. canals, railroads, and water-supply systems. He designed and built the 41-mile Croton Aqueduct - New York City's fresh water supply from 1842 to 1891 - and was a consulting engineer for the Boston water system. His home and personal library at Rome became the Jervis Library by his bequest. Port Jervis, New York, is named for him and in 1927 the Delaware & Hudson named their finest locomotive the "John B. Jervis" in his honor.