Elkridge Industrial Replica

On the corner of Washington Blvd. (Route 1) and Old Washington Blvd., there is a replica of a historic artifact. Some believe it’s a replica of the Tom Thumb, or some other railroad artifact, but that’s not correct. So, what is it? Read below:

Ross Winans (born 1796) was an important early railroad inventor. The Winans moved to Baltimore in 1828 to work with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company and served as an engineer in charge of improving machinery for the Railroad. Winans achieved engineering accolades for contributing to numerous inventions such as the Tom Thumb engine, the Camel Back freight engine, the first eight-wheeled passenger car, and two four-wheeled truck-mounted cars.

Ross Winans’ growing railroad reputation eventually drew worldwide attention. In 1840, the Czar of Russia, Nicholas I, commissioned Ross Winans to maintain railways and manage buildings in the Empire of Russia, which introduce him and his sons (William and Thomas) to Russia and the Black Sea region of Crimea. The Winans family’s success with the construction of the rail system for the Czar, led to additional contracts within the Russian Empire., and as a result, the family became extremely wealthy.

While in Russia, Thomas Winans married a Russian woman (Celeste) on August 23, 1847. Thomas and Celeste returned to America in 1851 after the successful completion of this Russian railroad work. Thomas Winans’ financial success in Russia provided the capital to purchase the first portion of the large estate in the Gwynn’s Falls valley of the Western Baltimore area. This estate became known as
”Crimea” after their stay in Russia, and is now part of the Gwynn’s Falls Park, and the road winding through the park is called “Winans Way”.

Now back to the replica item: Ross Winans served as an elected member of the Maryland State Legislature and was known as a champion of states’ rights. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Ross, Thomas, and William Winans immediately aligned with the Confederacy.

Ross Winans became interested in a new invention that used steam powered centrifugal force (rather than gunpowder) to propel projectiles and was capable of shooting 200 projectiles in a minute. While he didn’t invent the gun, his fame and support/promotion of the gun, coupled with its temporary storage at his facility, gave rise to it being called the “Winans Steam Gun”.

In May of 1861, the inventor of the gun attempted to smuggle this gun to the Confederacy, but as luck would have it, Union troops intercepted it at Ellicott Mills and took it to the Union encampment at Relay near the Thomas Viaduct. In 1961, a full-scale replica was built for the Centennial of the Civil War and is now on outdoor display on the median of US. Route 1 in Elkridge, Maryland.

Thus, the item at the corner of Washingon Blvd. and Old Washington Blvd. is a replica of the “Winans Steam Gun” that was captured by Union troops in 1861.