Baldwin Locomotive Works

All below quoted from July 1945 Railroad magazine:

In November 1875, Baldwin built an experimental steam streetcar to test the applicability of steam to street railways. The experimental car was first tried out on a line in Philadelphia, then on Christmas day 1875 it was sent to the Atlantic Avenue Ferry route in Brooklyn. It ran there until June 1876, when it was shipped back to Philadelphia. Back in Philadelphia, it worked on the Market Street Railway, carrying passengers to and from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

The car—operated and maintained by a single trainman—consumed only seven or eight pounds of coal per mile. While in Brooklyn, it pulled a trailer car during rush hour trips to and from New York. On several occasions it reached speeds as high as 16 to 18 miles per hour.

The car was originally built with a wooden framework, to which the machinery was attached through an iron bed-plate. The cylinders were under the car, with the connecting rods driving a crank axle to which the front wheels were attached. The rear wheels were not coupled to the drive wheels.

After a year of operation, the car was completely rebuilt with the machinery attached to a strong iron framework, and the cylinders outside-connected as with an ordinary locomotive. It was then appropriately named the “Baldwin.”