Allen Company paper car wheel, 1884 Invented by Richard Allen, a locomotive engineer, this railroad wheel featured a compressed paper disk that supposedly provided a smoother and quieter ride than cast-iron wheels. It was first displayed at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans in 1884-85 and collected by the Smithsonian four years later as an example of contemporary railroad technology. See also: Locomotives, Transportation

Return to the Legacies Home Page