John Swatsley (American, B. 1937) "The Samson Locomotive" Signed lower right. Original oil painting on Illustration Board painting. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Canada 37c Samson stamp issued March 10. 1983. When the railways were first being built across the Canadian frontier, some people doubted the abilities of the great steam engines to climb the steep mountainsides, and to operate in the bitter Canadian winters. Most of these fears were unfounded. The steam locomotives brought all-weather travel with unprecedented speed and luxury. The trains hauled their bulky burdens to new markets, and increased Canadian commerce. One of the most memorable steam engines in Canadian history is the Samson -- the first locomotive in Canada. This great engine was built in 1836 by the Robert Stephanson Company in England. The Samson was acquired by the first railway in the Atlantic Provinces to haul coal between the Albion Mine and the docks at Pictou .. a distance of about six miles. She was capable of pulling thirty-two cars of coal up a steep hill ... and could haul up to four hundred tons of cargo on a level track! Samson was also the first coal burning engine in Canada, and the first to run over all iron rails. This historic locomotive hauled carloads of coal from the Albion Mine along the short six mile track for more than forty years. Exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and at the Fair of the Iron Horse in Baltimore in 1927 as a remarkable machine ... the Samson is now preserved and on display at New Glasgow, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Image Size: 14 x 12 in. Overall Size: 19.75 x 17.5 in. Unframed. (B08282)