Inventory of the Thomas Dowrick Collection, 1938-1950

Processed by Dr. Blaine P. Lamb; machine-readable finding aid created by Xiuzhi Zhou
California State Railroad Museum Library
111 "I" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 323-8073
Fax: (916) 327-5655
Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org
URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html
© 2000
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the Thomas Dowrick Collection, 1938-1950

Collection number: MS 7

California State Railroad Museum Library



Sacramento, California

Contact Information:

  • California State Railroad Museum Library
  • 111 "I" Street
  • Sacramento, California 95814
  • Phone: (916) 323-8073
  • Fax: (916) 327-5655
  • Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org
  • URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html
Processed by:
Dr. Blaine P. Lamb
Encoded by:
Xiuzhi Zhou
© 2000 California State Railroad Museum. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Thomas Dowrick Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1938-1950
Collection number: MS 7
Creator: Dowrick, Thomas
Extent: 1 document box (5 folders)
Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library
Sacramento, California 95814
Shelf location: Big Four Building or off-site storage. Please contact the Library in advance of your visit.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. Betty Kees and Mrs. Ruth Green, 1985

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Senior Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Thomas Dowrick Collection, MS 7, California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.

Collection Description

The Thomas Dowrick Papers contain biographical materials, documents, including a diagram, pertaining to the whistle valve invented by Dowrick and Chase, their patent on the valve, and the marketing of the invention by Viloco. The papers also contain letters to and from Viloco concerning the whistle valve, and records of royalty payments to Dowrick and Chase.

Historical Background

Thomas Dowrick was born in England in 1890, and after serving an apprenticeship in a shipbuilding firm emigrated to the United States. In 1917 Dowrick went to work for the Southern Pacific at Sacramento as a machinist. He later worked for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, but returned to the Southern Pacific, eventually becoming a foreman at the Sacramento Shops.
In 1938 Dowrick and James Forrest Chase invented and patented a locomotive whistle valve. Eventually the valve became used on Southern Pacific steam locomotives and was marketed by the Viloco Railway Equipment Company.
Thomas Dowrick retired from the railroad in 1952 and died in 1958.