Exceptional mid-19th century sixth plate tintype showing a railroad worker crouched beside the iron wheel of the Daniel Nason, carefully polishing the locomotive’s running gear. The engine's nameplate is clearly visible in both views, along with the builder's mark—providing an unusually direct and identifiable connection between the laborer and the historic machine. A powerful occupational portrait, it captures the human element behind American rail expansion during the Industrial Age.

The Daniel Nason was a 4-4-0 "American" type engine, designed by George S. Griggs, Master Mechanic of the Boston & Providence Railroad. Constructed in the railroad's own shops, it represents the last known example of the “Dutch Wagon” style—a pre-Civil War configuration with the cylinders placed under the smokebox and within the frame rails. It was built with 16” x 20” cylinders and 54” driving wheels. Though originally a coal-burner, the locomotive was cosmetically altered—or “backdated”—for exhibition at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it was given a bonnet stack, compact tender, and reproduction builder’s plate to mimic an earlier wood-burning model.

Now housed at the National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri, the Daniel Nason is a rare survivor in American rail history—and this may be the only known period image of the locomotive.