It was named in honor of DeWitt Clinton, the governor of New York State responsible for the Erie Canal, a competitor to the railroad.

[1] Portions of the steam engine were cast at the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, New York.

Its passenger cars were made of stagecoach bodies in which riders would sit either inside or on outdoor rumble seats.

The New York Central Railroad built a replica of the locomotive for display at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

[6] The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company (the owner of the DeWitt Clinton locomotive) would be founded two years later in 1826.

[1] The state of New York had a set of waterways between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes which had been used for transport since before colonization.

[8] Due to its increasing urban population, a route alongside the Erie Canal was considered the most logical option for the first New York railroad.

[7][8] Featherstonhaugh argued that the railroad would reduce the travel time between Albany and Schenectady from 2 or 3 days to 3 hours.

[8] On March 27, 1826 a bill was passed in Congress and Featherstonhaugh and Rensselaer were granted a sum of $300,000-$500,000 for the construction of one of the first chartered railroads in American history.

[8] The test showed that the Clinton was unable to make much heat from its supply of Lackawanna coal, and only reached a top speed 7 miles per hour.

A similar trip on the Erie Canal, by comparison, would have taken hours due to a longer route and boats being slowed down by more than a dozen locks.

[13] After being purchased by Ford, the replica would continue to make appearances at NYCR fairs, expositions and other promotional events up until the 1950s.