The first pilot and pilot truck was applied to a locomotive by Isaac Dripps in Camden, New Jersey, in 1831. Dripps, master mechanic of the Camden & Amboy, found that his locomotive has a propensity to leave the rails when traveling at normal and higher-than-normal speeds. He believed that adding two extra non-powered wheels should weigh down the engine's front. Dripps discovered the pilot truck led locomotives more smoothly into curves.