Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-03-26
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- A Preacher -
= Among the People. -.
ON A LOCOMOTIVE.

land where, he had made a careful
study of steam locomction, submitted
a report to the South Carolina Rail-
way Company and in his report ad-
vocated steam instead of horse power
for tha, company's road His reason
for advocating steam power was that
there was no reason to expect any ma
terial Improvement in the breed of
horses, while in his judgment, the
man was not alive who knew what the
breed of locomotives was to place at
the command of men.
Succeeding events have justified Ho-
ratio Aliens report. There are a
great many living now who we're near
ing the threshold of manhood and
womanhood when his report was sub
mitted but no one dreamed of the Won
derful Transformation that was to be
effected in the life of the world by the
application of steam power to travel
and transportation.
Standing beside one of our present
day marvels Of strength and speed, it is
difficult for us to realize that in 1929
Peter Cooper, experimenting with. a
little engine on the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad, was trying to determine the
comparative merits of the locomotive
and the horse by having them run a
race "At a meeting of the Master
Mechanics Association in New York
in 1875, he related with great glee how
on the trial trip" his engine had beat
en- the horse and so scored a point in
favor of steam power.
Anxious to be on more familiar
terms with that valuable servant OF
mankind, the locomotive, went over
to the shops to examine one that was
undergoing repairs. The jacket had
been taken off the boiler, and the flues
and pipes had been removed from the
interior. This enabled, me under the
guidance of a genial and competent
workman, to study the different parts
separately. Climbing up through the
cab to the top Of the auxiliary steam
dome, l looked down into the boiler,
while the relation o. the firebox and
water department and methods of
bracing were explained.
In imagination we set up the throt-
tie and attached the dry steam pipe,
both OF which were lying on the floor
outside the boiler, and then went to
the front end of the locomotive to see
how the steam is admitted to the cyl
inders.. Having spared no pains to
make this point clear 20 me, my in
Structor next took me down under the
boiler and pointing out the different
parts of the machine, tried to show me
how each part works and the end it
serves. The partial failure that attend
ed this effort was not due to any lack
of patience or knowledge on his part,
but to my own inability to comprehend
! it all have had somewhat to do with
complicated problems at various times
in my life, and have been fairly sue
cessful in dealing with some of them;
but when | got under that boiler and
began looking at the bars and blades,
eccentric and links, wheels and shafts,
brakes and springs, and tried to see
the relation of each part to the other,
| was well-nigh overwhelmed.
Turning to my begrimed guide, | eX-
pressed my wonder that one man
should be able to comprehend all those
parts and make them do his bidding.
He simply smiled and stopped his ex-
PLANTATION long enough to remark;
You cannot always judge of mans wit
by the clothes that he wears" Had
my association with men not taught me
that long ago, | should have been will
ling to grant it before l crawled out
from under tina .-oiler a somewhat
wiser man hope than when entered
the Shop.
Having learned something of the To-
comotiye, the next thing was to put my
newly acquired knowledge to a practl-
cal test. We stepped outside the shop
where a huge iron steed, Just off the
road as its painting indicated, was
standing on the switch. The fireman,
very pleasant, gentlemanly fellow,
upon being told that 1 was anxious to
apply my knowledge of the locomotive,
led the way up into the cab. After a
few experiments and further exp4ana-
tions of levers and brakes, l took the
engineers place. / set the reversing
lever for forward movement Then
followed one of the most intensely in
teresting moments o. my life. Taking
hold of the lever, ! opened the throttle
slowly, carefully noting the effect. For
a moment the huge mechanism seemed
to yawn and stretch itself in an indif-
ferent sort fway; and then, as if sud
denly resolving upon some definite ac-
ton, it started. Behold modern mar
vel. A few ounces of water converted
into steam and intelligently directed
moving tons OF iron and steel and able
to draw yet other tons of portable
merchandise! OF a truth God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are
mighty"
My run was short, very short; but it
was full of interest to me. On stop
ping changed the reversing lever, op-
anad tho throft1a again and anioyad a