and Sellers offered Adams ^250,000 to transfer the New Granada 

 grant to a company they hoped to form.**'' The precise events 

 immediately following this offer are not clear, but by means of 

 political influence William H. Aspinwall succeeded, independently 

 of Adams, in obtaining the prized charter in December of that 

 year. 87 Norris summarized his unhappy situation upon their failure 

 to secure the Panama grant in the following letter: 



New York Jany 22^ 1849 

 My Dear Sellers 



I must beg you to excuse this short letter, written just on the eve of 

 sailing for Chagres, I only decided two days ago to accept an office 

 on the Expedition to make the Survey & Location - and I go out as 

 one of the Chiefs of Division — I will write you a full history of the whole 

 matter in detail, For the present, I can only state in general, that General 

 Herrau [?] did not keep his promise to Adams, but gave the Grant to 

 Aspinwall — Aspinwall then made his own selection of Engineer, and 

 offered me a secondary place — which I could not accept, until I was 

 satisfied that my chance for obtaining the Contract, would be benefitted 

 by my going in person — For this purpose I go & for no other — Manrow 

 [?] was left out of the organization 



You may depend on receiving a long letter in detail & believe me 

 to be 



Yours very sincerely 

 William Norris ^^ 



During the exhibition of the model locomotive in New York 

 Sellers obtained testimonials *^ from many of the more prominent 

 engineers who viewed the model. Horatio Allen commented 

 enthusiastically on the value of the center-rail system. (Con- 

 sidering the unusual articulated double-enders he built for the South 

 Carolina Railroad in the early 1 830's, Allen was not likely to be dis- 

 turbed by innovations in locomotives.) His endorsement, along with 

 the general respect and prestige he enjoyed in railroad circles, had 



8^ Copy of agreement among Sellers, Adams, and Norris, October 25, 

 Peale-Sellers papers. 

 ^'G.E. Sellers to C.H. Todd, February 14, 1849, Peale-Sellers papers. 

 88 W. Norris to G.E. Sellers, January 22, 1849, ibid. 

 8^ These were later published in Improvements, pp. 20-26. 



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