much to do with the eventual adoption of the plan by the Panama 

 company. He was to maintain this view throughout the period of 

 Sellers' association with the Panama Railroad, and he remained 

 loyal to both Sellers and his system until the final abandonment 

 of the center-rail scheme. 



Not all the testimonials were unqualified; while most were favor- 

 able, certain objections were voiced. Benjamin H. Latrobe, chief 

 engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, believed that the 

 locomotive would be useful in special cases where very steep gra- 

 dients were encountered. He did not advocate the general adoption 

 of the center-rail system, believing its real merit lay only in its 

 remarkable ability to climb grades which could not be handled by 

 ordinary engines. He suggested that engines based on the Sellers 

 plan be built solely as grade-climbing machines, without regular 

 cylinders or connections and fitted only with driving machinery 

 for center-rail operation. Thus they would be confined to sections 

 of the road with steep grades and used as pusher engines. Possibly 

 Latrobe was considering the heavy Appalachian grade the Baltimore 

 and Ohio was yet to overcome. He also questioned the possibility 

 of a level crossing of two railroads with the center rail. Sellers 

 admitted the impracticality of such crossings, but suggested that 

 because of their inherent danger level crossings should never be 

 constructed in the first place. The general opinion seemed to be 

 that Sellers had developed a useful invention which might be used 

 to great profit on roads with steep gradients to overcome. In 

 August the Committee on Arts and Sciences of the American In- 

 stitute of New York inspected the model and awarded Sellers a gold 

 medal for his improvement.^" 



The model remained on exhibit in New York at least through 

 September 1848. During this time Sellers was conferring with rail- 

 road officials in New York, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, 

 hoping to find someone sympathetic to a full-size trial of his in- 

 vention. Throughout this period Sellers kept in close contact with 

 Horatio Allen and the Panama Railroad. A detailed survey had 

 not yet been made,"' and Allen continued to express fear that the 



^° Farmer and Mechanic (August 24, 1848), vol. 2, p. 402. 



^^ A preliminary survey made early in 1848 by J. L. Baldwin and John L. Stephens 

 indicated the lowest pass through the Isthmus to be 300 feet above sea level. 



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