Six pairs of 42-inch wrought-iron driving wheels complete with 

 axles and crankpins (three pairs to be fitted with eccentrics) were 

 ordered from Finch & Welley of Liverpool, England, through 

 Gilmore, Blake, & Ward of Boston. Sellers instructed the agents 

 that prompt delivery was important and that the drawings and 

 gauges he would furnish must be followed exactly, since other 

 components of the locomotives would be built while the wheels 

 were being made in England and all must fit together in the final 

 assembly. The first set of drivers, two pairs of wheels and axles, 

 were to be sent as soon as finished, for the first locomotive was 

 scheduled for an earlier delivery than the others. "« 



After Sellers' return to Cincinnati early in December, work began 

 in earnest on the drawings, contracts were let for building the 

 boilers, and arrangements were made with Greenwood, Globe, and 

 the Niles brothers to make the larger castings and forgings. Now, 

 after nearly three years of tedious negotiations and frustration, work 

 had actually begun on a full-size locomotive. Sellers felt his in- 

 vention would soon receive the worldwide recognition he had 

 planned for it. 



Before discussing the construction of these engines further, how- 

 ever, several misconceptions regai'ding them should be pointed out. 

 The Globe Works and, more often, Niles and Company have been 

 credited with building these machines, but, as noted, each pro- 

 duced only parts, not the entire engine. It has also been claimed 

 that four or five locomotives were built; we know that only three 

 were constructed. One of the most inaccurate commicnts was 

 made in the usually sound Railroad Advocate (August 15, 1857, 

 p. 42), where it was reported that the Sellers grade-climbing loco- 

 motives had five cylinders each. The most common error is the use 

 of the side elevation of the 1847 patent drawing to represent the 

 Panama engines. It is a fair representation of the model, except 

 that the drivers are too large in diameter, but it is in no way an 

 accurate illustration of the Panama locomotives, which were fitted 

 with only one pair of outside cylinders and no gears. The Panama 

 engines are more accurately depicted by the 1850 patent drawing 



^1*^ G.E. Sellers to Gilmore, Blake & Ward, November 25, 1850, ibid. 



79 



