In the fall of 1834, about the time we had 

 undertaken to build engines for the State road, I 

 was called to Lancaster to advise with the canal 

 commissioners. Mr. John Brandt being there, asked 

 me to ride with him on the "Lancaster" with a 

 freight train, as far as to where it would side track 

 to allow the passenger train to pass, and then to 

 take it to the city; but it was ordered otherwise, for 

 we had not gone over fourteen or fifteen miles with 

 the "Lancaster," before it, with the train, came to 

 a standstill. We were on the foot-board at the time, 

 and Brandt held the throttle lever. The cause of 

 the stop was soon evident. The center loose spindle 

 of the hand lever rock-shaft was placed back of the 

 dome of the boiler above the fire-door; this spindle 

 extended into a hollow portion of the rock-shaft 

 some 10 or 12 inches, and was lubricated through 

 several small holes drilled in the upper side of the 

 rock-shaft. This spindle had become fastened in 

 its socket, causing the breaking of one eccentric-rod 

 and the bending of the other. 



Brandt at once commenced taking off the rock- 

 shaft, saying if he could get the spindle loose, he 

 thought he could run the engine and train to the 

 side track that was not over a mile ahead, working 

 the valves by the hand levers. Considerable time 

 was lost in the effort to loosen the spindle and get 

 the rock-shaft apart by heating the hollow portion 

 and cooling the spindle end, but with the appliances 

 at hand it resisted all efforts. The nearest blacksmith 

 shop was on a country road over a mile away. A 

 flag-man was sent back to stop the passenger train, 

 with directions to cut its engine loose from the train, 

 and push the disabled engine and train to the side 

 track. This arranged, the fire was drawn from the 

 Lancaster. 



Mr. Brandt, myself and two others started for 

 the blacksmith shop, each carrying his portion. Our 

 course was over fences, and across fields. On rising 

 ground, in full sight of the railroad and not over a 

 quarter of a mile from it, we came to a farm house, 

 at which a hog-killing frolic was going on. Brandt 

 was acquainted with the German farmer, who offered 

 to hitch up his team and take us to the smithshop. 

 He said he had some tools in a little repair shop, that 

 Brandt was welcome to the use of — a good strong 

 vise, blacksmith's bellows, anvil and tools, but no 

 coal. "If the bellows and hearth are in order," said 

 Brandt, "I can straighten these rods and make the 

 weld with brands from under the hog-scalding 

 kettle," which was then in full blast. 



It was not long before he was at work with great 

 earnestness. My portion of the job was to loosen 

 the spindle, by stretching the outer shell of the rock- 

 shaft with a hand hammer. A pretty long and tire- 

 some job, but successful. When the spindle was got 

 out, it did not show signs of either heating or cutting, 

 it was simply dry blue cemented for about four 

 inches of its length between the oil holes, which 

 seemed to have been stopped by a thin scale in 

 contact with the spindle, a case of dry sticking, such 

 as is often experienced with ground glass bottle- 

 stoppers; the original fit had been a little too nice 

 to admit the oil. 



From our elevated position we saw the four-wheel 

 English locomotive cut loose from its train of a four- 

 wheel box baggage car and five four-wheel passenger 

 cars, that could seat twenty-six passengers each. 217 

 For over an hour the English engine was puffing away 

 in a vain effort to push the "Lancaster" and train to 

 the siding. She could start the train back on a down 

 grade, slack the connecting links and bump the cars 

 together again; but as to going ahead, it was the old 

 story of one step forward and two back. The accident 

 happened about 4 p.m. on a short fall day; it was long 

 after dark when the repairs were completed. Brandt, 

 with the brands from the hog-scalding fire, with poor 

 tools and improvised helpers, had made a good weld. 

 It was near eight o'clock when the engine started in 

 good running order. 



While these repairs were going on in the little work- 

 shop or stable lean-to, the farmer's wife was not back- 

 ward with her true German hospitality, for she came 

 with a jug of pure water and a square quart bottle of 

 homemade bitters, pressing it on us with the assur- 

 ance that "she is nice, she is goot." The daughters 

 and guests at the lard rendering and sausage making, 

 came with coffee, hot corn-cakes, and other nice 

 things, which we ate standing without stopping our 

 work, using the hands of the fair ones to put the food 

 in our mouths in a manner that caused much merri- 

 ment and many Pennsylvania Dutch jokes. 



The passenger engine with its train, felt its way to 

 the city, with a couple of common lanterns hung on 

 the front bumpers, for it was before the day of cow- 

 catchers, now called pilots, or headlights. This was 

 railroading fifty-one years ago, on what is now the 

 great Pennsylvania Central .... [60] 



217 Again, there is the difficulty with the English locomotive 

 as mentioned in notes 186 and 205 above. I can only assume 

 that this trip occurred after the English engines arrived, in the 

 spring of 1835. 



167 



