822 Chandler—Early American Railways. 
plete trip per day, starting from Lowell in the morning and 
returning from Boston in the afternoon. Probably the time had 
then been some years past when, as we are told, the sturdy 
English promoters of the advancing steam power were greatly 
pleased at the improved workmanship which gave them engine 
cylinders (so-called) which varied but three-eighths of an inch 
from a true cylindrical form. But the makers of the first loco¬ 
motive on the Boston and Lowell road had not yet learned by 
experience sound rules in respect to the best proportions of 
parts and their relative strength. So it was that, while the 
new engine did not lose a trip during the season, it not infre¬ 
quently crawled with difficulty back to Lowell far behind its 
time. My father, James Chandler, was then in the employ of 
the company, and the needed repairs were committed to him. 
He has told me that sometimes the entire night was consumed 
in restoring the enfeebled iron steed to a sufficiently sound state 
of health to allow the next day’s trip; and that twice, at least, 
nothing prevented its absence from the route, over which there 
was no possible substitute to be sent, except that its weakness 
chanced to assail it on Saturday afternoon. 
Another peculiar condition was added to the situation by the 
attitude of the English engineers who were generally engaged 
to run the early engines imported, and who apparently expected 
to retain a monopoly of the business of locomotive engineer in 
this country. The first Boston and Lowell engine was brought 
from England in separate pieces, and carried in wagons to the 
shops in Lowell, where my father and another skilled mechanic 
were detailed to put it into running order upon the track. The 
English engineer had not yet arrived, and neither of the men. 
to whom this novel job was given had ever seen a locomotive. It 
therefore seemed advisable that they should visit Boston and ex¬ 
amine another locomotive, which for a short time had been mak¬ 
ing trips of ten or a dozen miles upon the Worcester road. But 
on their arrival at Boston they were not allowed to approach the 
engine and acquire a knowledge of its mysterious construction; 
and an explanation of their reason for wishing to examine it 
made the engineer’s prohibition more positive. At that time 
working drawings were unknown, or at least, very rarely seen, 
