valves were in gear and the engine in motion, two levers on
the engineman's side moved back and forth continuously. When it was
necessary to put the locomotive on the turntable, enginemen who were
skilled in the handling of the engines first put the valves out of
gear by turning the handle down, and then worked the levers by hand,
thus moving the valves to the proper position and stopping the engine
at the exact point desired.

The reversing gear was a very complicated affair. The two eccentrics
were secured to a sleeve or barrel, which fitted loosely on the crank
shaft, between the two cranks, so as to turn freely. A treadle was
used to change the position of this loose eccentric sleeve on the
shaft of the driving wheel (moving it to the right or left) when it
was necessary to reverse. Two carriers were secured firmly to the body
of this shaft (one on each side of the eccentrics); one carrier worked
the engine ahead, the other back. The small handle on the right side
of the boiler was used to lift the eccentric rod (which passed forward
to the rock shaft on the forward part of the engine) off the pin, and
thus put the valves out of gear before it was possible to shift the
sleeve and reverse the engine.

Great similarity will be noticed in the American locomotives built for
many years after the arrival of the "John Bull," especially in the
matter of making the keys, brasses, etc., on the connecting rods, and
in the construction of valves, fire box and tubes. Even the old plan
of setting the ends of the exhaust nozzle high up in the smoke box,
which was discontinued when the petticoat pipe came in use, is now
again resorted to in connection with the extended smoke box of modern
locomotives.

FIRST TRIAL OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.

Mr. Dripps informs me that, after many attempts, he succeeded in
putting the parts of the engine together, and when it was placed in
position upon the track he notified Robert Stevens of the fact. Mr.
Stevens came at once to Bordentown, as his anxiety to see it in
operation was very great. Upon his arrival the boiler was pumped full
of water, by hand, from the hogshead in which it was brought. Benjamin
Higgins made the fire with pine wood, and when the scale[5] showed
thirty pounds steam pressure, Isaac Dripps opened the throttle, Robert
Stevens standing by his side, and the first locomotive on this great
highway _moved_. It would be difficult to describe the feeling of
these three men as they s