The history of the first locomotives in America. From original ...

FIRST LOCOMOTIVE-EiSrGINEEE. 167
Mr. E. L. Miller, who contracted with the South Carolina Railroad
Company to furnish them with a locomotive suitable for their rbad,
was behind time in its delivery. His excuse for being so was,
that he could get no one at that season of the year to come out
South with the engine, and, as there was no one in Charleston com-
petent to put the engine together, he was forced to delay the shipment
of it until late in the season, when he would be able to bring
a competent person with him to erect the same. This letter of
Mr. MUler's was at the time published in the daily papers of Charles-
ton. He, however, brought the engine to Charleston, without his
competent man, and called upon Mr. Thomas Dotterer to give him
assistance in putting it upon the road. I was at that time foreman
of Mr. Dotterer's establishment, and wa,s requested by him ,to.
undertake the job. I at first declined, on account of Mr. Miller's
published letter ; but, to please Mr. Dotterer, at last consented.
I took Mr. Darrell, who, like myself, had served his apprenticeship
with Mr. Dotterer, and was just out of his time, to assist me.
After erecting and putting the engine on the road, I ran it for
three or four days, having Mr. Darrell with me all the time, then
turned her over to him as engineer, in which capacity he con-
tinued until it exploded its boiler. I" might mention that, previ-
ous to its explosion, Mr. Dotterer had cast and put under her
(under my^ superintendence) a pair of new driving-wheels, in place
of the original, which were made of wood, and which gave out
after running about a week or ten days."
" The second engine was called the ' "West Point,' and was buUt
at the establishment of that name in New York, where the ' Best
Friend ' was also built. Mr. Darrell ran the ' West Point ' while
the ' Best Friend ' was being rebuilt. The third engine was the
' South Carolina,' an eight-wheel engine, built at the same estab-
lishment, on a plan furnished by Mr. Horatio Allen, chief engineer
of the road, and was the first eight-wheel engine ever built. Mr,
Degnon came out with that engine on the part of the West Point
company, and superintended its erection. After he left, I gave her
in charge of Mr. Darrell. So you will perceive that, so far from
Mr. Degnon running the ' Best Friend ' and teaching Mr. Darrell,
he did not come to Charleston until after Mr. Darrell had run the
' Best Friend ' until her explosion, and had been transferred to the
second engine, the ' West Point,' and had run it for months. You
are aware that, from the time of putting cast-iron drivers under the
' Best Friend ' until the completion of the road, I had charge of
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