Read Online Distant Dreams by Tracie Peterson, Judith Pella - Free Book Online Page A

him when he had stood in the railroad office looking over plans for a new engine. The plans were intricate, almost artistic in his perception. They had placed one fundamental piece upon another. A spring here, a metal bar there, a cylinder, an axle—it had all pulled at James as nothing ever had before. And his engineering training and his natural aptitude combined so that he actually understood many of the fine nuances of the detailed blueprints. Closing his eyes now, he could still picture the sketch before him. Two sets of lead wheels, two large sets of drive wheels, and no trail wheels. A 440, he remembered, each number representing the wheels on the engine. The most powerful locomotive yet to be made.
    And somehow James knew he must be part of it!
    The only question now was if he was strong enough to stand up to his father and devastate his mother. He just wasn’t sure.
    James picked up another rock but gave it only a halfhearted toss into the water. He really wasn’t in the mood for this solitary walk, nor for the miserable process of self-debate. He was a man of action, not one of great introspection. He headed back to town seeking some diversion.
    He wasn’t surprised when his footsteps led him to the rail yard. The big locomotive he had come into town on was there, and men were busily working around it. He ambled into the yard, watching the men’s labors.
    A big fellow with red hair and a freckled ruddy face was railing at the men. “This ain’t never gonna get done for the early morning run. Edwards, Collins, can’t you two move a little faster?”
    “You want speed or precision, boss?”
    “Don’t get smart with me, Edwards. I expect the job to get done, that’s all!” The red-haired boss stalked away.
    The four workers shook their heads and raised their eyebrows, grumbling under their breath. James moved closer.
    “What’s the problem?” he asked.
    “Bad iron,” answered Edwards, not bothering to question this stranger’s presence. Maybe he thought that James, with his fine clothes, was one of the big bosses. “Driving rod is in bad shape. Looks like it was made out of cast iron instead of wrought.”
    “Cast iron would never stand up to the pressure,” James said, looking over the man’s shoulder.
    “True enough and the proof is right here,” Edwards agreed. “Who knows what else we’ll find.”
    “That ain’t all,” put in the fellow named Collins. “We’ll have to figure a way to fabricate our own parts ’cause they don’t have what we need here.”
    “Mind if I have a look?”
    “Be our guest—say, are you one of the owners or something?”
    “No, just an interested bystander. But I’ve got some engineering knowledge, and I’ve been told I have a way with machines.”
    “Well, I don’t reckon you can do any harm.”
    James tossed his jacket and beaver hat carelessly on a pile of crates. He was just rolling up his sleeves when a voice called out.
    “James Baldwin, is that you?”
    Turning, James spied Phineas Davis, a well-muscled man in his forties and chief mechanic for the B&O Railroad. Why, the very engine before them had been created by none other than Davis.
    “Phineas!” James said, thrusting forward his hand for a hardy shake. “I thought I’d left you to better times in Baltimore.”
    “I came down to accompany Mr. Thomas on a fund raiser. What’s the problem here?”
    “Well, in spite of your wonderful design, some fool has put cast iron in the place of wrought iron.”
    Davis stepped forward to view the problem for himself, muttered a low growl of inaudible words and threw off his coat. “We might as well get at it or we’ll pay the price come morning.”
    Within a half hour the men were deeply into the task. Lengthy discourse and tedious inspection proved their worst fears. Not only was the driving rod in bad shape, but the link rod was nearly broken in two at the return crank.
    “Cast iron,” James muttered.
    “Somebody’s going to hear about