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The day has passed away when an engineer was regarded as perfectly competent so long as he could take his train over the road on time. Nowadays a man must get the train along on schedule time to be tolerated at all, and he is not considered a first-class engineer unless he possesses the knowledge which enables him to take the greatest amount of work out of the engine with the least possible expense. To accomplish such results, a thorough acquaintance with all details of the engine is essential, so that the entire machine may be operated as a harmonious unit, without jar or pound: the various methods of economizing heat must be intimately understood, and the laws which govern combustion should be well known so far as they apply to the management of the fire.

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To obtain this knowledge, which gives power, and directly increases a man’s intrinsic value, young engineers and aspiring firemen must devote a portion of their leisure time to the form of self-improvement relating to the locomotive. Socrates, a sagacious old Greek philosopher, believed that the easiest way to obtain knowledge was by persistently asking questions. Young engineers can turn this system to good account. Never feel ashamed to ask for information where it is needed, and do not imagine that a man has reached the limit of mechanical knowledge when he knows how to open and shut the throttle-valve. The more a man progresses in studying out the philosophy of the locomotive and its economical operation, the more he gets convinced of his own limited knowledge. A young engineer who seeks for knowledge by questioning his elders must not feel discouraged at a rebuff. Men who refuse to answer civilly questions asked by juniors searching for information, are generally in the dark themselves, and attempt by rudeness to conceal their own ignorance.