" l James Buchanan, Big Wheel of the Railroads BY OLIVER S. SPROUT While much has been written concerning the early development of our railroads; two local men appear as having been slighted in the roles they filled as railroad builders. Their advancement of land transport techniques would have

recently been the capital of the Commonwealth and a center of its social life. The wealth- iest families of the city comprised two groups, the iron masters and the lawyers, who between them set the tone of society and of poli- tics. It was James Buchanan,s fate to become involved, with tragic and far

cold, and clambered aboard the wagon provided for its use. They marched out Marietta Avenue all the way to Wheatland where they learned that Buchanan's party was still not ready to leave. At last, to the echo of rousing cheers, the car- riage came round to the front portico, Buchanan, Miss Lane, James

second term, was serving the administration as minister to England. Buchanan wrote his niece, Harriet Lane, from England: . . . I presume that ere this you know that Col. Forney has come out openly in favor of the renomination of Gen. Pierce. You know that I consider this almost unavoidable. General P