was searching for power that could be turned on, and just as quickly, turned off. During the 19th century, we were close in our quest for this power source. Advancements had been made in the generation of steam power. Steam engines moved the railroads and powered the fac- tories of the Industrial

. "Among the labor-saving appliances which human ingenuity has invented the steam engine holds the first rank. Such is the extraordinary force con- centrated by these engines that, under the management of one man, a single �machine is made to exert a power equal to the strength of several hun- dred horses

Fig. 1. Martin Shreiner (Sr.) in his 97th year. (Courtesy of The Watch and Clock Museum) Martin Shreiner: From Clocks to Fire Engines by Stacy B. C. Wood, Jr. Although not the earliest of the Lancaster Bor- ough clockmakers, Martin Shreiner, Sr. (1767-1866) (figure 1), is arguably the best known of