Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Travel to Ancon with Nicolás de Piérola

Nicolás de Piérola adeptly and routinely took advantage of what might be useful to his cause. His opinions tended towards the dogmatic, but he eagerly embraced new ideas. Technology fascinated him, and he saw technology as the way to gain superiority in the current war crisis.

As a veteran of countless conspiracies, he maintained a certain suspicion and a distance from those that he met. He planned to bring in expert help from Germany and France, while maintaining mistrust of his own compatriots.

Soon after Paul Boyton and George Kiefer arrived, Piérola invited them to an exhibition of torpedo work in the open sea. Boyton was invited to take the train to Ancon. Boyton and Kiefer met Piérola at the railroad station. Several high government officials accompanied them, including Sergeant Major Luis Reybaud, who would be Boyton's aide while they were in Peru.

They boarded a special car pulled by the engine, La Favorita, which later operated on the Oroya line. American engineers completed the line from Lima to Ancon in 1870.