The Osceola times., 1881-11-05
NINETY NILES IN HOUR.
A Locomotive That is Expected to be
Marvel In speed.
New York sun

New York sun.
Standing in stall" in the round
house Of the Pennsylvania Railroad, IN
Jersey CITY, is an odd looking loc0mo
tive bearing the name "Fontaine." The
engine was constructed for speed, and
although il has not vet made its trlai
trip. it is expected that it will run at the
rate of 90 miles an hour. The machln-
ery, instead of being below the medium
line of the boiler, is almost entirely
above il. There are three pairs Of driy-
ing wheels. but only two rest on the rails.
The third pair are on top of the boiler
directly in front of the cab. These
wheels are termed the main drivers"
and the power is communicated TO them
from the cylinders. The steam chests
and cylinders are set at an angle OF about
As degrees, on the sides of the boiler, and
the crank rods run up to the drivers"
The lower driving wheels are different
sized and are not connected. The rear
wheels, which are only 4t feet in dame
ter, in the nomenclature of railroad men,
are the ponies" and are double. The
main part Of each wheel is 6 feet in di-
ameter. The other part, which is a sep
arate wheel, inasmuch as 1t does not
come in contact with the rail, although
in the solid casting, is known as the
"friction wheel" 1t lis Al feet in diane
ter, and is supplied With a steel the the
same as the others. The main drivers"
stand upon the friction wheels" and
transmit the motive power to them.
The large wheels rolling upon the
smaller ones give the speed. There is
no gearing whatever. The main driv-
ers" run in one direction, and turn the
friction wheels" and ''lower drivers" in
another. In order to prevent the wheels
from slipping, and thus losing motion,
steam pressure is applied to the main
drivers to hold them down upon the
wheels beneath. The force can be in
creased from the simple weight of the
wheels to rs tons at the will of the engi-
neer, who is governed by the length OF
the train the locomotive may be draw
ing. The diameter of the truck wheels
under the front end Of the engine is forty
inches. The usual size is thirty three
inches. Otherwise the "Fontainc" does
not differ materially from the ordinary
locomotive. The whole affair weighs
thirty eight tons. Some engines weigh
fifty tons. The cylinders are II by "A
inches in dimensions. The amount Of
steam carried when running is 1870
pounds The passenger engines on most
railroads carry $40 pounds. The only
striking feature of the "Fontaine" to the
eye is the general appearance. The
presence of the extra pair of wheels on
top of the boiler has won for it the
names "cameW and 'grasshopper.' y
While the engine looks strange in com
psrson with others, it does not appear
III proportional. 1t is gay in paint and
embellishments, and the smooth brass
and iron parts are brightly polished.
The engine was invented by Eugene
Fontaine, Frenchman, formerly To-
comotive engineer, whose home is in
Detroit, Mich. 1t is the second one
built, and was completed month ago.
1t was constructed at the Grant Locomo.
tive Works in Paterson. The first en-
CINE is now running on the Canada
Southern Railroad In May last it drew
two coaches from Amherstburg to st.
Thomas, a distance of III miles, in
ninety-Cight minutes. The entire run
from Amberstburg to Buffalo, 235 miles,
was made in 235 minutes, including
stops for coal and water. Among those
on board the train were VIM. II. Van
derbilt and J. ii. Rutter, of the Central
Hudson Railroad, and W. p. Taylor,
general manager, and W. +. Carroll,
general superintendent of the Canada
Southern.
While reporter Of the Times was in
specting the engine in the round house
in Jersey City yesterday afternoon a
well dressed, pleasant faced man, who
stood a short distance away smoking,
was pointed out as the engineer. The
reporter learned that his name wa
Lorenzo NJ. Clapp, and that he was
formerly an engineer on the Canada
Southern. He said he would be glad 70
explain the pecullarities and merits OF
the engine, and told the reporter how
the machinery was constructed and how
it operated. He said the locomotive
had been drawing work train on the
Erie railway for a week past. 1t was
set at hard work to take the rough edges
off the machinery. Engineer Clapp
spoke of the engine as No. ?, and the one
on the Canada Southern "a No. /. lie
thought No. . superior to the other in
some respects. He let it out two or
three times on the road and attained a
speed Of - miles an hour The reporter
asked how it behaved.
ut ran like bird and rode like a
parlor car replied engineer Clapp, with
enthusiasm. II want 10 tell You" he
added, "that can 50 faster on No. .
than any man in the orld"
Isn't the danger increased by run.
ming fast?'
Il don't think it is. The engine hugs
the rail and is steady as clock
"The reporter learned from Mr.. Fon-
taine that the trial trip would be made
in a very few days. No. ., if the expec.
tations of the inventor are realized, will
run between Jersey City and Philadel-
phia. The use Of the engine for a year
or so will be given TO the railroad COM
pany. The cost Of the Fontaine engines
will not be much more than that of the
common style.
Icelands Pompeii.