Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1881-10-25
Ninety Miles an Hour.
a Locomotipe,aa Is Expected to55ela Mars
vel an Speed.

Stk W SPeed.
Standing in a ~s.stallo insthe roundshouse
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in jersey.
City, N. j., is an oddslooking locomotive;
bearing the name .Fontaine." The engine
was constructed for speed, and although it
has not yet made its trialgtrip, itit expected
that it will run at the rate of ninety miles an
hour. The machinery instead of being be,
low the medium line of the boiler is almost
entirely above it. There are three pairs of
driving wheels. but only two rest on the
rails. The third pair are on top the boiler,
directly in front of the cab. These wheels
are termed the ssmain drivers" and the
power is communicated to them from tn
cylinders. The steam chests and cylinders
are set at an angle of As degrees, on the
sides of the boiler, and the orank>rods run
up to the drivers" The lower driving
wheels are different sized and are not con-
nected. The rear wheels, which are only d.
feet in diameter, in the nomenclature of rail.
road men are the "ponies" The forward
pair are called the CLOVER drivers" and are
double. The main part of each wheel is 6
feet in diameter. The other part, which is
a separate wheel, inasmuch as it does not
come in contact with the rail, although in
/ the solid casting, is known as the .friction
IL t5 Il 2 Ieet IN diameter. and Is
supplied with q steel tire tile same as the
others. The .'maiu 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 stmain drivers"
run In one direction, and turn the "friction
wheels" and clover drivers" in another. In
order to prevent the wheels from slipping,
and thus losing motion, steam pressure is ap-
Piled to the main drivers to hold them down
upon the wheels beneath. The force can be
increased from the simple weight of the
wheels to 16 tons at the will of the engineer
who is governed by the length of the train
the locomotive may be drawing. The diam
eter of the t~ruck>wheels under the front end
of the engine is 40 inches. The usual size
ia 80 inches. Otherwise the ''Foutaine"
does not differ materially from the ordinary
locomotive. The whole affair weighs 3S tons.
Some engines weigh so tons. The cylinders
are IL BY "a inches in dimensions. The
amount OF steam carried when runniDgis $50
pounds. The passenger engines on most rail-
roads carry 40 pounds. The only striking
feature OF the "Fontaine" to the eye is the
general appearance. The presence of the ex-
ira pair of wheels on top of the boiler has
won for it the names s'camel" aud "grass
hopper" While the engine looks strange
in comparison with others, it does not appear
il,proportioned. It is gay in paint and en-
%bellishments, and the smooth brass. aud iron
parts are brightly polished. The engine was
invented by Eugene Fontaine, a Frenchmau,
formerly a locomotive engineer. whose home
is 10 Detroit, Michigan. It is the second
one built, and was completed about a month
ago. 1t was constructed at the Grant Loco
motive Works in Paterson. The first engine
is now running on the Canada Southern
Railroad. In May last it drew two coaches
from Amherstburg to st. Thomas, a distance
of Ill miles, in 90 minutes. The entire
run from Anherstburg to Buffalo. 235 miles,
was made in 235 minutes, including stops
for coal and water.