Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-11-16
Ninety Miles an Hour.

Standing in the ''stall ;" in the round
house of the Pennsylvania Railroad, il
jersey City. is an odd-looking locomo
tive bearing the name "Fontaine" The
engine was constructed for speed, and
although it has not yet made its tria
trip, it is expected that it will run at the
rate of ninety miles an hour. The ma.
,lcLinery, instead of being below the
medium line of the boiler, is almost en-
tirely above it. There are three pair OF
driving 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 'smaip drivers. -
and the power is communicated to them
from the cylinders. The steam chests
and cylinders are set at an angle of about
torty-five 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 four
and one-half feet in diameter, in the
nomenclature of railroad men are the
''pon,es. The forward pair are called
the slower drivers" and are double,
The main part of each wheel is six feet
II diameter. The other part, which is
q separate wheel, inasmuch as it does
not come in contact with the rail, al
though in the solid casting, is known as
the ''fiction wheel 1t is four and
ne-half feet III diameter, and is supplied
WITH q steel tire the same as the others.
The s'main drivers" stand upon the
sfriction wheels" and transmit the mo.
tive power to them. The large wheels
rolling upon the smaller ones give the
peed. There is no gearing whatever.
Ehe "main drivers" run in one direction,
and turn the ''friction wheels" and
Hover drivers" in another. In order to
prevent the wheels from slipping and
thue losing motion, steam pressure is
spilled to the main drivers to hold them
down upon the wheels beneath. The
fD.ce can be increased from the simple
WEIGHT OF the wheels to ten tons at the
VIII of the engineer, who is governed by
the length of the train the locomotive
may be drawing. The diameter of the
aux wheels under the front end of the
engfne is forty inches. The usual size
il 0rty-three inches. Otherwise the
sE6afaine" does not differ materially
fro4 the ordinary locomotive. The
u6clo affair weighs thirty-eight tons.
Samc engines weigh fifty tons. The
cy6nslers are seventeen by twenty-four
inches IN dimensions. The amount of
ste41s carried when running is 130
;3o9 The passenger engines on
'.lo lilroads carry 140 pounds. The
M hiking feature of the "Fon-
tame" to the eye Is the general appear
ance. The presence of the extra pair of
wheels on top of the boiler has won for
it the names ''camep' and "grasshop-
per. While the engine looks strange
in comparison with others, it does not
appear ill-proportioned. 1t is gay in
paint and embellishments, and the
smooth brass and iron parts are brightly
polished. The engine was invented by
Eugene Fortaine, a Frenchman, for
nerly a locomotive engineer, whose
nome is in Detroit, Mich. 1t is the
second one built, and was completed |
'bout a month ago. 1t was constructed
It the Grant Locomotive Works in Pater- |
ION. The first engine is now running ON |
he Canada Southern Railroad. In Nav
asst it drew two coaches from Amherst |
Durg to st. Thomas, distance of Ill |
niles, in 9S minutes. The entire run
rom Amherstburg to Buffalo, 235 miles, |
vas made in 235 minutes, including
stops for coal and water. Among those |
IN board the train were William II. |
Vanderbilt and J. H. Rutter, of the |
Central Hudson Railroad, and W. p.
Taylor, General Manager, aad W. E. |
Carroll, General Superintendent of the
Canada Southern.