Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-10-18
20O.MILE RIDE BY THE
HEADLIGHT.
A Ride with An Old Engineer.

HEADLIGHT.
A Ride with An Old Engineer.
Correspondence of the Boston Journal.
To those never testing it by experience, the
rare exhilaration and complete immunity from
cinders and dust attending such trip as indi-
Gated by our heading is quite inappreciabe
Having enjoyed such an experience on one of
the pleasant days and evenings Of last week,
we herewith jot down few items promising
that the route taken was by the Boston and
Albany line from Boston to Springfield, the ma
chine 4O-tOn passenger engine (NO. 1897
and the engineer, Mr. John Smith, who has been
running over the rails Of this line for almost
thirty continuous years.
And now let the reader fancy himself or her
self perched on the extreme front Of this mon
ster of steam carriage something like seven
feet above the rails privileged to sit or stand on
the narrow ledge once styled the "bunter." and
the situation will be tolerably we'll taken in.
steam Is up for the start. and the surplus accu-
mnlatng during the wait for the conductors
send-Of Is madly Kissing at the safety-valve. as
though out OF all patience at the delay; but at
| the wave Of the uplifted hand we feel the en-
CINE fairly jumping to its task, and we are Off
The first impression one derives on getting I'M
der Roadway is that of the
INTENSITY OF THE POWER
which you are conscious Is being exerted around
and under you Riding on a Northumberland
car seat one can scarce help noticing the gradual
change from inertia to motion, but the dynamics
involved in the thought are left entirely to guess
work. Not so from our standpoint. We know
the Instant the engineer touches the throttle
No blood horse responds more promptly to the
spur pressing his flank as he springs to his task
than ours does at the bidding of his master i'm
the cab At first the quivering of the huge
frame; from cOw-catcher to footboard then an
Omlnous grinding Of the massive wheels as
though In very rage at the terrible strain, espe-
cially If the hind feet of our iron
be calledD, touch frog" at starting gives you
something of an idea at least of the power re-
quiste to move train of cars as never before;
and as the machine gets warmed up to its work
the feeling is precisely as if the Titians them
selves were pushing nightly from behind At
every opening Of the admission parts to the
cylinders you feel the throbbing of the vast
power within, and the exhausting Of the waste
steam literally thumps off upon the walls of the
vacuum chamber the energy and also the rapid
lty with winch the enormous work Is being &C
c0mpllshed. Any uncertainty on this point
ia dispelled the instant the throttle closes; it
goes without saying that the fearful power
is Withdrawn, and the engine literally seems to
eXult at the release as 1t comes to halt
1t is almost strange, but nevertheless I'M
questionably true, that no adequate idea ia
usually given to the passengers in the cars OF
the actual retarding power exerted by the
modern.
SYSTEM OF AUTOMATIC BRAKES:
ana one is almost under the necessity Of seeing
from such standpoint as that of which we
write the really break-neck speed of running to
fully appreciate the safeguard against danger
thus afforded. On our return trip, and nearly
at nightfail, on rounding the curve nearest the
WestbOrO' Station, red flag suddenly cleaned
out ahead, and ere we were aware that the
breaks had been applied the head and upper
portion Of our bodies were thrown forward at
no small angle by the abruptness of the stop to
which we were brought Indeed one of the
brakemen limited that he had much rather en-
counter an actual collision than to endure the
shaking up when by the parting of train the
apparatus automatically eXerts its maximum
force, which it always does in such an emery
ency, TO degree which the engineer rarely ven
lures to risk
II one wishes to obtain a tolerably clear idea
OF the capacity of irst-class boiler to generate
steam. let spch put himself under the tuition OF
one which s.M ~, Is gagged to 100 pounds pressure
like mo. 196." Remember it is throughout OF
standard boiler steel, and one must drop utterly
all his notions on this point graduated by the
traditional tea-kettle on the kitchen stove.
Evidently provision for the escape Of waste
steam in all engines must be well cared for, and
when we remember that the rapid vibration of
the piston of a locomotive making
THREE HUNDRED REVOLUTIONS
minute necessitateS providing for the escape
of 600 cylinder measures of steam in that short
time we have begun to appreciate the gener-
ating capacity Of the boiler During our novel
ride we were all the time in such close prox-
Unity to the exhaust chamber that we could
not help being Impressed with this fact by the
constant hammering Of this exhausting process
Or course no sign is given when this well-nigh
omnipOtent agent enters the cylinder; the dem
onstration of it's force and frequency comes only
as it escapes, and We could not help comparing
this to the roll" of snare drum In the hands
OF an expert with the drum sticks, so rapid, as
well as distinct. was the report it made of its
release from bondage.
Another Of the reVisions impaired to our ideas
on railroading was the absolute necessity of the
most rigid supervision of the substructure of
our iron highways, as well as the construction
OF engines and cars. OF the monotonous and
somewhat annoying.
CLICk-CLAcK, CL1cK-cLACK
OF the car wheels in passing from one rail to an
other almost all tavelers are well aware-but to
get the full impression of the force with which
these apparently harmless noises are produced
one needs to take an outside BERTH Happily in
these days of fish-jOinting the head and foot of
abutting rails has reduced nearly or quite to q
minimum this annoyance; but no amount of pre-
cautionary appliances has thus far broken the
force with which the truck wheels of the engine
come in contact with the heavy switch-plate.
which is as though 900 pound sledge-ham-
mer in the hands of giant had dealt the terri
rible blow that well-nigh shocked Us.
AN exchange says Next to the marriage no
tees In the newspapers the probabilities" from
Warrington excite the iivelIest interest CT the
ladies' By these they decide what c0lors they
will array themselves in for their afternoon
promenade. Partly cloudy weather with local
rains. drives them into somber colors. "Fair
or clearing weather" fills them with buoyancy.
Before committing suicide, at Lawrence.
Kansas, Miss Pinneo had her photograph taken
and left directions for sending copies to her In
Innate friends. She was very careful about