The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-03-30
LITTLE ENGINES.
MIDGET LOCOMOTIVES ON PLANTA.
TONS IN THE SOUTH.
Miniature Steam Tugs That Do Mules
Work In the Coal Mines-Layins .
Wood RaiIr oad-very Little
Grading Done.



ut does jolt Bit sail man who was
riding in a cross-town bobtail car when
the car bumped and swayed over the
track of an Avenue road; "but if you want
to have some fun in this line that exceeds
the sport OF riding on log wagon over
corduroy road, you should get job as en-.
gineer on plantation locomotive"
"Where had better applys' we asked
"Down on some of the southern panta.
tions for the genuine article, but you can
find counterparts in Pennsylvania and
Michigan and northwestern Ohio. You
don't need any skill beyond that required tc
hang on when she wobbles. suppose that
very few people have any idea Of the mum.
ber of small locomotives in use III this coun.
try. They are drivin, the mule out of bust.
ness entirely. The regular plantation loco
motive is a midget besides an elevated rail
way motor. Thus the elevated motors
weigh from eighteen to twenty tons, while
the midget weighs three, and it is used OF
rails that weigh twelve pounds to the yard.
The cy hnders are only ten inches long, and
the diameter is trifie greater than the
breadth of my hand.
OVER WOODEN RAILS.
Ivory frequently these locomotives srt
run over wooden rails There is four
mile road at Summerville, S. c., that use:
t:mbers four inches square instead of iron.
People generally suppo,e that the old-ra n
ioaed iron strap laid on a stringer went oul
OF fashion years ago, but a lumber road
near Savannah. eight and ono half mile
long, has that same old strap AMI it is
molern road, too.
"in laying wood railroad the ties ar,
notched so that the rail sets down about tw,
inches into the tie The inner side of tn,
notch IS perpendicular and the outer edgt
slants away so that the notch is wider a
the bottom than at the top. Then when tn,
rail is laid wedges ars driven in be ,iie i
and uader the ei-. of the notch, thus keep
ing tho rails from turning over or spread
ing. Su gar maple with the heart up makes
the best rails Sometimes two-inch strip
of maple are laid on soft wood st-ingers
These roads are used for getting out lumbe
and logs chiefly. Very little grading il
done Cribs of logs are laid up instead o
trestleS, and the ordinary Irregularities o
common level land are overcome bv block
ing up the ends of ties with all sorts of log
and stumps.
CROSSING ON STUMPS.
IL know of one road that runs across
low bit of ground on the stumps of tree
that were sawed oil at the right height
The ground under these roads becomes soft
| mud when it rains. and the way these ittl
locomotives snake train of logs throug
the clearing with the mud slashins over ev
erything within ton rods OF the track i,
a..
chine is whore you can see jolting
! AS fast as the available timber is cut o
one tract OF lanl the road is shifted to
new one. The engine on the road at Sur
merviiie runs from ten to twelve times owe
Its fJur-mils road every day, burns one an
one-half cords OF wood in doing it, an
hauls out II, 00J feet of logs of from fifty
Eve to sixty tons 1t took the place c
twenty mules. and is said 20 pay for itssl
every year. Some of the little engines bur
less fuel than that Thers is road thre
AMI one-haH mile' long at Pensacola, Fla
on wdich thu ongns burns only one-thiri {
a corl OF wood in lis daily service of thirt
mile. There are no curves on this road.
"Tnese little engines are not confined t
wood for fuel As lumbermen, they bur
wood because the wood costs little or notl
ing. As genuine plantation engines, use
for transporting cotton or sugar or SUI
plies across the country, they frequentl
burn refuse dry pressed sugar cane.
IN THE COAL MINES.
"In a different form, but with the san
diminutive cylinders they are used in co,
mines for hauling cars, and burn either so
or hard coal or coke. In their smalle
sizes they are only ten feet long over al
For use in mines they are sometimes onl
four and a half feet high and five feet wild
"A few bushels of coal and few pals
water keep thcm running all day. One
these moles in u coal mine at Brookfielt
Ohio, pulls twenty cars, weighing nearl
three quarters Of ton each, I'D grad
l.300 yards long, that rises at the rate
i05 feet to the mile And yet any good at
ietic school boy could jump over the eng il
witho ut drawing second breath Cur
ously enough these little locomotives, thu
completely I'll the tunnels through whic
they run, serve as ventilators, forcing tt
air aheal of them AMI drawing it in afte
them, the sanlD as a pump plunger draw
water INTO pump AMI forces it out again
ain the mines, of cuurse g, iron or steel raj
ars Used. Iron is really cheaper than WOO
in any locality Tho wood rail need col
liant care. When it Il wet the locomotiy
can n 1t draw half load, and in the mort
is harl to keen clear of icen