The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-06-18
RAILROAD ADcuRvEs ARE USEFUL
why . Train Can Not Travel ON y
Straight Line Down-Grade.

why . Train Can Not Travel ON .
Straight Line Down-Grade.
"You may live till the yellow dog
fades from history" said conductor
the other night, as the train hummed
along, ''but you'll never see straight
railroad down steep hill"
The curious passenger with the wart
on his nose rolled up his eyes in aston
ishment "My dear fellow he ex-
claimed, staring at the conductor, II
do not understand what is to prevent a
train from running straight down.
hill"
''Just this" continued the conductor;
'curves are necessary on very heavy
grade. Passengers are sometimes
struck with the great number of curves
on the road while it is up among the
hills. They imagine the curves are
merely necessary because the road
winds around the hills. This is only
partly true. If the railroad were to
cross directly at heavy grade it would
still be necessary to have the curves.
No train can 60 at a high rate of speed
down heavy grade on straight track
with safety. The explanation is SIM
pie. The tendency of any heavy body
like n train is to move in straight line,
and the attraction of gravitation is not
sufficient to overcome the tendency to
shoot off where great speed or momen-
tum has been obtained. Hence, train
flying down straight track on the hill
side, instead of keeping the track
would shoot off on a tangent into space.
The curve" continued the wise man
in the blue uniform, sis one of the
greatest safeguards in mountain en-
gincering. This is particularly no.
ticable in the case of freight track.
1t very frequently happens that an en-
gine. drawing heavy freight train can
not stick close enough to the track,
when going down heavy grade, to
control her speed. An engine going
down hill is really more helpless than
the same engine going up hill. That
is, she can pull greater weight up the
hill than she can hold back in going
down the hill. 1t is very common cx-
perience with engineers of freight en-
gines to have their trains literally push
them down heavy grades at high rate
of speed. In such instances every curve
is so much salvation at the right time.
The curve retards the speed and en-
ables the wheels of the flying train to
get frmer purchase on the track.
Railroading in the hills would be very
dangerous were it not for the curves
sprinkled along at frequent intervals.
ION some railroads it is the custom
to disconnect the lever from the driv-
ing-rods when a passenger-train is de-
scending a heavy grade that extends
for many miles. The train is man
aged altogether by the air brakes.
Every curve acts as brake on the
speed, and in this way the train can
swing along for hours without attain
ing too reckless speed, with the aid
of the air brakes
Just then the train went around
curve and the curious passenger was
thrown to one side of the seat.
ats a wonder to me,n he gasped,
''that these measly express trains don't
fly of the track in going around these
heavy curves"
We'll SIR" said the conductor, eve
been railroading for twenty-five years
and never yet knew or heard of train
jumping the track on a curve There
isn't the slightest danger on graded
curve. and hardly any on fiat curve"
-Nc0 York Mail and Express.