Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1888-06-19
A TRACTION ENGINE.
A Steam Wagon IRlOads Itself From a
Train---A Remarkable Machine.

/ -NhNNA W ~ NAAtNAAAN NAANNN -
said to surpass all other machines OF
this kind. Mr.. Remington is an
old acquaintance and friend of Dam
iel Best of the agricultural works at
San Leandro, and, by an arrange
ment with Mr.. Best, brought one of
his engines over the Oregon and
California Railroad to San Leandro,
arriving there with it on Tuesday
morning. Immediately after its ar
rival fire was made under the boiler,
and as soon as steam was up, the
machine, under the control OF Mr..
Remington, unloaded itself, moving
with ease and grace from the plat
form car on which it stood to the
platform beside the track and down
the steep incline to the roadway, and
thence to it's quarters in the agri-
cultural works. The reason for
bringing this machine from Oregon
was TO make u thorough and severe
test ofits power and capacities. This
was done, and in every way the ma
chine gave the fullest satisfaction.
Mr.. Best and the large number of
excellent mechanics in his establish
ment, and that of the Hay Press
Company, also, were delighted with
the machine and its achievements.
It's performances are almost marvel
GUS. 1t will draw a load of four
tons up grade of one foot in three
feet, and it can be turned round in
its own tracks, and it can be run
forward and backward with equal
facility with a locomotive on a rail-
road track. Any unevenness in the
surface of the ground makes no diff
ference to the machine. 1t will
travel without upsetting on a hill
side on which a wagon could be
drawn, and it will go down into
deep gullies and up and out without
halt. The main test at San Lean
dro was to determine whether the
machine would haul one of Best's
great harvesters and the decision
was that it would. Upon this there
was no difference of opinion among
those directly interested, nor among
the disinterested spectators in the
large crowd, among which were a
number of farmers and merchants
of the neighborhood. The machine
will with care and perfect regular
ity draw the largest harvester
through the heaviest grain at a
speed of six miles an hour. In Ore
gon, it drew in the stiff, clayey
soil of the Willamette val
ley, at a speed of six miles an hour,
a gang of six fourteen inch plows,
turning over two acres per hour,
with the plows set ten inches deep.
This was a great achievement, but
the inventor says that larger ma
chine can be made which could be
handled with the ease that this one
is, that will do at least double the
work of this onein soil such as there
is in the Alameda valley. One of
| the achievements of the machine at
San Leandro was to pull one of
Best's heaviest harvesters out of a
shed and over a steep embankment
of a side track, and up a platform
with an ascent of six feet in twenty.
| The steam gauge showed pressure
of only 66 pounds. When both en-
gine and harvester stood on the top
of the high platform, cheer after
cheer went up from the delighted
crowd of spectators. 1t was an
achievement the inventor might
well be proud of. But the greatest
test of the pulling powers Of the
machine was made by putting on
! the brake of the harvester while on
the way to the depot and bringing
the main wheel of the harvester to
a dead lock. There was no percept-
ible effect on the machine il went
along without the least check in
speed.
The original machine manu-
factured by Mr.. Remington is at
work in the forests of Oregon, draw
ing logs to the sawmill, "gTubbing," F"
and doing the work of clearing land,
among stumps and brush, where
oxen or horses cannot be used at all.
From the success of this trial there
can be no question about these
machines becoming the power for
field work, plowing, harvesting, and
threshing, and as they are to be
manufactured at San Leandro,
which is intended by the inventor
and Mr.. Best, the new industry will
enlarge the agricultural work there
10 several times their present
capacity, and adds greatly to the
population of the town.
This Mr.. Remington is a member
of the family Of the same name,
famous for It's inventive genius
Cal. EX.