Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1888-12-06

20 Haul Fifteenq coaches sixty
1Etzesp Hn EEpur--N0 Smoke, No
1 sRaSIks, no SlpaIn Cheats.
ProyidenasJ X ufpal y
Inthe Acorn Atreet roundhouse of the
New, York, Providence and Boston rail-
road, yesterday, q number OF men were
rubbing and grooming and Tightening mp
with wrenches here and there, with all
the pride that owners and breeders take
in their track favorites, monster new
locomotive, built, AZ plate upon each
side Of her smoke-box desiguates, blythe
Binkley Locomotive Company, Boston.
She is designed aud Constructed for tbs
Strong Locomotive Company, No. 40
Broad way, New York, for the Aschison,
Topeka aud Santa Fs railroad. It is ths
latest built OF the "Strong" locomotives,
which combine some radical departures
from the ordinary locomotive practice,
and which have attracted the attention OF
railway men aud locomotive builders
wherever their performance could be
studiad. The improvements are the ia-
vsntion Of Mr.. George u. Strong, Of one
time mechanical superintendent Of the
Lshigh Valley road, and the Initial ma
chine, which was built to handle heavy
express trains up long steep gfnde, has
been exhibited in various parts OF tine
country, while second machine, like
the one in this city, has been put through
q thorough series Of tests in competition
with an ordinary standard American en-
CINE an6 an eight-wheel engine with the
ordinary FIRE box, but fitted with the
Strong valve gear. The peculinfity In
tho construction Of the Strong locomotive
ia in her furnaces and combustion chsm.
Der, her cylinder valves and valve gears,
and in the arrangement OF her wheels and
running geAF. The boiler has two fur
ns;es,. each one beingR welded and cor
ruSsted steel cJ iihd2r 10 inches in dis
meter and feet long. These two far
paceA are Joined by Changed and CORFU
gated Junction piece, corrugated
cylindrical cpmbustipn chamber, msking
the great area 6f 50 squsre fest, with q
combustion chamber nine feet from the
face of the bridge wall to the tube sheet,
and 16 feet from the FIRE door to the tube
sheet. The total heatisg surface is l $50
feet. By this construction ell braces and
stay bolts and crown bars are done away
with, the gases being all consumed and
all the smoke prevented. The sparks are
not drawn from the fire box, and no
spark arrester is required, the engine
running without smoAs or sparks The
original StronR engine wou'd even burn
culm, the refuse Of the pit mouth, ond
this engine will use anthracite Or bitumi.
nous coal with good results.
al - To-. -
build Of this loeo,nntife Ars in the cylin.
defs, valves, ana valve gear, there being
no steam chests On top Of tho cylinders,
"a in uFJinarS engines, There ore fuur
valves idtGrpossd In the passages back OF
ths 81 lindefs --one for steam and one Tor
exhsust, at each end, every valve being
eridiron plain slide. 1oers are nine
ports 4 inches long ON each valve, max
ing 49, inches, the length OF port On each
valve. This large valve area admits the
steam at very nearly boiler pressure on
the piston, and the steam valve cuts it off
OF the will Of the engineer ut any phase
from 4 10 % inches, the exhaust valve
holding on 20 the steam until the last
inch OF the piston travels, when IL opens
wide, letting the steam go freely with
very little back pressure. This peculiar.
ity enables the engine, at high speed, to
develop abont double the horse power
that an ordinary locomotive, with equal
sized cylinders, 1924 inches, at an ecnal
cut off would be able TO do, an engine
s;,c22ilsy 70 this nne having aboun TIM
enotnous strength of 8ip horse power
while paiiing train II 70 Pullman
coaches on tine Northern Pacific %. q. .
speed exceeding go miles an hour. The
same engine has pulled train Of 10 cars
l4S miles in las minutes running time
This was done on fiye-f foot wheel six
coupled engine.
Returning 10 description Of the valve
gear, the valves are operated by single
eccentric for each cylinder, the eccentric
being keyed fast TO the shaft or axle
This eccentric runs the engine both ways,
and impatts an independent motion TO
the steam and exhaust valves 30 that tine
engineer has perfect control over the
point Of cut off without altering the travel
Of the exhaust, and can alier the com
preston without changing the travel Ct
the steam. In this manner the engine
makes the came card or givss the same
distrj button of steam as a nicely-adiustod
Uoriiss or Greene engine would do at a
givsn hi2h-piston spsed. This enables
her 10 do her work with from 30 to 80 per
cent less water, and consequently less
steam. Her large CRATE area enables her
o bum her coal 80 ~ to give an evapnra-
Hou from % to SO per cent higher than
rdnaty locomotive b6iiers doing the
same worg, so that The combined action
Of boilsr and valve gear i7to make very
eeenqmical ergihe, ard one that is cnpa-
biz, II ia plLimed, 81 taking an extremely
heavy tran 81 from 10 10 Is cars. and
rassing 81 miI6s an hour with ease.
The locomotive hes fonr wheels ewing
truck, under her front end, like an 0rdi-
narT machine. Her drivers, 63 inches in
diameter, are midway between the front
and rear ends o. the boiler. Back OF the
drivers is two-whsel pony truck, AZ
lneh wheel, which is equ4ii2ad with ,he
drivers making 10 wheels under the en-
gipe. The tender is carried on four.
wheel truck forward and six-wheel
truck back, making 10 wheels in all
under the tender. The total weight is
over 80 tons. The engineers cab is over
tho hind driver, forward OF the double
ire ScZ. He has very extended view
o. the track on both sides, and Is entirely
away from the dirt snd dust OF the tsu-
der, ald his cab rides az nicely and az
clearly as a parlor car. Tho fireman has
q cab on the back emo of the Gre box en-.
tirely TO himself. They have communi-
cation by a passage over the top Of the
fire box between the two cabs, tho enei-
neer having a call bell with which to
summon the stoker if he wishes TO speak
with him. The locomotive wheel base is
20 feet ; the wheel base of engine and
tender, AS feet !; total length over all
about 55 feet The highest point of the
engineers cab Ia Is feel inches from the
ground. her ireman's cab, which like
the drivers is very ruomy, is built OF
heavy iron plate. Tbs engine has no ez.
tended front arch or netting or device for
spark arrester, as they are not required.
Her inventor is Mr. George s. Strong,
who was in the city yesterday inspeetinz
the tOnchine no of her mAphineru nra