Wichita eagle., 1888-11-16
IN THE REPAIR SHOPS.
VISIT TO THE PLACE WHERE SICK
ENGINES ARE CURED.
Doctoring Locomotives Afflicted with
Asthma, Hot Boxes and Lame Backs.
Engines of All Ages and Descriptions.
Facts Concerning Boilcrs-"Strippers-"

Asthma, Hot Boxes and Lame Backs.
Engines of All Ages and Descriptions
Facts Concerning BoiIcrs-"s "strippers-"
West of Fortieth street a wide stretch of
prairie is inclosed by q high board fence and
within the inclosure stand thirteen main
structures beside multitude of smaller
ones. OF the six ranged side by side along
the main track Of the Galena division the
first and largest one, with wide doors open
ing to the east and surmounted by q huge
chimney whose volumes of smoke would
drive the smoke inspector to distraction, is
the machine and construction shop-the
surgical clinic of the Northwestern road.
The other five of this cluster OF shops, con-
nected by system of parallel tracks, are eI
clusively devoted to the repair Of passenger
coaches. The two longitudinal buildings,
placed at right angles with the former, are
the shops where the iron and woodwork for
car repairs is made Two other structures,
each over 600 feet in length, are warehouses,
and behind these are the yards for the stor-
age of all sorts of odds and ends, such as run
ming gear-good, bad and indifferent-old,
worn out axles, new wheels of paper, iron
and steel, freight car boxes which have out
lived their usefulneSs-in short, every inn
aginable appliance used in connection with
rolling stock generally.
To the uninitiated visitor who has obtained
the privilege Of a stroll through the shops the
locomotive department is no doubt the most
interesting In its workings it is al the same
time the most difficult TO describe. To begin
with, the locomotive is not of the neuter;
that wonderful piece of mechanism is Of the
feminine gender. Like the vessel to thg
sailor, the locomotive is ''she" 10 every one
that has anything TO do with her. The engi-
neer's sweetheart is a stanch, ponderous and
yet complicated being, like all females, given
TO the most incomprehensible and perple6ing
complaints, though most everything about
her is of iron-gray or cast iron, wrougns
iron and sheet iron.
The machine shop is truly world in IL
self. Entering from the north end, there are
to the left, stretching away 70 the farther
extremity Of the huge building many short
tracks or stalls shut OF from the outer
world when so desired by large doors. Here,
side BY side, all facing to the east, are loco
motives of all ages and descriptions n ono
continuous line. Silent and grim they stand,
their soInber forms looming large and terri
bic IN the dim obscurity Of this vast work
shop. Here may be found engines afflicted
with great variety OF complaints and IN al
stages Of convalescsnce. Engines with hot
boxes and lame backs, with violent internal
wheeziugs and various ominOus and sus-
picious prenonitory symptoms Of approach
ing dissolution; engines afflicted With s'Teats,
violent feysrs, With levers that refuse 10
work and wheels that viii not 70 round
Among them, to and fro, IN and out. move
the ''doctors,r operating upon each accord
ing 20 the peculiar nature Of her diseasa.
Upon the right, also stretching % tho
farther end, is perfect wilderness Of ma
chimes, while scattered over tie foor II aud
about these machines, wheels, crsnks, shafts,
and every conceivable specimen of naSchan-
ical construction lie IN al stages Of cotnP!e-
ton. Anything Ike an intelligent dsscrip-
tion Of even q limited number Of tkcsc parts
and the mechanism By winch they are snaped
would require volumes. But Is Is here that
they are brought 70 their creates. state %
perfection and in tie different proceses hun
dreds Of machines, many II SPECIAL dsxsgn
and rcpresenting N the aggregate hundreds
OF thousands II dollars, are used constantly
We are not building ary rew loco1Hot4yes /
4. present, said t5e oOligiag superintendent I
Il Construction, ''ead have 70: for sorss /
time All or work Ia that ilse IL beng 4
irns e. tas Schenectady works after SPECIAL 4
plans prepared by IL Do we have e1oagh 4
repairing 70 kesp rs bzsyi Bless yoc. yssi !
Oftea Eao-a than 20 can a:.so6 70. Sow. /
.eEe,7 laying h-s hard carezfnxIy upca {
sugs naoaxtsr towering above hirs, "is "a /
10. Eaa ir.o 3 car :. a swstec, store II |
ser ode and toox oI hsr cab and asr-pusap.