Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1889-11-12
Inr FLYING scoIcHMAN.

The FLYING ScoTcHMAN.
lI,Aiiruai GaSstie
II was the writer's fortune Ca recely
an Invitation a. ride on the locomotly
hauling the fastest train In Great britain
the Flving Scotchman, which leave
Newcastle at = 10 4. ", reaches Edin
burg NJ u %. two hours AMI il minutes
With one stop. The distance Il l2i l..
miles, aud the spec,i. including the stop
Z. therefore iG.i miles per hour. Sucl
an opportunity to see the working ~
fast compound locomotive l. not oftei
obtained. n was J l5 4. ". before tn
signal was received a. depart, anil th'
start was. therefore. made slN minutes
behind time. standing In the statior
the train looks rather formidable. the II
coaches are crowded and the passenger
discussing priority ~ claims Ca th'
desirable seats. The luggage vans arr
fllle,i ~ the roof. The locomotive paint.
~ y pretty grrrn color. rather towers
above the cars. II l. nne looking
piece of machinery. With only one paiI
~ driving wheels. to which sand l. fc'l
hv = steam iet of the Gresham & Craven
pattern. The cylinders arr compoudc'l
that l.. one Il used AZ high pressure
snl the other at low pressure. The Nm.
ish ~ the locomotive l. the hest. and
harmonlyc. well with the outfit ~ the
fastest trains In the world. The dome
casing l. ~ thin aud we'll formed that,
ne n graually expands at the haze and
blends with the Jacket ~ the boiler. the
iOlnt between the two u almost imper-
ceptlhle. The smokestack ani safety
valve easing accoris la style With the
dome casing. aud these harmonise With
the shape ~ the cab roof aud the ~
milnlng exterior trimming; thus the
whole contour and color ~ the locomo-
tive b-ing arranged In good artistic taste,
great power ani sp.ed are suggested
~ the eve fvache. the large wheel
cover. that surround the -eNcn-foot siN-
Inch drivers. the suggestion ~ high spcci
l. considerably increased.
when the signal to depart rrschc. the
engineer be- at once starts the steam sani
VI hv moving the handle ~ a small valve,
not unlike a Westinghouse englneer's air
brake valve IN appearance. Thls move
ment causes small iet ~ sand to h.
blown hetNcen the driver AMI the rail-
Thsn small button !. pullc'l, which
l. attached to rpd leading from the
cab sheet difr,fly In front ~ the en-
ginrer to small valve AZ the smoke box,
which admits hlgh-prcssurc-steam Into
the low pressure cyllnder.
The throttle !. open and At once the
wheels grind on the sanl. the train h.
gins a. move. ~ soOu as the high.
pressure exhaust has reached the same
amount a. that In the low-prrssurr
rvlludcr. az nearly that amount, the
button on the steam valve hanilr moVcs
forward automatically and direct steam
i shut % from the large cylinder and
the engine l. Working compound. ln
getting under way the train accrleraies
rapidly. bat at no time u the throttle
fully op-nrl. Tho cvlinder power u
great enough to siip the wheels 40 all
times. even when the sand l. applied 10
the rails.
There arr a few grade. on the line aud
thesc arr not h-ayy ones. The track u
guiir crpoke,i, ani in two places make. r
turn ~ nearly scmi-circie. When The
locomotive. al a speed ~ ~ mile. Per
hour, strike these placr., the lateral
shock Ia the cab l. considerable. Ou
one ~ these curves, lrforc The track
vas reduced Va curvature, locomotive
drawing the scotch expires WAS over.
turned The driver va. buried for thrve
hour. under his engine In hole made hy
the steam aud water escaping from the
boiler. Ilc was not seriously Injured.
and except a few marks upon hl. face
u a. souud ~ ever. II Was With him
that the writer role on August 10. The
firrmtn l. an oli hand, ani manage. the
flrv easily a. BE- smoke. and calls aiten-
tiun 90 The old castles, the sea, the rocks
AMI other interesting objects along the
line. Tho comfort ~ the cnginemtn l.
well carcd Cor on the.- engines On zach
siie l. a comfortable wooden seat. but
without cushions. Gooi tight clothes
boNcs ar- provided. and al ~ the I'M
i.hed parts arr ~ forms that are easily
cleaned. \. the cnglncman siis Ia hi
seat on the righi-hand .llr ~ the lOcomo-
tl,c b. can reach ~ of the handle. which
II 4. necessary for him to operate, With
bat little movement ~ the body. While
running. however. BE- seldom slts down,
bat keeps hi cN's ever ou the alert Tor
the signai II the "hlock system" with
which the road j. cluippei. II occurs
a. NJ. otser,sr that On" ~ the great ad-
vantage. ~ thr block .ystrm, where The
sigual. arr close tu each other. l. thit
The engineer 3. thereby compelled 90 be-
ever Waichful from the window, fearing
b. may pas. one -rt against him and thrr,-
hy b. subjected to a penalty.
The whole trip IA. so we'll managed
that when arriving In Ellnhurg a, exactly
4 .sn. having b.cn running almost coniin-
ually with the same engine for two hour.
and - minutes, al an average speed oi
about SO mile. PER hour, the locomotive
va. In good condition Ca make the re-
turn trip, which .hc dli In short time
thereafter. Each part l. carefully arring.
"a 80 that II can b. oiled aud cared for
while running. and pipes lead FROM the
axle boNc. to the foot plate inside of the
cab, within easy reach of the hrrmin'.
oil cup. Ill. locomotive ride l. probably
thu most Instructive ~ all taken by the
writer this summer. not excepting that
In Germany on the compound locomotive
of the state railroads.