The Grenada sentinel., 1889-06-08
LOCOMOTIVE LORE.
Facts and Figures About the Pom.
derous Iron Horse.
The Evil Effects Of a Fast Life Strikingly
q Illustrated -Remarlsable Runs Gener-
ally Myths-Raiiroading East
and West.

ally Myths-RailroadingE East
and West.
Two passenger locomotives, each of
the general outline and proportions
and OF apparently similar pattern and
finish, were standing on side track
near the fourth street station.
"One of these engines will go to the
boneyard tomorrow to be dismantled
and thrown into the scrap heap" re-
marked railroad man to reporter
who was watching an engineer crawl
under one of the iron horses to lubri-
cate an unseen oil-hole"
Yes, said the reporter. "Why
they both appear to be in perfect or
der"
(Which engine do you suppose will
be broken up:?" asked the railroader
Hard to say. That one to the right
seems the most likely candidate for the
boneyard. "
The railroad man laughed.
"Wrong," said he. Its the other
This one is in fine condition. Hash t
been built more than year. The 9TH
or is more than fifteen years ole"
You see," said the railroader, that
all the engines of the company are so
carefully FURNISHED up, painted and re-
paired, that you can'ttell whether one of
them has a. serious complaints or is in
perfect health. Old parts that have
become weak or broken are taken out
and new ones put in until there is little
left of the original locomotive. Why,
I'll venture to say that there is hardly
any thing left of this engine right here,
SO far as original material goes, except
the number. and | dom know but what
that has been changed"
'Does swift running tend to lessen
the life of q locomotive?"
Yes, but not so much as you may
think. Now, the average life Of To-
comotive all over the United States is
about twelve years. You will find that
the swift passenger engines will come
up to that average nearly every time
OF course they get an occasional rack
ing, but even at the highest rate Of
speed the vital parts OF the locomotive
are not more liable to injury than they
are when starting a heavy train up a
steep grade. There is a great deal Of
nonsensical talk about fine locomotives
making big time and all that. Now
the best run ever made by locomotive
was by one of the most common affairs
on our line, Central Pacific engine l49.
This engine hauled the jarrett and
Palmer special train, which left Jersey
City on June l. 1886, and arrived at
San Francisco June 4. No. 149 took
the train at Ogden and brought it
through to this city, distance of S79
miles, in twenty-three hours and fifty
nine minutes, an average of 1868 miles
an hour. That performance has never
been equaled, although l saw in press
telegram the other day that the great
est run ever made by a locomotive was
by one on the Erie railway on the 1st
day OF this month. That engine took
a train from Jersey City to Buffalo, 423
miles, in thirteen hours and five min
utes, Or an average speed of 32.3 miles
IN hour, which, as you see, does not
begin to compare with the speed made
by No. 149 for twice the distance and
over much heavier grades.
Engine and engineer are or ought to
be very closely identified, if good work
is to be expected at all times At one
time it was undertaken by the New
York Central to have its locomotives
run by the engineers on the turn-about
plan, so that an engine got different
driver every day. This system was OF
short duration, for it was found that
while it was a saving OF time in some
respects, it was very poor economy on
the whole, as the repairs of engines
we're much more frequently required
than by the old system of a certain
man running a certain locomotive. A
skilled engineer, who has mad a long
acquaintance with his engine, knows
by the very feel of the iron horse
whether there is any thing the matter
with 1t or not, while a man who does
not have this acquaintance will prob
ably allow the hues to start. the pipes
to leak or the journals to heat
There are thousand and one things
that are likely to cut short the speed oil
the locomotive and make the passen-
gers fret and fume over the delay. The
loosening or breaking of an eccentric
or the heating OF journals or trouble
with the air-brake machinery is prob
ably as frequent as any thing"
..Is not the tendency toward heavy
motive powerP"
"Yts; but a heavy engine gets out OF
repair as quickly as light one. All
railroad companies prefer to run long
and heavy trains, pulled by big locomo-
tives, rather than to divide their cars
into small trains, run by light engines,