The Delta independent., 1889-07-30
Plain Bur.
The Pennsylvania Roads Impoit-
ed Engine Dreadnaught.

The Pennsylvania Roads Impoft-
ed Engine Dreadnaught.
The new English locomotive
"Dreadnaught" which has just been
imported by the Pennsylvania railroad,
isn't as symmetrical and pretty as some
of the American engines now in use.
but she has decided air OF usefulness
about her, and there seems but little
doubt that she was built for business.
The wonderful records ascribed to
English engines, and the great amount
OF pulling that they have received in
both that country and America, in
fuenced the officials of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad to purchase one of the
most noted of the British machines
and bring it to this country for q
thorough and practical test.
The Dreadnaught is duplicate of
one of the most famous engines in all
Europe. She is compound engine,
and has three cylinders, one low-pres-
sure inside and two high-pressure out
side, two pairs of driving wheels, un-
connected, and substitutes for the old
time link motion, with eccentrics on
The driving axle, a valve motion, in
which the connecting rod is the first
attachment and source of motion to the
valve gear.
The engine is run by an English en-
gineer. and is accompanied by a ma
chinist from the shops at Crewe, whose
duty it is to see that it is given all the
advantages possible on the road. At
G:52 o'clock one morning, loaded with
an unusually heavy train, the Dread
naught left Johnstown and started mer-
lily off down the mountains toward
Pittsburg. The distance, seventy-three
miles, was run in the usual time, and
little difficulty was experienced except
in starting on some OF the heavy
grades. The engine has been tried on
the eastern division of the road, and
after a few runs over the middle divis-
ion will be tried over the Fort WAYNE
and Panhandle routes. When asked
as to the success of the new engine
Superintendent Pitcairn said:
Il really can't answer that question
very satisfactorily. We have bought
the engine over there, and we intend
to give it n thorough and practical
test over all the roads. The idea is to
find out whether English engines really
are better than ours. The Dread
naught SO far has been doing ali right.
She hasn't stalled on any of our heavy
grades, SO far as know, and seems to
have a good deal of speed. One dis.
advantage is the slowness with which
it gets under way, and that, YOU know.
is an important point with us on this
end OF the line. am really unable to
predict the final result of the test. 1t
is too early yet. We are after i'm
provements in engines, however, and il
we find something better than we are
now using we will not be slow to adopt
1t. The Dreadnaught does not use so
much coal as our old engines, there
being saving OF something over
eight pounds of fuel to the train milo.
This, of course, is n consideration,
other things being equal"
Difficulty in starting has been found
In nearly all the trials OF the Dread-
naught SO far This results from tho
fact that the starting of the train must
be done with tho high-pressure cylin-
ders-and under some circumstances
only one OF them would be of any
practical use-as the low-pressure
cylinder would be imperative till il
received steam from the high pressure
ones. Hence, on starting the Dread
naught, or any similar engine with q
heavy train on grade or greasy
rail, the hind or high-pressuro drivers
slip, and the engine remains station
AIRY until the high-pressure pistons
have performed stroke or two and
have given the low pressure piston a
supply OF steam. Tho low-pressure
cylinder then lends is aid to start tho
train, and, both pairs of drivers being
now utilized, the engine moves of.
The Dreadnaught, in working order,
weighs 80, 200 pounds. and her tender
(empty) weighs $1,000 pounds. Her
outside cylinders are 14x-2i inches.
and her inside Qow-presure) cylinder
3Ox24 inches.
The DreaGnaught has taken q train
weighing, with engine and tender, 464, !.
OO0 pounds, up grade of70 feet to the
mile, four and one e-quarter miles long,
AT the rate OF SO miles an hour. She
has pulled train weighing 544, 900
pounds from Euston to Crewe, 1853 miles
in hours and "a minutes, including
two stops, or at the rate OF 443 miles
per hour. and without stoppaccs 46
miles an hour, very fair speed for a
train providing accommodations for
$50 passengers and their baggage, and
hauled by one engine. Outside OF En-
gland, no train of anything like this
weight is run at 40 miles an hour, in
Guiding stoppages. Her coal consump-
tion is 20 pounds per mile, evaporatinp
% pounds OF water to / pound OF coal.
All of these figures have been surpassed
in the performance OF other engines of
the same olass-