The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-09-25
FIRING AN ENGINE.
Some Of the Hardships OF Loco.
motive Tireman's Life.

The Amount of Fuel Required to Keep
an Iron Horse Going : Coal Must
he Supplied Very Carefully.
"If people only knew the hardships
of f1reman's life," said one of the local
leaders Of the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Firemen to Chicago Evening Post
reporter, ''they would not be so apt to
wonder that the men want to strike once
in awhile to better their circumstances.
Their lot at the best is hard one, and
the pay is poor when the skill required
to be firemen, the severity of the work
and the constant strain to which the
men are subjected are taken into ac-
count. Many people, probably major
ity, consider that the fireman's work is
not skilled labor, but this opinion
arises from ignorance of the require
merts of the calling. An unskillcd
fireman could no more fire a locomotive
on the road so as to keep up steam
steadily and enable the engineer to
make good time than he could build the
locomotive. Take a green hand and put
him on passenger train, for instance,
and the chances are that the passengers
will turn out and mob the whole trains
crew before the trip Is half through.
The likelihood Is that the train will
come to dead stop half dozen times
before the trip is ended, and while the
train is running it will be making such
miserable progress that all on board
will have their patience exhausted and
be driven almost to distraction over the
way in which their valuable time
is being .frittered away. Firemen have
to serve . regular apprenticeship to
the work. They generally begin as
cleaners in the round-house, where they
are put to clean the locomotives after
they come in from long trip. In that
way they get an acquaintance with the
several parts Of the engine and how and
where they should be oiled when run
ming. Their next step is on switch en-
CINE in the yards, where they learn how
to fire an engine 30 as to raise steam
rapidly and keep up a constant supply.
This requires good deal of practice. 1t
is the easiest thing iii the world to fire
your engine in such way that though
you have big fire in it it will not be of
the kind to make steam. Too much coal
is often as bad as too little. If the fire
is too heavy and burns too slowly, the,
inevitable consequence will be the low
ering of the supply Of steam to such an
extent that there will not be enough to
keep the train running. If any kind Of
a fire would do, the fireman's lot would
be an easy one. He could then fire up,
sit down comfortably in the cab and
take it easy until the fire burns out. As
it is, he has to keep firing steadily, add
ing fresh fuel to the flames at intervals
Of not more than two minutes, 50 that
while he Is on run he hardly knows
what it Ia to have chance to straighten
his back. He L. constantly olambering
half-bent from the box to the gangwsy
and from the gangway to the box,
manipulating heavy scoopful of coal,
and all this time he has got to keep
lookout ahead, for 1t Is his duty TO
watch out for danger ~ much - II u
that of the engineer. In fifteen hours
trip he will often shovel Is many a. ten
tons Of coal Some heavy passenger To-
comotives eat up about three-quarters
Of ton every hour they run.
"An ordinary dre Is four or i've SCOOP
fuls, and 1t must be put in the hre box
Just 80 or there will be trouble. The
iire box of locomotive is peculiar
piece OF workmanship and 1t requires to,
be thoroughly understood before It can
be fed in such q way ss to keep things
running smoothly. 1t is from six to ton
feet in length, according to the size Of
the locomotive, and four or ave feet
wide. The CRATE is composed Of NOV
able bars 80 placed as to provide for
ventilation OF the sides and ends. II
you have ever watched . fireman put
ting in coal you may have noticed that
he hardly ever pitches 1t in straight.
He turns his shovel now to this side and
then to that, now to this end and then
to that, and it IL only once in awhile
that shovelful goes straight to the
center. The reason for that ia that he
does not want to put the coal where It
will interfere with the ventilation Of
the crate or in such q way as will cause
1t to cake. A steady burning and at
the same time roaring fre is what Is re-
quired, and every thing depends on the
way in which the fuel is fed to it. The
amount of steam required to run an
ordinary passenger engine is 1876 pounds,
and the aim Of the expert fireman Is to
keep it at that figure constantly from
the time he starts out on his trip till he
is on the last mile of his run, when he
will gradually let it fall so that whom
he reaches the final stopping place.
there will be just about enough left to
run the engine to the round-house, that
none Of it may go to waste. That is
another matter the fireman has to look
to. or he will get hauled over the GOALS
by his superiors. He must be as
economical of fuel as possible. The in
experienced fireman will use up far
more fuel than his more expert brother
and have NO better results for 1t. He
must keep his fire 20 that all the hest
will 60 to the fiues, and that no cold air
entering the fre-box can get TO them
until II has heon tharou0hlv hea tod and