Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-27

| A Pointed Little Sermon on the Text of Ho
Journals Railroad Traius-Irs th.
Poor Roads That Have This Trouble, MOI
the Fine Ones.
WRITTEN FOR THR DIsPATCH.I
My son, you remember reading, not
many weeks ago, the statement of minis
ter OF the gospel, foreign missionary, one
might say, as he is preaching in New York,
that he was obliged to 60 to Europe for a
long rest because he was run down by over
work. II have a hot box" he said, and
then went ON to explain that when railway
train ran too fast or too long the boxes or
journals of the car wheels became over
heated, and the train had to come to a halt
and remain at rest until the mot box"
cooled off "That is what ails me-" said the
good minister. "I am not sick, and I have
not broken down; have simply been work.
ing too hard; have been going too fast and
doing too much, and have a hot box. I
must rest awhile; rest is all need"
Now, my son, L hope, and believe that
preacher is better theologian than he is
a railroader; he ought to be anyhow. He
knew what allied him; he had a hot box
But he didn't know what caused it; he said
it was working too hard; doing too much.
Nonsense, my boy; sheer nonsense; utter
absurdity. He wasn't doing half as much
as he should have been doing, maybe. He
might have been the LATEST preacher in all
busy New York, and yet had a hot box all
the same. 1t isn't the speed that makes the
journal heat up and set fire to the packing,
my son. The box is out of order, that's
what's the matter.
TWO CASES IN POINT.
have been shot from Philadelphia to
Chicago on the ''limited," f" the drivers fairly
throwing the miles away like seconds, and
never a smoking axle nor the loss of min
ute on a single mile; and the next day have
boarded the Wesley City, Bluetown and
Copperas Creek Air Line-runs from quar-
ries to Kckapoo siding, mixed train, three
times week, IL miles an hour-and helped
to carry water from the creek to pour on q
hot box between every other station. 1t isn't
the speed at all.
The next time you are whirling along on
a lightning express and the train stops to
doctor hot journal you will observe, it, you
please, that there is but one smoking axle on
all the train of seven Pullmans-or is the
plural of that car misunderstanding on an
Now, the SO wheels that are in good condi-
tion were running just as fast as the one that
set fire to its packing; making just as good
time, and they are ready and able to keep
on making time. The wheel that stops the
train is out of order; there's something
wrong about the wheel, it hasn't been doing
n bit more than any other wheel on the
train. And when it says it has been doing
too much and running too fast all other
wheels have right to squeak on their axles
in derison, were thev not too smoothly pol
ished and too well oiled to be guilty Of such
harshness.
ALWAYS KEEP IN CONDITION.
Take care of yourself, my boy; keep your
self in condition; run regular trips on
schedd4e time; look after yourself before and
after the run, and at the five minute stops,
and 1 don't care how much you shorten up
the time, you may go as fast as you can
make steam and turn the drivers.
1t isn't the great railways, with their we'll
appointed trains, thoroughly disciplined
and practically educated crews that are |
troubled with hot boxes. You find the hot |
boxes on the poorer roads, that run their ex-
presses on freight train time, and try to |
save oil by using plenty of water on the |
boxes, because water is cheap and they |
think there is more economy in cooling a
hot journal with water that costs nothing |
than there is in keeping it cool with oil that
costs money.
Ii a railway train, shooting through the |
atmosphere like streak of lightning, should
suddenly burst into devouring fame stimuli |
taneously, from pilot to marker, should be
inclined to think that speed and friction had
something to do with destruction. But |
when only one wheel in hundred begins
to smoke, am positive it is the fault of that
one wheel-unless it can prove that it was
running faster and going farther than any |
other wheel of its size on the train.
ROBERT j. BURDETTE.