The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-05-19
He Gauged q Locomotive.

7
New YORK May 5.-As the Empire
State" Express Of the N,u York Central
road, the fastest train In the world, stood
in the Grand Central station little be.
fore 9 .. m. Tuesday waiting, for the sig.
nal 10 start, scme of the passengers who
walked forward on the platform to look
atponderous engine $40, which pulls the
train 10 Albany, noticed q small box just
In front Of the cylinder on the right side
Of the locomotive. This box, open at the
top and rear, was of rivsted iron and
was bolted to the engine. It was about
three feet high and was just big enough
10 hold man who was willing to com.
press himself into the smallest possible
shape. Just before the train started q
short, middle.sged man stepped on the
locomotive, adjusted q delicate gauge on
the cylinder, then doubled himself up
and disappeared within the iron box.
The man was Angus Sinclair, editor Of
Locomotive Engineering. His purpose
was to make tests, by means of the gauge
he had fastened 10 the cylinder, Of the
locomotive power and steam distribution
and determine how great speed it could
make.
Mr.. Sinclair returned to this city on
Tuesday night. A reporter saw him yes.
terday at his Office in Temple Court.
elbow do I feel after my ride ?" said he.
"Well, I feel pretty lame. Two hours and
three quarters on ones knees is what
might be called true devotion to the
cause, end it's firing. No, I wasn't ner.
veus dnring the ride, but I probably
shonld have been il I,had not been used
to riding on every fart Of 4 locomotive
for years, though not at such a rate.
seveuty.eight miles ah Hoat is, Z believe,
the fastest recorded time msds Of q rsyel
by locomotive drawing train, ana we
raj, four miles at that rate. How did I
know this? Because counted the revo.
lutions of the driving wheels. At the
fastest the drivers made. $40 revolutions
q minute. The counting WIS done by ear
and by feeling. To any one but trained
ear the sound from the amokestack of a
locomotive travelling faster than sixty
miles an hour Is . continuous blast, but
an old engineer can detect distinct pul.
sations. It is an acquired faculty, and
comes only with long experience. There
are four puffs to every revolution of the
drivers and one of these is q trifle louder
than tie others. This serves 10 divide
them fntt,bu1s. The engineer can count
these puas asd'by grouping them into
twenties, whicFHs checks off o, his fin.
gers, arrive at cdnelasion regaA ding the
number Of revolutions minute. Then
the circumference Of sks drivers; being
known It Is q simple tfaster to reckon
tbs rate of speed. Besides thi, there is
q sort Of shock throughout the 1csenotive
n-sthe down stroke of the diving rod,
which aids In the counting. This count.
ing has become. through practice, . mo-
chanical act with me, and on my ride
I mas counting. looking after
The machinery of the gauge and supply
ing the gauge with paper on which the
diagrarss we're to be marked at the same
time. So, yoe sec, / had no time tcsthirk
Of being NERVOUS.
.aWere there 81 rspleasant oe peculiar
sensations connectsY With such rapid
"Well, the trees and telegraph poles
got 60 going by pretty fast. z would
sight sn object some distance up ,he
track and before I could think what It
was 1t would behind me. Then two or
three times I stuck my head out too far
and the wind lit ME In the back Of the
neck with a club. Tke motion did not
trouble me much, except tAM y made my
knees sore"
The diagrams, made from the, gauge
showed the locomotiveto be almost per-
feet inregsrd to the distribution ofsteam.
It developed 500. .horss power, snd con.
sumed two and one.eighth pounds Of coal
per horse power per hour. Mr.. Sinclair
is confident that with one Car 1t could
run 100 miles an hour. The locomotive
the record breaker, which, on
the famous run to Buffalo, September IA,
1891, 1891 miles in 425 minutes, made the
14S to albany hi 140 minutes With its
tender It weighs one trndred tons. It's
drivers are six and q aaqf Ast II diane.
tef.1