The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-05-30
INVENTION.
A Saving or Forty e Cent In Fuel
for Locomotives.

While the railroad world at largo |
has exercised itself over the wonders
performed by the compound engine as
q fuel saver, MIR. Il. NJ. Roberts, of the
South Carolina Road, has succeeded
In contriving q simple device which
enables an ordinary locomotive to run
at q given speed with the consumption
| of little more than half the coal which
a compound engine would require on q
similar trip. The tests OF this device,
as they have been made up to date,
\ develop facts which will startle the
locomotive engineers Of the world
when they see them.
For a number of years inventors
have been attempting to contrive some
mean or other by which engines will
consume less coal. The latest and the
most conspicuous step in this direction
has been the invention of the compound
engine. 1t was claimed for 1t that it
would not only run faster than the
ordinary machine, but that it would
consume far less fuel, the latter con
sideration being the most important
one. Recent tests Of compound and
simple engines made by the Boston
and Providence Railroad showed that
in a trip of the same distance the
former machine consumed about %
per cen less coal than the latter.
This was considered a wonderful
feat and has been widely commented
on by railroad men. 1t is nothing,
however, to what has been accomplish
ed by engines on the South Carolina
Road which have been provided with
Mr.. Roberts's invention. the tests
have been made on engines 10 and 18,
running between Charleston and
Columbia. These experiments show
that while the compound engine con-
sumes over Is per cent less fuel than
the ordinary simple engine, this same
simple engine, provided with Mr..
Roberts's device, will consume ver
II per cen less fuel than the compound
engine does. This is of course a most
remarkable achievement, and one
which will not only astonish engineers,
but which will bring fame and wealth
to its inventor. Another important
l thing to be considered is the fact that
while it cost a great deal more to con
/; struct a compound engine than it does
! Roberts device can be built into the
a latter machine without any additional
! expense.
1 AS it is a difficult matter to describe
, ntelligently a piece Of machinery OF
4 paper little need be said of Mr.
: ROberts's invention at this time. L
.onsists for the most part in the con
!. troll of the draught in the engine, an
I is so simple that it is wonderful tina
I'd some n has not thought of it Ions
= ago.
Z MIR. Roberts has applied for a paten
b On the device. Speaking of the eX
periments yesterday he said that Will,
u he believed that his invention woul,
Z save much fuel on any engine in which
D t was placed. he believed that nue.
l If the credit for the wonderful result
already obtained with 1t was due to tn
Ii the engines were placed. The expert
nent had been made under the super
y vision of some of the most experience
{ and efficient engineers and fireme
which the road employed. and to theI
vas due nc little share of the admirabl
:, results obtained. 1t is from thei
g estimates that the figures given abov
are taken.
An experiment which was mad
70 with the invention a few days ago wi
IL explain to the reading public tn
y practical working of the device NOR
u forcibly than the comparison wit
VI the compound engine does. Ordinaril
i IT requires a fraction less than thre
tons of coal for an engine and four ca,
y running between Charleston an
~ Branchville. a distance of siXty-tw
y miles. but since Mr.. Roberts's devic
10 has been placed in the engines the
~ consume only 936 pounds of coal on til
a same trip, or less than one-sixth {
"a much fuel. These are practical resul'
II which speak for themselves, and {
they are being daily demonstrate
I. there a be little doubt of their co
Us rectness.-News and Courier.