Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1895-06-27
A new SCHEME.
Plan to More Economically
Haul Freight of the
Northern Pacific.
Tons, Not Cars, to be the
Unit Of Measure
ment.

LILO ANOECAoIu u dClAC IhJlTOhu 40 CO..-
templatlng departure in the manage
ment OF the motive department of the
road looking toward q reduction in ex-
penses by the the better utilization OF it's
motive power. It has been the custom,
since the existence Of the road, to classify
the engines by the number of loaded
cars that an engine Of q certain class can
haul over each section of the road. Thus
STANDARD" engine will be rated with
81 'loads'' - loaded cars - over the
eastern portion OF this division where
the grades are comparatively easy. A
mogul-a larger engine-is rated with 26
loads going west and % coming east on
the western portion of the division
where the grades are heovier.
There is q great difference
IN the tonnage Of train when loaded
cars alone are hauled. Furniture, gen.
eral merchandise, shingles, etc., are quite
light while wheat, stock, etc., make
heavy trans. The total number OF tons
hauled in the latter case is much greater
than in the former while the cost OF
transportation is proportionately greater
in the light than in the heavy trains al
though the number of cars III each train
may be the same. The company receives
pay for carrying freight at so much per
100 lbs. or ton, and it is therefore OF the
highest Importance that each engine
should work to full capacity and, with
ont reference to the number Of cars
which are only non producing receptacles
for freight-transport the highest num-
ber of tons OF freight of which each
engine is capable.
TO this end dynamometer car sup
piled with an apparatus to measure the
force, or power, necessary to haul train
of known weight, is now in use on this
division. The car was started east
from the western terminus and is
traversing the entire line of the Northern
Pacific measuring the force required to
transport freight over the different parts
of the road. The car-which IS a
caboose especially equipped, placed in
the train next to the engine-left this
city Sunday morning for Fargo &C.
coupaned by w. L. Darling, division
| engineer of the Eastern division; Geo
Ball. assistant engineer; F. NJ. Rlsteen
| master mechanic of this division
Travelling Engineer Goodman; Mr.
Hickey and Superintendent Wilson IN
his private car. As the train climbed
the bluffs east of the city, with the help
OF pusher, the pusher at two different
| intervals was signaled to cease working
to allow the power Of the leading engine
| to be measured.
According to the new plan, train
will not be composed OF a specified
number OF cars-if loaded-and a GER
J tain proport1onately greater number ot
empty cars according to whether they
are Streeter's, Northern Pacific stock
fats, box, etc., but will be of so many
tons weight. The yardmaster in max
ing up train will not consider whether
the train Ia composed of 2Oor IS cars
but whether the tonnage for that class
of engine used is sufficient or not
There are many thing to be considered
in the new plan, and developments will
! be awaited with much interest by al
| concerned in railroad traffic.