The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-01-29
The Eccelerafion Of Railway Speeds.

to how fast passenger train can run.
The various conditions which affect
the making Of railroad records are in
timately correlated. some being found
in the engine, some in the train, and
some in the roadbed and track upon
which they run.
Taking the standard fast train Of
to-day as represented by the Empire
State Express on the N. Y. G. and H.
R. R. R., it can safely be said that
when in 1893 it ran for short dis
tance at over 100 miles au hour, it was
for that shortspurt travelling up to
the very limit of the possibilities of
our. present system Of railway locomo-
ytion. The whole tendency of the age
toward time saving makes it certain
that, before The twentieth century is
far advanced, the travelling public will
be olamoring for a vastly increased
rate Of speed over present rates. The
experience of the past teaches that
when the patrons of a wealthy trans
.portation company, whether on sea or
land, demand a faster. service and
are willing to pay for it-they usually
get it.
We state few suggestions as to the
proper lines of investigation to be
pursued in order to effect such i'm
provements.
The Track.-This must be straight
ened as much as possible. On a
tangent the whole tractive effort of
the engine is available on the drawbar
of the train. On curve the effort is
split into two, components, one of
which is expended against the outer
rail of the curve, while the other is
available to haul the train. The COM
ponent which is lost in the outer rail
increases with uthe increase of the
sharpness of the curve; and vice versa,
the. more we can straig ghten out or
cease; the curve, the less will be the
loss from this cause
Grades must be. ,Lightened.-T The
resistance due to grade is too obvious
to2call for elaboration here
Heavier Rails must be Provided
No amount Of care can keep road
bed in perfect level. The, storms and
frost Of winter and the drought Of
summer will develop soft places: If
the steel rail be deep and heavy, it
will bridge these weak spots, and pre-.
serve the general level. The load of
the train is concentrated at certain
points of contact, where the steel tire
meets the steel rail. The ideal track
will distribute this concentrated load
as evenly as possible to the widest
possible surface of roadbed. For a
speed of Is miles an hour, 100 to 125
pound rail should be laid upon ties 6
inches by 10 inches by 10 feet long.
Better rail joints will be Required.
The joints are to-day by far the
weakest point, even in our best tracks.
The perfect joint should be as rigid
and yet as elastic, as the rail itself
Z To get the required depth for stiff
ness it should be of the ssub-rail type,
associated with some form of angle
bar to secure alignment. With the
introduction of 60 foot rails, the num-
Der Of joints will be reduced to one.
half, and some of the expense thus
saved could:he well spent in improving
their quality. Whenever it is posi-.
BILE to hear the "click" or Hammer
of joint, we may be sure that GER
tain amount Of the momentum of the
train is being absorbed at that point.
A perfect track involves silent joint.
Engines. fast express engine
of the future will be single driver.
It has been abundantly proved that
20 tons on one pair of drivers will
give all the zadhension necessary to
haul an express train of to-day. En-,
gines with single drivers are not
troubled with slipping, of the wheels,
except occasionally in damp weather.
At such time steam sanding appa-
ratus gives the drivers the necessary
adhension. Where loads are heavy
as in the slower and heavier passen.
ger trains, or in freight trains, it be-
comes necessary to couple on an extra
pair of wheels.
The Philadelphia and Reading en-.
CINE is doing better work with a single
driver than its sister engines of the
four-coupled type. The single driver
engine is easy to counterbalance and
the internal triction is largely reduced
L The drivers will be of not less thar
z or 8 feet diameter, and running al
they will on 100 to 125 pound raj
they can be safely loaded up to q
tons. This will give sufficient adhen'
sion for 20 or21 inch cylinders which
with steam pressure Of 200 to 22s
pounds and large steam ports, woule
give US locomotive of very large higf
speed hauling capacity.
Cars.-It is in the reconstruction o4
| cars that the greatest gain will be
| made. We have for many years beer
of the opinion that the weight Of {
Pullman car was out of all proportion
to the number of people it carried
| In train made up Of pullman cars
the engine has to haul not less than
II tons of dead load for each passenger
carried. On the race track the bicycle
| carries it's load at average railroad
speed on a deadweighs basis Of q
pounds to the passenger. One hun
| dred and fifty times az much dead
| weight to be carried per passenger OF
| railroad as on a bicycle. Making al
| allowance for the shelter and conven
ience of car travel, there is evidently
| something wrong. The weight of tht
| car is excessive, and it is the outcome
Of the rough and dangerous condition
of the earlier railroads, and of the
competition among the builders to ex
eel in providing luxurious palace
car. The car was made heavy in order
that it might ride easily on rough
track and hold together when it jump
ed the track it was loaded down with
heavy plate mirrors, solid hard wood
carving and moulding, and massive
brass and plated work in the attemp,
to beautify it. The two causes have
both disappeared. Our trains stay or
the track and automatic signaling hal
done away with collisions. They car
safely be built lighter. A better taste
has been cultivated among us in the
matter of decorations and fittings, ane
Pullman cars could be relieved of much
silver plating and glass plate, and yet
= Il