The record-union., 1896-04-22
A Big SAVING OVER COAL.
Result Of the Railroad Company'S EX-
perimentS With Petroleum.
Probability That Oil Will Yet be
the Fuel for All of Its Loco
motives.

The Southern Pacific Company has
for some months past been experiment.
ing with petroleum as a substitute for
coal as fuel on it's locomotives, and the
officials in the general office of the COM
pany are so pleased with the result of
the experiment that they have decided
to do away with the use of coal en-
tirely on all the locomotives operated
by the company south of Fresno.
In an interview with San Francisco
Chronicle" reporter yesterday, w. G..
Curtis, engineer of the maintenance of
way department, said the uncertainty of
the permanency Of the oil supply in
Southern California had caused the
company to hesitate before equipping
all its locomotives with tanks and
spraying devices, but it has been de-
cided to use oil in lieu Of coal on both
the San Joaquin and Los Angeles di-
visions without further delay.
Should the supply of oil turn out
to be unlimited" he added, I'VE will
use it all over the Pacific system.
I'VE have been experimenting with
the new fuel for some time past, and
the results have justified the change. 1t
has been found that the use of petro-
leum effects a considerable saving to
the company. We have been burning
oil on two engines during the past few
months, and we have found that four
barrels of petroleum, or 1,2OO pounds Of
fluid, does the work of one ton Of coal.
Coal costs us $5 80 ton down there,
exclusive of the cost Of handling it
from the seaboard to the point of dis
tribution and consumption.
"Oil is selling for 60 cents and rs
cents a barrel, so that a perceptible
saving is to be made by using petroleum
for fuel. The company has let a con-
tract with Los Angeles firm for the
erection of two storage tanks at that
place of a total capacity of 100000 gal
Ions. The materials will be ordered in
| the East and sent out as early as pos
sible, and by the time the storage tanks
are completed we expect to have a large
number Of engines equipped with spray
ing devices and tanks, so that the
change Of fuel may be made without
delay or annoyance.
f"The apparatus required for the use
of oil on locomotives is not very elab-
crate. The tank for the storage Of the
Gil occupies the space in the tender now
used for coal. The tanks will be made
of unusually heavy material, to lessen,
as much as possible, the danger of seri-
Gus results in the event Of collision.
The oil is conveyed from the tank in
pipes to the firebox and supplied to a
number Of burners, from which it is
sprayed, either with steam or COM
pressed air,
"The oil pumped from the wells at
| ic
can only be burned by spraying it over
hot flame. We are also getting oil
from the wells at Summerland, several
miles below Santa Barbara which is
even heavier than the Los Angeles OIL
The storage plant to be erected at Los
Angeles will be so arranged that the
tank wagons from the wells can drive
up an incline and deposit the Oil in the
big receiving tanks. From these tanks
the oil will descend to a smaller tank
equipped with a compressed air device
for forcing the oil into the tanks on the
tenders Of the locomotives.
THE permanency of the Oil supply
at Los Angeles Is a question which we
have taken into consideration in ffgur-
ing on the advisability of the change
Whether or not the supply is limited is
a question just now in dispute. Mr..
Watt, field geologist Of the California
State Mining Bureau, has publicly de-
clared that the oil fields OF Los An
geles have been relieved of one-third
of their entire supply. I think myself
that he has rather underestimated the
extent of the supply.
Until the company is convinced,
however, that the supply of oil is not
liable to be exhausted in hurry we will
continue to use coal as fuel on all our
engines north Of Fresno 1t would be
an act of folly to equip our locomotives
over the entire system with oil tanks
and burners If the supply is not going
to be permanent, and it is this question
that needs to be settled before we de-
eide to burn oil on all our engines and
steamers. There is no doubt as to the
advantages of oil over coal as a fuel to
be used in large quantities, and as soon
as the company can be assured Of
permanent supply we will give up the
use of coal entirely