The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-28

is a. record of the impressions and con-
The steps at the side of the big Balti-
more & Ohio electric locomotive seemed
familiar enough and l clannbered
aboard after the engireer-in-charge and
the electrical superintendent, Mr.. Shep-
pard. Once inside the cab however
ideas with a locomotive footpla1e rudely
upset.
Instead of the familiar end view of
the fire box. with its furnace door, and
its gently sizzling steam taps, l saw a
breast-high wooden box. two feet
square IN cross section. On the top of
this box was the customary throttle
valve handle of a steam locomotive,
with its notched quadrant for keeping
it at any point where the engineer de-
sired to set it Attached to one side of
the box was the frame in which the
reversing lever moved from full for
ward TO full back Above the box was
q large guage which registered up to
5000, instead of 200. The handles of
an automatic air brake completed the
visible equipment of the foot-plate OF
this extraordinary locomotive.
Mr. Shepard nodded to the engineer,
who had been transferred from long
service on the steam locomotives on
the line as a special mark of merit
With his right hand the engineer threw
off the air brake while he pulled the
lever into the first notch with his left
The huge 9e-ton engine slipped away so
quickly that ! was not at first aware
that we We're moving. and almost be-
fore / fully realized the fact the engine
was entering the tunnel which runs for
almost mile and half under the
streets of Baltimore.
LET her cut" said Mr. Shepard, as
the engine reached the spot just inside
the south portal of the tunnel where
the UP grade begins. We were running
without any load behind on this oc-
casion. IN order that 1 might have full
opportunity to feel the engines speed.
The engineer pulled the lever toward
him until it stood half way on the
rack. There was an ominous sound
from the rails, echoed and re-echoed
from the walls of the tunnel. The in
candescent lights. which lit up the
way on both sides at intervals of g. few
feet began to pass more rapidly. A
few seconds more and / could no Ion
ger see them on one side.
Faster and tester grew the speed
until the air which entered through the
partly-opened cab window in front. not
only threatened TO take my breath
away but also hurl me against the back
of the cab. l grasped friendly railing
and pointed muteiy 10 the window. The
engineer shut it with a bang and gave
her another notch. BY this time had
found my bearings, and tried to feel
the speed through my feet
Any one who has ever stood on the
foot-piate of a steam locomotive, going
at the rate Of 80 or 60 miles an hour.
knows What IT is to feel the speed
through his feet. The throb of the
steam, as it leaves the cylinder by the
exhaust pipe and forces its way to the
open air through a funnel. causes
corresponding vibration in the frame
work. The faster these throbs succeed
one another. the greater the speed of
the engine, since each four of them
mean one complete revolution on the
driving wheels. At very high rates Of
speed the foot-plate makes the scles
Of your feet feel as if they were asleep.
The sensation is a glorious one. asso-
csated as il is with mans amost limit
less power over the mechanism which
carries him with 1t through the air at
a speed more than twice as great as
that Of the fastest race horse.
1 had ridden often enough on a steam
locomotive to know exactly how sleepy
my feet ought 70 feel at fifty miles an
hour. / felt as hard as l could on the
electric engine but my feet told ne
nothing. Then It began to dawn upon
me that there was no steam to make
vibrations. Electricity, unique in all
its manifestations. wasted none of IT'S
energies in vibrating the foot-plate.
Each of the four great ar1natures be-
meath our feet whirled around trying
to catch the lightning in its surround
ing fixed field-magnets. and never sue
ceeding. because its own turning on
its axis Always kept driving on the mag