Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-09
THE LARGESTIN THE WORL o
Locomotives of Great Power for Use on the
Southern Railroad.
Fully Double the Strength of the New
York Centrars o93-sfxty Miles
en Hour.

The Southern Railway Company has Just
had completed at the Baldwin locomotive
shops In Philadelphia the three largest
locomotives in the world These mon
sters, which viii be run upon the main lire
between Washington and Atlanta, and
which will soon be put into service, have.
after careful test, developed a speed of
more than sixty miles an hour. while
drawing train equal to thirty-three load
ed Pullman cars OF forty-two tons each
Some idea Of the strength OF these en-
gines may be formed when IL is stated that
each is fully twice as strong as the cele-
brated $685." which is owned by the New
York Central Railroad Company. and
which hauls the Empire State Express
caily between New York and Buffalo.
maintaining steady run OF mile a
minute.
They are nearly three times as strong as
the locomotive which hauls the Flying
Scotchman" between London and Edin-
burgh. and more than three times as strong
as the engine which brings the train from
London to Holyhead. To put the matter
more plainly. each OF these engines can pull
a load equal to that drawn by four ordi-
nary passenger locomotives.
Description Of the Monsters.
The following description OF these loco
motives was furnished to a Star reporter
by one in authority:
The six coupled driving wheels OF these
ei gines are each six feet in diameter. and
the working steam pressure is 200 pounds,
10 the square inch. The cylinders are of
the ordinary simple type. each Il inches in
diameter, with piston stroke of - inches
Inns gives tractive force or draw bar
pull OF "a, AGO pounds, sufficient to haul a
tralnload OF 4.219 tons, equal to about
eighty-five of the largest loaded freight
cars. at slow speed on a level track. No
run
combined cylinder area and steam pres
sure as these new giants
You may make the moving parts of n
locomotive as powt rful as you please. but
unless there is a fire box and a boiler big
enough to match the running gear the en-
CINE will soon be short of steam with a
probable slow down between stations This
catastrophe is not likely to happen to one
OF these engines as long the coal holds
cut. for the fire box is 10 feet long and 3 LIZ
feet wide, with a total heating surface of
l4 sgt are feet. The boiler is : feet 2
inches In diameter. with tubes which give
heating surface of no less than LESS
square feet. Soft COAL of which about q
tons will be put i'm the tender at starting
will be the fuel.
Utilization of Power.
An engire may also have great power
and yet be unable to utilize it. owing ID
insufficient weight on the driving wheels.
The total weight of each of these locomo-
tives will be 15 tons. of which IS will rest
on the six driving wheels, the remaining
seventeen tons being carried by the four
wheel truck i'm front. Reckoning the bite
or grip on the rail at one-fourth the weight
on the drivers we get an adhesion OF II IL
tons. or $4,000 pounds. which is $40
pounds more than the tractive force of the
engine, thus leaving a good margin for
Wet weather and slippery rails The weight
of 10 1-3 tons on each pair of drivers is
also unparalleled in the history of rail-
roads. To carry this weight with safety
ard without heating the journals of each
axle are Sl-2 inches in diameter by IL
inches i'm length. Fancy locomotive jour-
nails . feet and 1-2 inches in circum-
ference.
THE tenders attached TO these engines
will be worthy of them. Each will carry
400 gallons of water and which loaded to
it's full capacity will weigh AZ 1-2 tons.
This Will bring the total weight of engine
and tender TO liz 1-2 tons.
THE object of having such powerful
engines is not so much to make speed on
the level as to maintain IL on the grades.
The n aximum grades, of which there are
several from to miles long. vary from
90 to 50 feet to the mile (roughly speaking
from IA to l IL per cent?. and the
curves on these from TO degrees"