The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-02-01
GIANT AMONG ENGINES.
Immense Railway Locomotive. Its iahA
Large Enough for Swimming
Its Weight $4,000 Pounds.

world, fifty named 1.-The Mas'ouon'
inst been built and will be shortly placeo
in daily operation, says the Ohleago
Times Herald. Beside It's towering
height full grown men look like pygmles
Its STRENGTH is 60 prodigious that it can
only be understood when IL is seate1
that If would require the com pined
strength Of several regiments Oh men TO
hold this iron monster, once steam was
nm and the throttle thrown open.
This big engine was built for the
Bntfalo Rochester and Pittsburg road,
and when in service Will he what rail
road men call ''pasher." There is a
particularly heavy grade on this line in
the coal regions near Mount Jswett and
it is there that the services Of this giant
engine will lie required to help the regu-
lar engines up the grade with loaded coal
trains.
This new grade conqueror's hunter is
139, and as she stands i'll the Buffalo
wards OF the road size is constantly the
center of an admiring throng. who never
tire of discussing the huge machine from
all points of view.
This hig engine was designed and the
parts constructed at Dunkirk. The eefn-
tshed parts were taken to the Lincoln
Park shops Of the Buffalo, Rochester and
Pitssburg Roal, where the work OF cree
tion occupied over month The set
ting I'D Of tbs monster not only required
tie work of an unusally large number OF
men for fuch a service, but before 1t
couId be accomplished extra heavy cranes
and travellers had to be erected and
aigged in order to lift and convey the
parts to their proper place in the great
machines structure.
The parts had, however, been designed,
made and finished with such sorupulous
care that when the process Of fitting
them WAS carried out no change Of i'm
portanee had to be made. The trifling
alterations that were found to be neces-
sary were quickly done in the shops,
where the coming Inogufs skeleton WAS
rapidly being supplemented with its
vital organs and developed into COM
pletely formed body, maryelously capable
of power and motion.
DIMENSIONS OF THE "MASTODON.
The Mastodon, which is tersely de-
scribed by Superintendent Of Motive
Power Turner as 'B. r. & 2. 12-wheel
Freight Locomotive. Road Number 139 .
is much more massive, extensive. taller
and more powerful in appearance than
any possible picture or written descr1P-
ton can convey, and its story told in
figutes, though exact would mean more
to an expert engine builder than anyone
else.
No. 1879 was constructed to use bltum1-
nous coal as fuel and to run on track of
feet s.1-2 iuches gauge. The total wheel
base of the engine is 20 feet inches,
which means that.its wheels stand onEa
spaos longer than the width of full city
building lot. The driving wheel base is
Is feet inches. The total wheel base OF
engine aud tender is So feet inches,
wLile the total length Of engine and ten
der over all is over 60 feet.
The engine is "a giant, and would, i'll
carrying out the idea Of symmetrical pro-
norton. have been taller than it is but
for the numerous obstacles, like the
roofs of tunnels and bridges, which a
loci m olive while travelling is likely to
encounter. 1t is cheaper to fora-shorten
the stacks of locomotives than . to incur
expense of extra rock " ork in tunnelling
and for building higher aburments and
approaches for wagon road bridges.
The top of 1895 stack is IA IL feet from
the tops of the rails over which the mon
ster runs. From the rails to the center
of the boiler the distance is s feet IL
inches, and when man Of ordinary
height stands beside the engine the height
looks even greater.
BIGGEST OF BOILERS.
The boiler is of the type know to loco-
motive builders as the Belpaire wagon
top. Its diameter at it's smallest rig Ii
feet and inches. Its crown is support.
ed by direct stays. Ihs stay bolts are
one inch in diameter and are spaced moi
over 1-6 inches from center to center
A man crawling in the manhole OF the
boiler would see what resent lss giant
m1tra1lleuse, composed oI o4 uuoes
inches in diameter. The length Of these
tubes over the tube sheet is II feat n 5-lt
inches. The heating surface affected by
the tubes amounts to 2, 1920 square feat
sn Powerful cylinders are those reside ths
mogu's boiler The diameter of each II
21 inches and the stroke &c inches. Ih'
piston rods ere each inches in diameter
and the working pressure carried is Isl
pounds to the square iDch.
1t takes considerable room for the fires
which convert the water into steam FOL
1879. This inside of her great f,e box is
feet inches long and it is feet inches
wide. The heating surface lin the frt
box is 1856 square feet, while the CRATE
surface is 30 Flo square feet.
The total heating surface is 2, sos square
feet, There is a brick arch on Hbes, anc
the CRATES are cast iron and of the rock
ing variety
FIFTY FIVE-INCH DRIVING WHEEL
This engine has twelve wheels of thu
most massive type. The diameter of thu
driving wheel outside of the tires is 81