Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-09-12
LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
Locomotives Of Great Power for the
Southern Railroad.
washington Star

wv dOAllllcbOh DlaA.i
The Southern Railway Company has
just had completed at the Baldwin loco
motiye-shops. in Philadelphia, the three
largest locomotives In the world. These
monsters, which will be run upon the
main line between Washington and At
lanta, and which will soon be put into
service, have, after careful test, devel-
oped a speed Of more than sixty miles
an hour. while drawing a train equal
to thirty-three loaded Pullman cars Of
forty-two tons each.
Some idea OF the strength of these en-
gines may be formed when II is stated
that each Is fully twice as strong as
the celebrated 'ge9," which Is owned by
the New York Central Railroad Com
pany, and which hauls the Empire State
Express daily between New York and
Buffalo. maintaining steady run OF
mile a minute. They are nearly three
times as strong as the locomotive which
hduls the Flying Scotchman" between
London and Edinburgh, and more than
three times as strong as the engine
which brings the train from London to
Holyhead. To put the matter more plain
ly, each Of these engines can pull a
load equal to that drawn by four ordi-
nary ldSStIlEcT lOtCIuOtNtS.
The following description Of these loco
motives was furnished TO q reporter By
one IN authority:
THE six coupled driving wheels of these
engines are each six feet in diameter,
and the working steam pressure Is eco
pounds to the square inch. The cylin-
ders are of the ordinary simple type,
each q inches in diameter, with a piston
stroke of 2S inches. This gives a tractive
force or draw-bar pull of 27,iS0 pounds,
sufficient to haul train-load Of 4219
tons, equal to about eighty-fiye of the
largest loaded freight-cars, at slow speed
on a level track No locomotives now
running have so large combined cylinder
area and steam pressure as these new
giants.
'You may make the moving parts of a
locomotive as powerful as you please.
but unless there is a fire-box and boiler
big enough TO match the running gear,
the engine will soon be short OF steam,
with q probable showdown between
stations. This catastrophe il not likely
TO happen to one OF these engines as
long as the coal holds out, for the fire.
box is 10 feet long and 31-2 feet wide
with a total heating surface Of 19i square
feet. The boiler 81 feet inches In
diameter, with tubes which give a heat
ing surface OF no less than 2,2eS square
feet Soft coal, OF which about eight
tons will be put in the tender at start
ing, will be the fuel.
can engine may also have great power,
and yet be unable to utilize IL, owing
TO insufficient weight on the driving
wheels. Tho total weight Of each OF
these locomotives will be 70 tons. Of
which So viii rest on the six driving
wheels, the remaining IT tons being car
ried by the four-wheel truck in front.
the bite or grip on the rail
az cne-fourth the weight on the drivers,
wo get an adhesion of IA IL tons, or
2, 900 pounds which Is ] $40 pounds more
than the tractive force OF the engine.
thus leaving 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 safe
" and without heating the journals Of
zach axle are s1-2 inches In diameter
,y II inches in length. Fancy locomo-
i've Journals 2 feet and / IL inches IN
"The tenders attached to these en-
yines will be worthy of them Each will
larry 4.5O0 gallons OF water. and which
oaded 10 its full capacity viii weigh
2 IL tons. This will bring the total
weight Of engine and tender to III 1-2
onS.
1.-The object OF having such powerful |
.ngines is not so much to make speed on |
he level as to maintain 1t on the !
trades. The maximum grades, Of which |
here are several from two TO four miles !
ong, vary from 20 10 So feet to the mile !
speaking from ia to IL per |
.ent), and the curves on these from |
20 6 degrees"