The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-11
THE PURDUE LOCOMOTIVE
A UNIVERSITY TEACHES PRACTICAL
RAILROAD ENGINEERING.
Every Movement of the Engine Is
Right Under the Eye of All the
students-AH Sorts of Tests.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
LAFAYETTE, Ind, July 10.-The stu
dents at Purdue University are the only
ones in the world who have locomotive
Of their own. It is no toy affair, but one
which is perfectly competent to pull the
trains on any railroad in the United States.
any other place, for that matter. Its
sole purpose is to teach the embryo engin-
GERS all there is to learn about a locomo-
tive and make them practical engine
drivers as near as possible without gaining
that practical experience that goes with
actual service on the road. The locomotive
in use is a brand new one, and has just
been placed in position after hawless run
from Schenectady. 1t is of the same type
that seen attached to ordinary railroad
trains. 1t has eight wheels. it's drivers are
six feet in diameter, and the locomotive
itself weighs 100 600 pounds. An interesting
fact is that it carries a steam pressure of
$50 pounds to the square inch, double that
ordinarily employed. 1t has duplicate
cylinders and may thus be made simple or
compound.
With all it's attractions, the new locomo-
tive is not regarded by the students at Pur-
due as was the old The first locomotive
really the original one to become the
study of the students in the university.
The youngest freshman and the oldest
senior loved it as they did their alma mater.
It's departure, for it has become an ordi-
nary freight engine now, was an event of
sorrow such as Purdue rarely witnesses.
There are some pretty big boys at Purdue,
but there was hardly a dry eye in the as
sembIage that bade goodbye to the faith
FIJI Of
them had watched for four years They re-
gard the new arrival in a measure as an
interloper, for nothing to them can ever
take the place of the engine that has gone.
Every cylinder and every crank pin of No.
1 was familiar to them, and they knew the
motion of the machine as well as they did
their A. B, C's. locomotive is like a
human being, engineers say. 1t has its
good days and its bad days. Sometimes it
is docile, and again it is as irritating as
possible. Once in awhile it proves itself
to be absolutely untrustworthy when you
least expect it, and perhaps that is why the
students have considered it something ihu-
man. In any event, the boys had genuine
affection for the machine, and the clang
of it's bell as it rolled away was to them
in the nature of the funeral knell of a be-
loved friend. Even the college professors
appeared to keenly feel the sorrow preva-
lent at the departure of Schenectady No l.
They remembered that six years ago, when
the locomotive made its advent at Purdue
it was considered a fine piece of mechan-
ism. They also remembered that the prog
ress of the last two years had made it de-
sirable that engine having somewhat
different characteristics be secured, but in
their hearts they knew that Schenectady
No. could never hope to gain in their
esteem the place Schenectady No. l had
occupied
FAREWELL TO THE OLD.
AS the departing engine steamed along
under the trees and between the university
buildings at a dignifed pace, as befitted
machine of it's varied experience it had
the heartiest farewell, and yet the most
sorrowful from the crowd of students
which ran along by it's side. Just before
reaching the exit of the grounds it stopped
President Smart mounted the nearest flight
of steps, and in the course of a brief ad-
dress said that it was with regret he saw
the departure of a piece of mechanism
which had done such service for Purdue
Its departure, however, meant a step in
advance, for its place was to be supplied
with something better.
Professor Goss, who presides over the de-
partment of experimental engineering con-
tinued the speechmaking. He said that
during the six years of Schenectady No. Is
scientific life the engine had been under
seventy efficiency tests each test involving
a run of about one hundred miles, and 25O
shorter special tests. Ten thousand indi-
Gator cards had been taken, 300 miles had
been run, 900 observations had been made
and 900 different results had been derived
from calculation, so, with the cards, OBJ
servations and results altogether, there are
on file at Purdue about Al, 900 facts concern
ing the performance of the late lamented
Schenectady No. l.
After this had been said, Colonel Prout,
of New York. called attention to the vital
quality of work that has consistently
checked and measured, by the actual facts
of material, human nature and daily HUI
man life. Then the students cheered as
only students can. Then they wept a
rather rare thing for students to do Old
Schenectady seemed to know their sorrow.
for her whistle sounded mournfully and the
clang of her bell as doleful as could
be. When she steamed off through the
meadows for the main line of track with
which the spur she was on was connected
it almost seemed from her movements that
she was shedding tears. In any event the
students were.
THE NEW MACHINE.
The locomotive testing plant upon which
the new engine stands has wheels in the
place usually occupied by rails. On these
supporting wheels rest the drivers of
Schenectady No. 2. They are mounted upon
shafts, run in fixed bearings, and turn
when the locomotive is driven through the
action of it's machinery. OF course, there
is no load TO pull, but its place is taken
by friction brakes and the pull at the draw
bar is registered by an accurate dynamo
meter, which tells the exact amount of
weight the engine is supposed to draw.
Everything is worked down to a scientific
basis. There are scales for weighing coal
and scales for weighing the water that is
fed to the boiler. There are pressure
gauges, indicators and Thermometers al
most without number. The whole arrange
ment is such as to permit the engine to
h lie fO ISA faA