The times., 1898-11-10
NEW STEAM MOTOR.
Suburban Traffic to BE Revolution
ized by n Queer Car.

tFrom the Philadelphia lnquirer-)
In the locomotive yards of the Reading
railway, Just above the Ninth and Spring
Garden Streets elevated station, or run
ming up and down the tracks al irregular
intervals. for the past few weeks the
casual observer might have noticed an
unusually long maroon-colored car, whose
only apparent peculiarity rests in the
fact that IL runs itself. Even this has
not been sufficient. ordinarily, to attract
especial attention, for such Things have
often been seen before
To the critical observer, however, this
complicated piece of railroad mechanism
is of extraordinary interest, because II
promises. when developed to perfection,
to revolutionize the whole system of pas
senger traffic Ii was with view TO
being critical that a reporter sauntered
into the wards yesterday. Once inside the
car one is met by bewildering entanS!e-
ment of pipes and valves and machinery
that could only be interesting in tech
nicaI discussion. From an affable me-
chanic to whom was intrusted the task
of keeping the motor in order, however
was learned some points which explain
the wonderful merits of the invention
The car is being built by the Baldwin
ocomoriye Works, and Is far In advance
of anything yet attempted in the line, be-
cause in addition 10 room for the me-
chanjcal appliances there is spacious
compartment for baggage and passenger
capacity of sixty persons. when latter Is
the same as that of the ordinary passen-
ger car. The boiler is of the horizontal
type. and its power is transmitted TO the
wheels of the front truck THESE wheeiS
are less than three feet in diameter. out
with the aid of the compound Cylinders
such as are used on the fleet locomotives.
.ol laxyelOTN Gnpf1 OF over
forty miles an hour with an additional
car attached.
One of the great items f7eeonomy that
is TO be attained results from the fact
that only two men will be required to
operate the whole train. The fireman Is
superseded by automatic appliances. The
fuel is hard coal. and hopper that Will
hold one ton is built about the top OF the
boiler and is so constructed that 1t Will
feed the coal onto the fire box just as 1t
is needed All the engineer will have TO
do will be to rake the fire occasionally.
and for this purpose there is shaker
bar near his seat at the throttle.
Water is carried in long tanks which
run underneath the car, and these have
a capacity for l.5O0 gallons. The boiler is
fed with the ordinary injectors.
Among the many serious question that
| had to be met in such heavy construc-
| designers readily saw that it could not
| be set solidly upon the floor of the car,
| for a sudden jar while running at high
rate of speed might misplace ii and re-
| suit disastrously for the whole meehan-
| ISM There were many other reasons,
| too. from which developed the idea oi
setting it upon a pivot just as the trucks
| are held under the ordinary car, and then
when the motion that might result from
4 10. tzar d1d
| in the pipe connections an important item
| of danger was done away with. To avoid
| any more motion of the boiler than is
| absolutely necessary il is held in plac'
\ by long bolts. which are connected not
| directly but indirectly, through powerful
| coiled springs.
Only few details need to be arranged
| before the motor will be ready for duty
| To use the expression of the mechanic
They say that figures will not lie. bu
| sometimes they get them down wrong
This has been the whole trouble and witt
one or two pipes made larger and an ell
| bow here and there done away with. II i
| expected that no trouble will be encoun
| tered.
The motor is being built for service ol
the Detroit and Lima Northern Railroad
and will be the largest of the type eve
used A much smaller one, built by TN
Baldwins. is now in use on the Cincin
natl. Hamilton and Dayton Railroad. an'
there is one in course of construction !
the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad
to be used in the local service about 60
lumbus, o.
The officials of the Baldwin works arr
reticent as yet as to the motor. because
as they say, that perfection which the
| expect has not yet been reached. The ca
has been given a number of trial trips
and its performance at these times ma
been such as to prove to their satisfaetio
that all they have expected will be real
ized.