The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-13
ANTICS or ENGINES.
Oddities About Locomotives seldom
Heard Outside of RoundhOuses.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.

Heard Outside of ROundhOuses.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
An old railroad engineer insisted that
his engine is the most human piece of me-
chanism on earth, and, asked to make
clear his meaning, inquired:
do you see those two big round extern
sions on the top of that locomotive, which
look like the humps on camers back?
They look alike, but they are used for
very different purposes. One is the steam
dome, the other IS the sand box. The
latter is filed with sand which Is used to
sprinkle on the tracks when they become
too slippery for the wheels to take hold
of them. The sand allows the driving
wheels a good purchase on the rails and
the strain of pulling a train is reduced.
But this very sand which so helps the
locomotive would hinder the progress of
the car wheels, which should have as
smooth a track a. possible. SO steam
blower is placed just behind the driving
wheels in order that the sand may be
blown to one side. During locust or grass
hopper plaques in the West the insects
lay so thickly on the tracks that the
moisture from their crushed bodies often
stopped trains. A blower was placed in
front of the locomotive by the cowcatcher
so as TO clear the tracks of the insects.
Now the steam dome is an equally in
teresting contrivance. You hay have no.
ticed at times great puffs of white Vapor
coming from the smokestack of a loco
motive. That was a sign that she was
carrying too much water in her boilers
The steam which lies down near the wa
ter In boiler is very wet; in fact II is
almost water in consistency. The further
up you go from the surface of the boiling
water the more Vaporized does the steam
become and consequently the better for
use as a motive power.
IF, however, water rises too high II Is
apt to sloD over and run down what Is
known as the dry pipe into the cylinders.
Then when the piston rods encounter the
incompressible water instead of the very
compressible steam the heads of the cylin-
ders are apt to be knocked out This would
disable a train. A remarkable instance
when such a condition once saved the lives
of some convicts happened years ago near
Sing Sing, n. Y.
Several convicts escaped from the peni-
Tertiary and waited on nearby bridge
until train came along. AS 1t passed I'M
der the bridge they dropped down from
above and al the point of revolver com
PEELED the engineer and fireman to leave
the locomotive and go into the cars Then
the convicts uncoupled the engine from the
train ana the machine forged ahead
News of the theft Of the engine was
sent TO headquarters and the superlnteud-
ent OF the road Immediately telegraphed TO
a station master at a point of the road past
which the engine must go to open west
switch and throw first down train into the
river
1T was an extraordinary order, to be
sure, but wild engine on a much used
line might wreak irreparable damage. The
station master opened the switch which led
TO the river siding and awaited events.
Soon out Of the darkness appeared TO be
approaching a dense cloud Of steam. Not a
vestige OF the locomotive could be seen.
The steam entirely enveloped her. She turn
ed into the siding and rushed down to the
river, and the station masters amazement
at the turn of events was completed when
with a report and a Jolt and much splitting
OF water and Kissing Of steam she stopped
almost on the brink. while several men in
striped clothes rushed out Of the rising vol
ume Of vapor and made for the woods.
ut seems that when the convicts ordered
the engineer out Of the locomotive cab he
had surreptltiously turned on the lazy
cock" which causes water to flow into
the boiler The water kept rising and
rising as the engine went forward, and by
the time 1t reached the siding It had