The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-09
REDUCING THE WEIGHT OF CARS.
Experiments Mad ON the New haven
and Illinois Central Railroads.

Casters Magazine.
Two of the largest and best equipped rail-
ways systems in the United States are de-
voting serious attention to the problem Of
reducing the dead weight of their standard
passenger coaches: h New York, New
Haven & Hartford, one of these systems,
which practically controls all the railways
east Of New York and south Of Boston, has
been giving effect to the Impressions made
visit to England two years ago. Mr.. Clark
said, after his return, that what struck him
most favorably about British railways was
the lightness Of the passenger rolling
stock as compared with that in the United
States. Apparently in accordance with his
suggestion, E. E. Pratt, superintendent of
buildings on the New Haven Railroad, de-
signed q model passenger coach with
wrought iron fittings instead Of cast iron,
with lighter scantlingS and with lighter
floors. This car was put into service, In
November, 1896, and, up to Jan. l last, had
run So, 8S1 miles. Compared with the coach
of the old pattern, which it most nearly re-
placed, it weighed about $1,000 pounds, as
against $500, and it is expected that this
weight will be further reduced by 250
pounds when the new coach gets aluminium
fittings for the seats-a purpose for which
that metal seems well a"dapted-instead of
the iron frames used at present. But If the
new coach shows itself by actual service to
have no drawbacks, it will replace not only
the standard New Haven one of $500
pounds, but also numerous others OF a
larger type weighing $1,000 pounds. This
would mean q decrease in weight OF more
than 20 per cent. on the present heavier
COoCiAODy CIAO . z PC NhN OA ~
coaches. In other words, five of the new
coaches could be hauled with the same coal
consumption as four of the old ones In the
former case, and eight instead Of seven in
the latter.
On the illinois Central system. under the
direction of Mr.. Renshaw, superintendent
of motive power, the process of turning out
lighter passenger coaches has been de-
Veloped on q larger scale, and perhaps In a
more practical way, for some years past.
Most of the old coaches on that system
have from one to three tons of old rails
placed beneath the floor of the coach, which
were put there to check horizontal sway
ing by lowering the center of gravity and
consequently to make them smoother rid
ing vehicles for the public. Every time one
of these old coaches comes into the shop
for q thorough repair Mr.. Renshaw removes
this dead weight of old rails. For two or
three years past he has also substituted
wrought iron for cast iron nttfngs In all the
new coaches built under his direction. What
is more, he finds that the saving in metal
more than covers the additional cost OF Ia
Dor involved in making wrought iron fit
tings. Probably the time is approaching
when we shall see mild steel everywhere
employed for car fittings, as we see II to-
day employed in all ship construction. As
the relative tensile strength of cast iron,
wrought ron and steel are. respectively,
$500 pounds, $1,000 pounds and $4,000 pounds
per square inch, this would mean a reduc-
ton of more than two-thirds the weight Of
cast iron and nearly one-third the weight OF
wrought iron. The truth is that the vast
Improvement in the permanent way OF the
leading railways in the United States dur
ing TIE last ten years has rendered super
fiuous many of the adventitious aids once
necessary for smooth riding. One has only
to open POor's Manua for 1888 and 1898 to
find many of the roads catalogued in 1888
as using rails from sixty to sixty-ive pounds
to the yard now credited with rails OF from
ninety TO one hundred pounds. This change
permits Of the use of lighter and more heXi-
BILE springs, of the abandonment of dead
weight not necessary to keep the car steady
on the superior track and of the use Of
lighter scantlings, because the wear and
tear of the car from jolting is not so great.
Parlor and sleeping ears running, as they
do, over roads good and bad will not be
able to take advantage of these facts until
the small and impoverished roads aFe able
TO bring up their permanent way TO the
same level of excellence as those which are
prosperous. Yet 10000 pounds for a modern
seventy-two-foot sleeping car is a monstrous
weight.