The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-27
THE SNOW TRACTION PROBLEM
LOCOMOTIVE TO EXPEDITE
TRAVEL IN YUKON.
Simple In Construction and Principle
Invention of a Chicago Engi-
neer-Description.

Chicago. Jan. 27.-George 7. Glover. a
Chicago inventor, has solved the prob
lem of getting supplies into the Klon-
dixie region this winter by means of his
snow traction locomotive. Seven Of
these locomotives are now building in
Chicago and New York. and 81 freight
and passenger cars will be made at
Portland. Ore, for this work. These
will be at Dyea by Feb. l, and Will
start by Feb. Is for Dawson City over
the Dalton trail
THE locomotives that are now being
constructed for this Klondike trip" said
Mr.. Glover, will weigh about eight
tons each, half the weight of the log
ging locomotives. Their capacity Will
be about 100 tons burden respectively. I
find that an eight-ton machine will do
the work quicker and easier. The seven
locomotives are practically ready now
for shipment TO Portland, where they
will be assembled and then shipped. to-
gether with 80 cars, to Dyea- Here
they will be put up and placed in read
mess for the expedition, which leaves
that point on Feb. Is for Dawson City,
in charge of Captain Brainard of the
United States army.
''Chilkat Pass will be the greatest
obstruction encountered on the first
however, that presents a grade greater
than 80 per cent. These locomotives
can climb such a grade readily. Each
machine will have steam windlasS
attached, and by means of this the
train can easily pull itself up at re-
markable speed. 1 calculate on getting
over this pass in less than IS hours
with the first train. The way once
opened, subsequent travel will be
easier.
Captain Brainard thinks that the
trip to Dawson City will require about
so days. 1 think 80 days will be more
accurate. Some bridging will doubtless
have to be done and parts of the trail
opened up by blasting. However, these
things are readily obviated.
The cost of building and equipping
this train will be less than S35. 200. Each
locomotive Will cost about $4,000. The
passenger and freight cars and their
transportation to Dyea will not exceed
So, 900.
"On reaching Dawson City four of the
locomotives will be used in transport
ing supplies and passengers to and
from the various points and villages
located in the KlOndike gold fields. The
others will return and make another
trip before the winter in Alaska is
over"
The Snow & Ice Transportation COM
pdHys WHICH OWLS the tight Oh the.
Glover locomotive, will receive e cents
a pound for transmitting the food sup
plies for the United States government
to Dawson City. There will be $50 tons.
in this shipment. Mr.. Glover was the
first to solve the problem of getting
traction on snow. He experimental for
years and spent a snug fortune in de-
veloping and accomplishing this me-
result
The locomotive is very simple in con-
structiOn and principle. consisting of a
boiler, twin engines, driving wheel and
other necessary appurtenances, sup
ported in a steel frame The frame
rests upon runners, fore and aft and
the locomotive proper is hinged 10 the
frame by steel beams. The great fea-
ture of the machine is a huge traction
wheel between the runners. There is
q drum in the wheel, and the wheel is
rotated by an engine with horse power
ranging from 20 to so, geared from five
to one, up to nine TO one. The heat
from the boiler furnace and the ex-
hauSt steam is utilized in the drum,
into which it is conveyed through the
trunniOns- BY this means the wheel is
kept hot all the time. About the
wheel, V-shaped teeth, by L inches.
are set irregularly. The action of the
heating cylinder prevents the snow
from clogging it and at the same time
the snow into a solid mass,
thereby giving sufficient resistance to
enable the teeth to pull a train bur-
1ened with a 200-tOn weight