The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-12-02

Rock I.land ADOPTS the .-One shaver
System.

System.
There was an important meeting of
the officials Of the operating and me-
ehanicaI departments OF the Rock
Island system held at the Office. Of As
sistsnt General Superintendent ". b.
StilweI in Topeka Monday. The meet
ing had been called by Assistant Gen
eral Manager v. I. Allen and SupeFin-
tendent Of Machinery G. F. Wilson, and
was for the purpose Of introducing a
new system Of firing engines, which is
expected to result in the saving Of
many thousand dollars worth Of fuel
annually.
The matter was considered Ofso much
Importance that nearly all Of the chief
operating officials OF the road we're
present.
The meeting lasted the greater part
OF the day and resulted in the adoption
Of q plan which viii revolutiOnize the
firing Of railway locomotives.
The matter Of fuel is one Of utmost
Importance as we'll as one Of the most
expensive that a railroad has to con
slider. The Rock Island system spends
annually for fuel an average Of about
one million dollars, OF in other words
for every so earned, 81 goes for fuel.
Thus it viii be seen that any scheme
that tends to lessen this item Of ex-
pense is sure to be a valuable one.
Firing an engine with one shovel Of
coal might sound strange to one not
acquainted with such matters, and
literally speaking it would be an i'm
possibility; fguratively it means much
and it is the zone shovel system" that
this line will adopt at once. The pres
ent way Of firing, not only on the Rock
Island but all roads, Is for the fireman
to put several shoYels Of coal in the
firebOx at a time, repeating this over
the entire run the engine is required
to make. Experiments have proven
that a very large per cent Of the heat
ing power Of coal used in this way is
wasted, as is evidenced by the heavy
clouds Of black smoke emitting from
the smokestack, and which is nothing
more than unburned carbon 1t is this
loss Of fuel that is to be overcome. If
it can be accomplished, and the Rock
Island officials believes it can be done,
it means a saving Of thousands Of dol
lars to the company. Not only this
but it will avoid the often complained
nuisance Of passenger coaches becom-
ing filed with smoke, as we'll as lessen
the danger to freight crews which is
often increased by heavy clouds Of
black smoke trailing back over the
train through which the trainmen are
compelled to grope their way.
The question has been how to bring
this about The one shovel system
seems to fill the long felt want. This
way of firing an engine is to use but
one shovel Of coal at a time, say every
% to . seconds, or less frequent if it
can be done, and avoid feeding more
coal than the fire can consume without
throwing out a black smoke.
This plan will require the engine to
come from the house with a heavy fire
and then as it proceeds over the road
to regularly keep it hot by applying
one shovel at a time. Old experienced
engineers and firemen insist that it
would not work, that they could not
keep sufficient steam with a heavy
train and fast time. Superintendent Of
Machinery Wilson thought it could
and selected Master Mechanic John
Gill Of Trenton, Mo-, to make a series
Of tests on the southwestern division.
This he has been doing for the past
two months, and his report OF results
were read at Mondays meeting and
show a remarkable success with the
new idea. The best engineers and fire
men now admit that engines can be
kept hot and that sufficient steam can
be maintained.
The result Of one months expert
ments as made by Mr.. Gill shows that
if applied to the system this plan Of
firing would have resulted in a saving
Of about $1,000 per month or about
$4,000 per year.