The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-03-17
E NINE MULE OUSTED.
aelen Of Q Problem That We1l hin
k~iss the Cost Of Mining DE
scription Of the New Coz.
sPivaAee.

Il spending Thousands upon thou
a OF dollars, and after many years
nusuccessful experimenting. IN air
sine has been perfected. and IN
homical method furnished Of trans
hing coal from the interior of lnines
khe bottom Of the slope. The new
ice was built by the Baldwin loco
hive works, and will. It is expected.
|the means Of saving millions Of dol
! per annum to the mineral mining
hpanies. While the locomotive has
b undergoing . severe test In the
De near Girardville for the past few
bths, oil have awaited the result
b much anxiety, and now that 1t 10
Dared q success, most OF the prin-.
u mining concerns are making hur-
preparations to adopt 1t.
his state Of affairs means . boom
he locomotive builders Of the world.
klso means that thousands Of men
boys employed in conveying coal
d the "breasts" and gangways OF
les will have to seek other occupa-
b. The leading coal companies have
been endeavoring to obtain me-
hical substitute to replace the mine
} that would reduce the immense
entailed In getting the coal from
underground workings to the bot
Of the slope. They tried engines
elled by steam. electricity, gas,
but all proved complete failures.
e steam locomotive was abandoned
ise the vapor had tendency to
N the stop" or roof Of the gang
and various chambers through
lhe mines. It also ratified the pine
er used for "legs." collars" and
lngs, and caused the top to cave in
bently. entailing large losses.
fricity and gas were abandoned be-
either was liable to ignite the gas
J e underground workings.
new air locomotive was built al
n year ago and is the invention of
Philadelphia man. With the excep.
Eof huge air boiler or tank, the
truction of the air locomotive il
13llar in every respect to steam To-
hive. and it is propelled in the same
n&6er. The mir tank is not unlike the
16 boiler of an engine, and Is car
Mn the same position, thus doing
with a tender. On account Of
Y lnted head it is better able to cut
- Sy through the heavy air of a mine,
ling high rate of speed. The air
bplied by an air compressor To-
e. on the surface.
NJ air is pumped through two five
pipes into the mine at pressure
- pounds per square inch. One OF
W pipes runs to the bottom of the
and the other to the end Of the
z 5ground workings. These pipes
as reservoir for the air. At the
bf the lines and along the route
4 B locomotive are stations where the
4h1 Ink OF the engine can be refilled
1S exhausted. Exhaustion frequent
6Geurs. and without the station
lJis the engine would be useless.
Eh8 air tank on the locomotive has
of 164 cubic feet. n sufficient
ac1nt of air to carry train, includ-
Z &ght or ten heavily loaded mine
rs The speed is regulated according
Z ~ number of mine cars attached
"a ~ the track. On level and straight
ilSyby one of these engines can carry
ohf Ten to twelve loaded mine wagons
the rate of 25 to 35 miles per hour.
4 he old method the mine cars were
aded from chute which ran directly
- the face Of the "breast," Mt
toh of from 40 to 90 degrees. From
eF2 they were conveyed through
nAN gangways by teams of mules to
\ pain gangways where bigger teams
I'D them up and carried them to
ottom Of the slope. Here they were
ed to the surface in self-dumping
4 king oil this into consideration,
- r locomotive is the solution of the
a |em and will reduce the cost of
hg to Observation-Disclosures