The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-09
ECONOMY or AIR POWER.
Surprising Number of Uses to which II Is
Put In some Railroad shops.

SurprlhlnR summer OF Uses 10 "ntch ~ Is
Put In some Railroad Shops.
Although there Il n great deal OF doubt in
the minds of engineers about the immediate
displacement OF horses by air-driVon auto
mobile trucks. there is no dispute % to the
value and hardness % compressed air for n
host Of other purposes. and particularly as II
lI"ans Of distributing power about shops. fac
tories. mines and for dredging and eXcavatinE
operations. One Of the most interesting Of
recent descriptions OF such uses is contained
in n paper read before tho Western Hallway
Club 10y Mr.. Il. Haskell. superintendent " Mo-
tive Power OF the Chicago and Western Michi-
gan RAILWAY.
Mr.. Haskell says he took an old locomotive
boiler for an air reservoir and attached to this
II six-inch and an eight inch air pump and
Kept up Il pressure OF air OF eighty pounds to
the inch. With this II" did n variety Of work.
We began" he says. using air for the
rurpos" OF testing our locomotive boilers to
maximum pressure. for Flowing on St,am-
pipes. steam ports and cylinders. previous TO
putting in %listons, and for the purpose Of run
nInE locomotives from tn" machin" shop 10
the roundhous". and vice versa. TO load u ear
with wheels on skids required the time of six
men for one hour and n half. the equivalent
o' nine hours for one man at a cost Of 81 o..
With the use OF an air hoist four men can do
tho work in twenty minutes at n cost OF IL
cents. Il saving Of 81 cents per car load. Al
heavy castings are quickly loaded or unloaded.
US the case may be. with tho air hoist. thus
reducing the cost Of handling material on and
off car fully 30 per cent.
During the fall Of 1895 we installed the
Leslie fire kinder; this also required twenty
pounds of air 10 force the fuel oil to tho
burners; BY n" use Of ar ard the fire kinder
W." reduced the cost of Eindling n. fire in 4 loco
motive RON iN.bl cents Tor wood to y cents
In favor Of tn" kinder operated by air. n saving
Of 81 cents per FIR" kindlrtI. About this time
we began to frost our own deck glass. for pas
s"nger equipment. by the us" o. the sand blast
we are able t. frost z deck glass for L. cents
~ cents. our attention was next. attracted to
tn" use of air for busting coach seats. seat
backs, carpets aud the interior of passenger
cars, on" man can remove the cushions and
seat backs and thoroughly dust them and ais"
blow, ii! the dust out Of the interior Of the
three hour. and do. a much better Job than is
possible, by the old way. which required ten
hours. In this operation we save 81 cents per
cOnrh cleaned.
by The use Of pneumatic hammers We have
reduced the cost Of beading n set Of tIueS from
500. bv hand. to ~ cents. hv tho air device
BY ne use Of air motors We have reduced the
s stayhal tts' rom s siay"p'' BY n' hSnI i' to- S sI5'gn,f i,n tr
new tircbox. IL would also cost Sl7.7S per
iireboX to drill the ends Of staybolts: with tho
air motors il costs Sl.t?. Il. saving Of Sl3.
mother advantage. gained is the difference
IN time now required to apply n new fire
DON ana lit tlile required before using COM
pressed air: We. can now. Civ" an emgin" II
general ovrrhauling. including n new tirebux,
in less than thirty DAYS. 4 few Years ago it re-
rnircd sixty 10 seventy days To do the same
work. We. use. compressed ali with portable
iurges, for heating lh" riScts, also for straight
rning locomotive frames. when bent by acct
dent without taking them of OF the engine.
w, ais, u.s.. Air ami gas for r"moving aud ap-
plying driving wheel tires. We can remov" II
SGT OF tire for 5or"nts and alpIy a SET for 81.
cents. THUS does not include labor. but on ac-
count u' the convenience Ot the arrangement
the cost d, labor is reduced materially.
since tn" Introduction 81 the paint spraying
painting cars unfortunately 81. per cent. We
us" III" sam" spraying machine for whitewash-
ing at aco-t. for labor and material on plain
s%urfaccs. Of one cent rcr square yard. We haN,
our, freight yard, or cripple tracks. equipped
ON freight cars ana test the air brakes on
use. on these tracks and to great advantage.
AR motors for boring holes necessary, in the
Iairs to cars. We have a device for pressing
Jaw of bottom CONNECTIONS and push rods Of
air brakes info E-inch, pipe and then crimp-
ing tn" pipe to the mallcnhlo iron Jaws: this.
small air hreast-drillS which we use for drill
ing the ends OF staybolts. Sc. a man receiving
~ cents an hour drills from twnnty-cight to
thirty stavboltS an hour.
In preparing new locomotive tanks for the
prlming coat Of r2int we. use the air and sand
do this by hand rubbing would require ono
man about thirty-tlve hours. or Il cost Of 81 80:
ndo, it hy sand blast and air requires n man
on" man two hours at 10 cents per hour. y
cents: n total OF AZ cents. The difference in
favor of sand blast and air is S3.O2. In burn
ing paint of Of coaches. as near as | can c-ti-
burning off viii hand burners. 4 p]ortaniS
engine in the machine shop IS run by air. W"
of vnlvc seats. estimate that il makes Il
saving Of al least 10 per cent