St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-09-20
improvements on the Boston & Elaine.

In his annual report to the stock
holders President futile has somewhat
to say upon the use ofcoke for fuel and
the sprinkling of the roadbed with oil.
Our readers will be interested in the fol.
lowing extracts from his report:
1.-THE need Of a more clearly substitute
for bituminous coal as fuel for passenger
locomotives, and one that will minimize
the present risk OF fires from locomotive
sparks thrown upon property adjacent
to the roadway, has long been felt. To
use anthracite coal has, until recently,
been the only alternative; but this, while
much more expensive, is difficult of use
under ordinary conditions, and is, upon
the whole, far from satisfactory. With
in the past few months the New England
Gas and Coke Company, whose works
are near this company's tracks in
Everett, commenced the production OF
coke OF high grade, which was offered us
in such quantities and upon such favor.
able terms that the experiment of its ex.
tensive use in passenger locomotives was
at once undertaken. One hundred pas
senger and switching locomotives are
now being regularly and exclusively fired
with coke, and the results have been so
satisfactory in every detail that its use
is to be extended to a larger part of the
passenger service as rapidly as the slight
changes necessary thereto a be made.
Experience has demonstrated that its
cost will not exceed greatly, if at all,
that of bituminous coal, while its gen.
eral superiority in steam producing quail
tiles, and it's freedom from smoke, dust,
cinders and sparks, justify the belief that
the extent of it's introduction on other
parts of the Boston & Maine system will
be limited only by the quantity the
manufacturer can supply.
THE somewhat recently discovered
method OF laying the dust of the road
way by sprinkling with oil has also been
quite extensively tried on various Sec
lions Of the system. The material used
is one of the by%-products of petroleum
distillation, which is spread upon the
roadway by means of a sprinkling device
attached to a fiat car, pushed ahead of a
locomotive at a speed of about three
miles an hour. The first application
penetrates the surface of the roadway to
the depth of about three inches, and it.
viscous consistency retards its evapora
ton, and gives permanent and satisfac
tory results in laying and adhering to
gether the dust particles that under
normal conditions are thrown up il
clouds by the motion Of passing trains
About 1000 gallons of the fluid are re
quired for each mile of single track, cost
ing at the present price Of the material
including the patentee's royalty, abou'
$100a mile. Present experience indicates
that an additional sprinkling will b.
necessary in each Of the two succeeding
years., and that thereafter no furthe
sprinkling will be required for a periot
Of at least five years. This treatmen
has thus far been applied only on thos
parts of the system where passenge
traffic is most dense and passenger train
most frequent. About 400 miles of tract
have thus far been s%prinkled.
This combination Of coke-burnin,
locomotives and oilsprinkled track ha
immeasurably increased the comfort @
the roads customers, and there is goo
ground for believing that the adoptio,
OF these two improvements in operation
will result in such savings in wear an
tear of equipment and structures, i
wedding and other track work, and wi
so diminish spark fires, that their adde
cost will be thereby largely, il not who
ly, offset in the operating expense at
coJntO