The evening times., 1899-01-21
OUR LOCOMOTIVES
IN MANY Lands
Contracts for Building fol
China, Russia and Japan.
Ten Under Construction for Use in
England.
British Manufacturers Being Cut Out
I'm the Oriental Trade-ExcelIence
of Their Standard.

Philadelphia, Jan. 21-The Baldwin
Works are turning out locomotives for do
nestle and foreign use at rate never
! reached before, and have contracts so far
ahead that an order received now would
| not be filled in the natural course of
| business at the big establishment before
| the end of the year. AS the average time
| necessary for turning out locomotive by
the regular processes of the establishment
| is about six weeks, it is seen that the
! thousands of mechanics at Baldwin's are
| assured of good thing straight ahead
The orders in sight give assurance that
the Baldwin Works will turn out more To-
comotives this year than in any year of
their history.
George Burnham, jr., was somewhat
amused yesterday when his attention was
called TO an article in the British Trade
Review, submitted by George B. Heckel,
rejecting on American locomotives fur
nished TO the Far East. The article con-
fessed, on behalf of the British manufac-
turers, that the use of American standards
and promptness of deliveries had cut them
out OF the contracts in Russia China and
Japan, and then proceeded to say that the
result was that the foreigners were get
tihS grade OF locomotives.
If the locomotives shipped East were
inferior" said Mr. Burnham. Il guess we
would have heard of it, and suffered from
II long before this. 1t has been about five
years since the contracts for the Russian
and Chinese business set in this way The
end OF the railroad building in those quar-
ters is not in sight.
1t is an almost ineXhaustible field COR
development II is about what might be
hDtEin
might suppose, the first railroads across
our own continent to the Pacific After
the one main line is constructed il must
lead TO more and more. There is no tell
ing when or where it will end"
He was asked what was meant by the
use of American standards, and explained
that the parts of the locomotive are made
by machine process, so that no matter what
part of the engine may be broken, that
part may be supplied with certainty that
Ii will fit. II two Baldwin locomotives
smash up on the Russian Siberian rail-
road and there are enough whole pieces left
in both TO make one good engine they can
be put together on the spot with all the
dispatch Of the laconic section boss. who
reported TO headquarters: "On again; on
again; gone again. Finnigan.
Laughable as il may seem, the British
builders have not been able to develop
this system of turning out all parts of To-
coInotives al an exact standard
Ii is either because they have not seen
the importance of il, or, if that is incredi-
bic, because the Americans got the start
on that line and were able 10 make long
and favorable contracts, and so keep the
lead
The English builders have also suffered
great etback from the discontented
condition of the British workingmen who
have joined in long and bitter strikes.
Other things have combined 10 make Eng
lish deliveries of the locomotives uncertain.
The Baldwin Works are now building ten
locomotives for the famous Midland Rail-
road in England.