The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-05-05
TO BEAT THE 999
A New Locomotive for The Boston
and Albany.
HAS SEVERAL new FEATURES
Builder Predict a Sustained Speed
Of Ninety Miles an Hour
Tests-The Construction.

A new claimant for the title of the
fastest thing on earth is in daily
training" between Boston and Spring
field, along the cleaning rails of the
mighty locomotive, number 221, beside
whose proportions the famous 500 Of
the Empire State express sinks into
insignificance, while the
Iexpert engineer, seeing it in repose,
views its strange mechanism at first
with surprise and then with increased
respect as he begins to realize the Won
Iderful possibilities for power and speed
in the massive compound steam cylin-
ders, triple driving wheels and other
departures from conventionality which
make this 126-ton monster a thing
unique among the locomotives of the
world
It's like never before has been crea-
ted. Whether it will be duplicated in
the future depends on how we'll it full
fills the builders prediction of sus-
tanned speed of 80 miles an hour with
a heavy train over ordinary roadbeds.
grades and curves. Thus far it has
done" 20 miles an hour with such ridi-
culous ease that it is expected to eX-
coed the estimate of mile every 40 sec
onds rather than to fall short thereof,
but the consequences of break or
lother catastrophe while hurting along
at such rate might prove SO terrible
that the driver of the young but vigor-
Gus steed has had to feel his way
out few notches extra on the long
stretches between Worcester and the
Newtons, and depressing the natural
yearning to "Iet her CO. just once
against the record.
The only way to give an adequate
idea of the iron monster which is being
thus quietly trained" to astonish the
Engineering world is to compare it with
the best type of speedy locomotive that
stands on rails today, and that is pro-
badly the machine that draws the rec
,ord-holding Empire state express of
the New York Central and Hudson
River railroad 'old $685. The 1899"
tips the scale at 81 tons, but this Bos-
ton and Albany monster weighs 50
tons, without its tender, and 126 tons
with that appendage. The 'WOrces-
Iter," which draws the Cornish express,
the English champion of the rails,
weighs only 90 IL tons. The train
with which 1899" makes its averages of
535S miles an hour weighs 243 tons.
The Worcester carries 200 tons at
SO SO miles an hour. The new steam
hercules has reeled off 20 miles an hour
and is expected to do much better, with
a train aggregating so tons. The
'999' had a maximum safety boiler
pressure Of 100 pounds of steam to the
square inch, but this Boston and AL
bany engine carries 220 pounds. The
cylinders of 1899" are 10 by "a inches,
but those of its new rival are COM
pound % by "a by SO inches.
The diameter Of the driving wheels
of either the Worcester, Z feet s inches.
lor the "999,'' feet IL inches, eX-
ceeds those of the new machine, 6 feet
II inches, but the former engines have
but double drivers, while the new idea
puts three abreast, thus much more
than compromising in power for what
| is lost in speed by reducing the diane
tiers. The three drivers are able to
Of + h
out reducing speed over grades that
would seriously reduce the running
average of "999' with it's two big bia-
meters.
The special claim of 1899" and the
l"Worcester'' to distinction is not mere
ly to high speed but to the distance for
which such speed is maintained. Even
in that direction the new claimant
hopes to take first place. The storage
capacity of the big tender was calculat-
ed on a basis of several hundred miles
without restocking; and when she pulls
lout Of Boston each afternoon, except
Sunday, at 4 O'Clock for her run to
Springfield and back she carries 1900
gallons of water and eight tons Of coal
Allowing 40 pounds of coal to the
mile, which is really considerable more
than is required, that permits of 400
mile run without a stop; and the pecu-
liar construction of steam chests and
cylinders affords the greatest economy
lin the use of water.
1t is the unusual proportion of the
cylinders that first attracts attention.
next to the size of the locomotive itself
That on the left differs little in appear
ance from the cylinder of any ordinary
l,;c. al, oine. but the cYlinder To the