, 1900-07-19
A PROSPEROUS YEAR
RAILROADS HAVE BEEN TAXED TO
HANDLE THE BUSINESS
OFFERED THEM.
Many Locomotives Going Abroad-Al-
most One-Fourth of the Entire
Output of the United States Was
For Foreign Orders-Cost of Rail-
road Equipment Is Increased.

Thirty-seven thousand locomotives
in service at the present time on lS9,-
236 miles of American railroad is the
estimate made by Joseph II. Mcconnell,
superintendent of motive power and
machinery of the Union Pacific, based
upon the report of the interstate COM
merce commission for the year ending
June 80, 1898, which showed at that
time 81, 23i locomotives in service. This
statement relative to the number of To-
cOmotiyes was made in the course of
Mr.. McConnell's annual address deliv-
cred before the convention of the
Master Mechanics association of
America, held in Saratoga, n. Y, last
month. Mr., Mcconnell officiateJ as
president of the association.
The past year has been the most
remarkable in the history of this coun-
try said Mr.. Mcconnell. "Manufac-
turing concerns of all kinds have been
prosperous. Steel and iron mills have
been unable to supply the demands.
Railroads have shown an increase in
earnings and many railroads did not
own sufficient equipment to handle the
increased tonnage. The advance in the
cost of material used in new and repair
Vr,rly bo- hnnr =, ,n,fl ,L,, 49,.
previous year. An average increase of
40 per cent in ten months of 1899, shows
the immense demand. Locomotive
builders have been unable to handle all
the work offered them in the required
time.
During the year 1899, 2,196 locomo-
tives were built in the United States
costing about $25, 600, 600. One thousand
seven hundred and sixteen were deliv-
cred to American railroads.; 4S0 were
shipped to foreign countries, 20 per cent
of the foreign orders being sent to Eu,
rope, Asia and Africa, 80 per cent to
Mexico, Canada, South America and the
West Indies. OF the entire output OF
American locomotives PA per cent
were forign orders. The American To-
connective is making friends in all parts
of the world. England and France pur-
chased our locomotives. While Eng
land to a certain extent has adhered to
its own designs, France has accepted
the American locomotive with few
notifications.
THE year 1899 has been a year OF
large locomotives. Reports for the year
show four types of freight locomotives,
having a weight of 21S, 900, 225 900.
10000 and 232, 900 pounds respectively
with a weight on drivers of 1919, 900
1873, 900, 202, 600 and POS, 600 pounds;
heating surface, 3,2O3 square feet, 1926
square feet, $500 square feet and 4,105
square feet; one with cylinders 23x32
inches, two with cylinders 23x30 inches
and m compound with cylinders 1SS
3Ox3O inches.
Locomotive tenders were built with
water capacities of 1000 gallons. A
number of roads have made 5,O00-gallon
tanks their standard, while others have
adopted a 6,0OO-gallon tank. The use
Of cast steel in locomotive construction
has increased very largely. Cast steel
for frames finds many advocates in the
mechanical departments of railroads as
well as locomotive builders. Steel cast
ings have displaced cast iron to a great
extent for driving wheel centers, driv-
ing boxes and cylinder heads.
1.-The tendency is all in the direction
Of increased tonnage in freight trains.
Large sums of money are being spent
by trunk lines in cutting down grades
and reducing curvatures in order to
reduce the cost per ton mile for hand
ling freight. The constant tendency
of a decline in freight rates can only
be offset by the increased power of the
locomotive. In passenger service the
same Development of the locomotive
has taken place as with the freight en-
CINE. A few years ago so. 900 pounds
weight on the driving wheels of an
eight-wheel locomotive was considered
excessive. 1t has now reached "a, 900
pounds on an eight-wheel locomotive.
The passenger service throughout the
country has increased in the weight of
trains as well as in speed.
improvements have not all been con-
fined to locomotives. Shop practices
have advanced to a marked degree.
New shops are o largely supplied