Morris tribune., 1900-02-24
FTER LIVE MODELS.
IRON HORSES ARE CONSTRUCTED
AFTER LIVE HORSES.

Percnerons for Freighters and Domfnos
for speed-BAlky Engine Hauls, Well
But Lighter ones Make tho Records for
Speed. - &C.
High rates of speed in railroad loco
motives are brought about by various
combinations of size, weight and meth
ods of construction. These elements
differ in their relative proportions, ac-
cording to the purposes for which the
locomotives are to be used. r Great
weight is not as essential to a record
breaking engine in the matter OF
speed as for the locomotive that is de-
signed to pull heavy trains over long
hau1s. In reply to questions on this
subject, Arthur ]. Wood, associate edl-
tor of the Railroad Gazette, said:
Generally speaking, the aim Of the
makers is to decrease rather than to
increase the weight of locomotives.
But weight and speed are quite inde-
pendent, except, of course, within Ger
tain limits. For example, take the
23O ,OO0-pound locomotive, probably the
largest in the world, which was built
last year by the Pittsburg Locomotive
and Car Works. It weighs 100000
pounds more than the famous No. 999
of the New York Central. But it
would soon be left out of sight in
race with No. 999. The heavy engine
with eight drivers, each with diam
eter of fifty-four inches, was built for
heavy hauls. while the lighter one,
with four drivers Of eighty-six-inch
diameter, was designed for speed.
"When the demands for heavier
trains were made. a comparatively few
years ago, many roads had to strength
en- their bridges, lay heavier rails,
straighten many of the curves and re-
build their roadbeds. 1t was only a
few roads that had had sufficient fore
sight to see the trend of events and
prepare for the sixty-ton locomotive
rolling along at seventy miles an hour
and pulling behind it more than 30O,-
900 pounds, but such results have been
obtained only by we'll executed engi-,
neering work on the road itself, as
well as in the locomotive shop.
Suppose, however, we build road
that will stand the pounding (and
there are few such), what, then, is
the indication of increasing the
weights over the heaviest now run? In
a word, it may be said that some en-
gineers believe that freight engines
may approach toward the 250,oOO
pound mark, and fast passenger COM
pound locomotives may reach 100000
pounds, but such weights may do more
harm than good in modern railroad
travel.
'EThe fastest runs of which we have
records for the last ten years have
nearly all been made by locomotives
weighing over fifty tons, and within
the last four years the unusual runs
have, for the most part. been made by
locomotives weighing between 120 and
$40 thousand pounds, hauling frpm
$4,000 to 100000 pounds. Probably
the most remarkable record for great
weight hauled at high speed in re-
cent years was made by the Baldwin
compound 'Columbia.' weighing 140.-
the weight of which is on the drivers,
which are seven feet in diameter and
four in number On July 8, 1896, this
steaming giant ran seventy-four miles
on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St.
Paul tracks at the rate of ST. miles
an hour, exclusive of stops, and hauled
in the run cars weighing 974,S90
pounds, making the total weight of the
train 100000 pounds. The speed in
this case was not so remarkable when
considered by itself, but when we take
into account the weight Of the train,
the whole performance Is worthy of
record AS far back as 1885 the Great
Northern of England had on it's road
a locomotive weighing 101, 900 pounds
and hauling 100000 pounds at a speed
of fifty-four miles an hour. and run
ming 105 IA miles without a stop
"The heaviest locomotive in Europe
of which we have any record is a Bel
gian engine, weighing 218,255 pounds.
This is a compound, with drivers about
four inches less than the big PittsburT
locomotive referred to- The present
tendency in American practice is to
make the boiler as large as possible
THIS, in comparing the largest Ameri-
can and European locomotives, the
former has, in round numbers, 1900
more square feet of heating surface
than the Belgian engine, but the work
ing pressure of the American is 200
pounds per square inch, while the for
eign engine works with 220 pounds.
'tMany of the so-called unusual runs
are not schedule runs, and, therefore,
may mean little to the man, looking
on the strictly practical side and who
wants to know what are the possibili-
ties Of decreasing the present time
from New York to Boston. Albany,
Philadelphia or Chicago A lesson may
be drawn from French road-the
Northern. Ten years ago, the average
speed Of its fastest train was about
forty-four miles an hour, but to-day
the Northern has twenty-five trains
booked at over fifty miles an hour. the
fastest making a run Of eighty-two
miles at an average speed Of SIT miles
an hour. This increase has not haen