The Topeka state journal., 1901-01-02
Success Of Oil as Locomotive
Fuel in California.
Dollar a Barrel Oil Equals Four
Dollars a Ton Coal.
SOME TEST FIGURES
Twelve Miles Gain Per Ton in
Running by Oil.
Many Other Advantages i'm New
and Permanent Fuel.

Oil for locomotive fuel at one dollar
per barrel is an economical equivalent of
coal at four dollars per ton. This state
ment is made on the authority of the
general manager of the lines which in
this country have entered most exten-
sively upon the use Of oil as a substi-
tute for coal for this purpose. The fact
that coal at the same points where oil
is obtainable at the price named ordi-
nariIy costs from seven to eight dollars
per ton is sufficient to account for the
present exclusive use of oil upon the
Southern California lines of the Santa
Fe system. and for the fact that the
rapidity of the adoption of the practice
upon the locomotives Of the Southern
Pacific system in the same territory Is
dependent upon nothing but the time re-
quired TO effect the alterations in hrebox
and tender to accommodate the change
from a solid to liquid fuel
Experiments in the use of oil as loco
motive f.el We're begun several years
ago on the Southern California lines now
a part of the Santa F'e system. Though
little experimentation was necessary TO
determine its efficiency and Its clean1-
ness and ease OF handling on the part of
the fireman the use was for a conSidera-
bic period only tentative, since the sup
ply was indefinite and its resultant econ
Ony as compared with coal more or less
fiuctuating. The company has since ac-
Quired and developed valuable fields of
its own and though they are inadequate
to the demand the outside sources OF
supply are sufficiently numerous to af-
ford q basis for the prediction that coal
will not soon be substituted for Oil as
fuel for the locomotive and shop plants
of this part Of the system. The Southern
Pacific has more recently taken UP the
system with considerable energy and
has about so locomotives equipped for oil
burning. The Santa Fe has about 100
til Co.. -
Fe to determine the relative efficiency
of oil and coal as fuel irrespective of
cost, the official figures, giving the re-
suits. show that the number Of miles run
per ton Of coal was 26-7 and the number
OF miles run per ton Of oil was 1916, a
gain of 1.76 miles. or about Al per cent
in favor of oil. Six barrels of oil of A
gallons to the barrel are about equal to
a ton in weight. AT a cost Of 81 per
barrel, which is perhaps above the av-
erage price paid by the railroad cOmpa-
MES, from the above figures it will be
seen that the service Of a ton of oil cost
ing Sc is equivalent to the service of a
quantity OF coal costing 1904 at $7-25
per ton. On a daily consumption of
about 2 600 barrels by the Santa Fe and
about three-fourths that quantity by the
Southern Pacific, the total saving IS
worth considering. The Los Angeles City
railway consumes about 5000 barrels per
month, the Las Angeles Terminal rail-
way 5000 and several electric railway
companies at the same point use from
1000 to 5000 barrels monthly in their
power plants
In addition to the saving in the labor
of fring there are other advantages that
may reasonably be claimed for the fuel
There is no probability of setting fires
along the right of way, since there are
no flying cinders nor ashes, and since
there is practically no smoke there is no
discomfort to passengers from these
sources. There is no labor of cleaning
CRATES and ashpans, or handling cinders,
and tenders are supplied with fuel in
about two minutes without waste at the
station or along the track The room re-
quired for storage is about the same as
for coal