Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-10-05
Items of Interest Concerning
Various Roads.
EVOLUTION IN THE FUEL USED.

year s ,OOO,OOO, or about 10 per cent
of the whole cost Of railroad operating
In the country. says the New York Sun.
In addition to the coal purchased for
the Use of locomotives there Is the ex-
pense Of it's transportation. for several
of the railroads are so far removed
from coal supplies that they are COM
peeled to carry coal for long distances.
One of the most important railroads
of the country In respect to the terri
tory 1t serves (the Southern Pacific has
not on It's route a coalfield from New
Orleans to San Francisco and has had
to import it's coal from Alabama, New
Mexico and Colorado. This has been
n of Its heaviest items Of expense,
but since the utilization of oil as a rail-
road fuel 1t is so no longer. OIL In great
abundance has been used recently as a
fuel by all the railroads running
through Texas, and OH some southwest
ern divisions of the trunk lines of that
sively for passenger locomotives.
Originally American railroads used
wood only as fuel. AT present coal, soft
or anthracite, is most generally used.
the average train requiring about two
tons of anthracite for each 100 miles
run and about a ton and a half Of soft
coal for the same run. Soft coal. more
available for the railroads Of the west
and south, costs about 80 per cent per
ton less than anthracite. but oil as a
fuel has been found to be very much
cheaper than either and as it m
into more general use is superseding
coal as coal superseded wood.
The new locomotives 1856 and 1887
of the West Jersey and Seashore rail
road are the largest passenger engines
In the world, says the Philadelphia
Times. Each stands t~wenty-eight tons
on its rear drivers and carries POS
pounds Of steam. The driving wheels
are seven feet high. They were built
at the Schenectady Locomotive works.
AS an evidence of speed a smaller en-
CINE of the same class Oh t. New
York Central recently drew the Empire
State express from New York to Alba
ny, 142 miles, in twenty minutes less
than it's schedule time. One of the
West Jersey engines has run from
Haddonfield junction to Atlantic City,
fifty-two miles, in forty-fve minutes,
pulling a twelve car Pullman train.
Pennsylvania officials say they are OF
the most advanced type Of locomotives
in the world. They are called class e,
Ok.
The chief popularity in the new en-
gines is that the driving power is ap-
piled to the rear driving wheel by a d.
rect rod, thence by a parallel rod to
the front driver. This arrangement
does away with the angular thrust.
with it's lost power. between cross
head and crank pin. that the direct ap-
plication Of the driving power to the
front driving wheel gives.
Electric headlights are to be attached
to every locomotive of the Chicago II
Alton road. The work of eQuipping
the engines of the company has been
commenced at the shops IN Bloomlng-
ton, ILL.,, and will be kept up until every
one is supplied. a year ago, according
to the Chicago Inter Ocean, the COM
pany placed an experimental order or
twelve of these lights for the fast pas
senger engines. and the service has
been SO satisfactory that it has been
decided to outfit every engine owned
by the company. An order has been
placed for 40 sets with a Chicago con
Germ, and others will be ordered later.
The passenger and fast freight en-
gines will be equipped first and later
the heavy freighters. When all are
supplied, the Alton will enjoy the dis
tinction Of being the only road that
can boast of such an requirement. The
attachment is a costly one, and the
great expense has prevented most
roads from indulging in the novelty.
Mr.. Cecil Rhodes Is determined that
travellers upon his Cape to Cairo rail-
way shall not have any cause to COM
plain of lack Of comfort while en- route.
There has just been shipped to South
Africa a train de luxe which, so far as
comfort and convenience are
ed, cannot he excelled by any railway
either in England or America, says the
London Mail. The train comprises a
dining saloon. three ordinary carriages
convertible at night into sleepers. n
carriage containing smoking room, IL
brary, cardroom, buffet and observa-
ton platform at the rear and a combin-
ed postal and luggage wagon. Each
coach measures fifty-six feet in length,
and, being suspended on bogie wheels.
the maximum Of comfort and smooth
ness in running is attained with an alb
sence of vibration.
Traffic on the New York Central be-
tween New York and Buffalo has be.
come so heavy that an additional track
will be built, says the Chicago Inter
Ocean. This will give the New York
Central the prestige Of being the origi-