The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-06-16
AS TO t60 MILES AN HOUR
THE POSSIBILITY OF BUILD-
 ING
A Locomotive and Training Men to
 stand the Strain.

Can an engine haul train at speed of 150 miles an hour? That is the ques- tion that was asked of number of en- ginemen on different roads. They all agreed that he science of engine build ing might in time develop So that an en- zine could be built to make the speed, but said that they were engine runners, not engine builders.
 Gan man stand it to drive an en- zine at that speed?" was asked of a Pennsylvania engineman.
 q suppose" said he, that a man could stand it for a little while. The general public has no idea of the strain on the engineman and the faster the speed the greater the strain. When you get up fifty miles an hour you are going the pace that makes young men old. When an engineman on one of the fast trains that runs into this city leaves his seat he is often nervous and worn out. He is ometimes in the condition that in a woman would be called hysterical.
 There are men on this road, in fact on all roads, who will not take fast passenger run. They are freight run ners, but when they get passenger train they cannot make the time, and, no matter how much they dislike to do so, they have to go back to freight train. The engineman has to keep his eyes rivited on the rails ahead of him. He must be prepared to see any danger that may suddenly present itself, and he must be watching for signals at sta tions and in blocks,
 ''This is a terrible strain on the nerves of his eyes, and it is bound to tell on a man before long, especially if he has a great deal of night running. At night the shadows bother him great deal, and many an enginenlan has been badly scared by them. Tn fact every thing about running an engine tends to rack the brain and disturb the nerves. If the engines get to running 150 miles an hour an ew set of men with new kinds of constitutions must be secured to run them"
 R. L. Ettinger, mechanical engineer of the Big Four and a recognized author ity in his line, was asked if an engine could be driven 150 miles an hour.
 Mot as they are constructed at present." replied MT. Ettinger. "All the power in an engine of the ordinary size Is exhausted in running it at a speed of 85 miles an hour, although 1t could not haul a train at that speed. The highest speed attained by an engine is 100 miles an hour, and that under the most favorable circumstances and for short distance.
 ''Before q greater speed could be at- tained, there must be radical change in the construction of locomotives. If wheel large enough for that speed was made, the internal friction of the en- zine would use up all the power Then there would have to be radical change in track building for an engine to make 150 miles an hour. At the present time the track curves are elevated for a speed averaging SO miles an hour and the more speed the more elevation needed"
 ''Do you think it is possible for an en- gineman to drive a locomotive 150 miles an hour?"
 That is a question that is hard to answer Men do things every day that at first seem impossible, and I would not want to say that it would be impos- sible for an engineman to drive a oco- motive at that speed. But if he did he would have to be protected a great deal more than he is now. For instance, he could not put his head out of the cab window as he does now, for the force of the wind would be so great that he could not breathe. And there are a