Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-08
ENGINEERS TWO FLIGHTS UP.
Some Giant Locomotives in Use on the
Northern Pacific Road.

From the Tacoma Ledger.
The Northern Pacific has received the last
Of a consignment OF twenty-one of the big
gest engines in America The last one OF
the series arrived n few days ago, and Ia
coma, the terminus, has the distinction of
being also the greatest railroad center in
the world in this respect. There are as big
engines elsewhere in twos and threes but
on no line and at no point are there
score of engines like the 200 class just re-
ceived in Tacoma. Any ten of these engines
could have done all the railroad business
there was to be done here ten years ago,
when the sage hens'' used to crawl up to
Weston with eight and ten small cars that
could be loaded into five modern cars
wheels and all. The public sees little Of
these engines. since they are confined to
freighting on the mountain division. Any
one of them pull on a level track all
the loaded cars that can be hung behind
them. The only limit is the number of
cars that can be handled by a single crew
In the graphic language OF Master Me
chanic Bruce, fYou can string all the cars
you can get between one of these engines.
chop the train off at a mile or SO, and
swing EN- Into Portland easy
Technical language will not convey to the
average reader the inBmensity of these
wonders of locomotive building. The name
given them by common consent all over
the road is battle ships" and a more de-
One goes up two flights of stairs to reach
the cab, for the boilers are so big they can
not be squeezed between the drivers, and
perforce must be put-o top of them. Their
height Is of three men standing on each
others shoulders-just low enough to squeeze
through the tunnels. Indeed, many tun-
nels had to be raised to let them through
from the east. The cylinders are double
on each side, being arranged tandem -
the word tandem being adopted as the
class name Of the engine
Five years ago the 'Mogul'' engine, which
could swing 800 tons up the 2-1O grade to
Lester at the foot of the mountain, was
considered a wonder, and many believed
the limit had been reached as to size But
the 'Mogul' and its load is not a mouthful
t. the present battle ship which weighs
loaded nearly three times as much, and
rolls along without apparent effort with
] 900 tons.
If the freighting over the mountain were
stin done with horseffesh, as forty years
ago. it would take $1,000 horses to do in a
week what battle ship does In a day
She carries 21o pounds of steam. The high
press" cylinders at the front of the tan
dem looking like young 15-inch cannon
discharge into the "low-press cylinders at
20 pounds
From end to end the engines are sixty-
nine feet long, for, as the master me
chanic says, Since they can't build 'em
any higher, the only thing they can do now
is to build EN- longer" Roundly speaking
one Of the engines would run all the mills
in Tacoma if it were not locomotive.
Five years ago the company received the
first of its "Klondike" engines, then con-
sidered masterpiece Of engine construc-
ton Though monsters in size and power
the new engines exceed them just 20 per
cent in both dimensions. The "Klondiker'
exceeded the "Mogul' by 300 tons up the
grade to Lester, and the Battle Ship daily
exceeds the "Klondiker by 200 tons
The engines are not comfortable for the
engine crews and have occasioned great
deal of kicking. A bulletin was posted yes
terday cutting down the loads of engines
and till further orders the Battle Ship
Will only be required to draw 800 tons
still far in excess Of anything which has
preceded them The object of the order
Is the speeding up of trains during the
great rush of business now on.
1t Is positively announced now, as Oft
times before, that the limit Of locomotive
building has been reached. 1t remains to be
seen how many months 1t will be before the
limit sign is torn down and higher one
substituted.