The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-06-10
aMogul'' Trailic movers.

| hogui' Traffic Movers.
Under tho great shed of Onion Sta.
slon painting monsters Of steel and
Iron glide in almost every hour from
runs of hundreds Of miles.
A little oil is poured on their bear
iings. wiper goes over ahe shining
shaft, a nut is tighte ned. q sorew ad.
ijusted, and they are ready oncs more
for another trip.
Locomotives OF the present day
itypify the essence OF human ingen.
| inity.
Economy is the factor which has
had much to do with their existence.
Saving in coal, saving in time, saw
ing in repairs, and a capacity 10 do
aore work at less expense arc the
guiding stars Of tho men who make
these great trail tfaiific movers.
Slowly it has been realized that
though it may require twice as much
coal to give the Morgul, the Pacific or
the Atlantic locomotive power to 60 q
given distance. as cheap or old.time
engine, still they can make the dis
tance half again as fast, carry train
twice as heavy aud at the end Of the
run need no repairs.
Because Of the knowledge that a
mistake will cost many human lives,
the Improvement in locomotives has
been comparatively slow.
Theories were Of but little use in
railway engines.
Practical improvements se-e 5a;a,-
ed.
Less than fifty years ago an engine
weighing fifty tons was regarded with
awe.
Its wonderful speed Of twenty miles
an hour was commented upon, and its
trains of ten or twelve freight cars
were regarded as the acme Of traffic
possibilities.
Driving wheels from forty to fifty
inches high carried these trains.
The smokestacks were often five
feet high, and terminated in bulges
from which the smoke poured in i'm
pressive volume.
Since that day of these ''iron mon
stere" locomotive building has under
gone q complete. change.
Almost all things which were re-
garded as imperatively necessary have
been found not only unnecesyary, but
in the way.
The small boiler has given place to
huge boilers, often extending far back
into the cab Of the engineer.
The high smokestack has been cut
down from 60 to 20 inches, and is al
most completely lost to view behind
the huge headlight.
Driving wheels are now from 80 to
"a inches diameter end the fire box
has been raised from the center Of
gravity to degree which would have
caused the old-timer to predict certain
disaster.
The speed attained is from fifty to
sixty miles an hour for hours at
time. and the trains hauled may Be
fifty heavy freight cars or line OF
from twelve to fourteen heavy passen-
ger cars, one Of which would have
stalled the engine ef ss.y years ago.
The weight Of these engines is from
100 TO 150 tons.
The Pacific locomotives of the Chi
cage and Alton weigh 2l9, 900 pounds
and have driving wheels SO inches in
diameter.
The new Burlington engines weigh
300, ,0O0pounds andare what is known as
the "Atlantio" type. Their driving
wheels are "a inches in diameter.
Speed is the chief essential with them.
It is generally believed that the
new engines Of the Illinois Central are
une9ualed in their class. Especially
ils this said to be true Of the twelve
wheel freight locomotives recently put
into use by the company.
These locomotives weigh 232, 900
pounds and are built for power.
One Of the sights Of Union Station
is the great Big Four engine, No. 399,
which weighs more than 100 tons and
has speed ofseventy miles an hour.
The Wabash and the IRON Mountain
also have several very large locomo-
tives. st. Louis Republic,