Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-09
THE RAILWAY SERVICE
SUPERIORITY OF AMERICA OVER
REST OF WORLD.
Some Impressive Figures-Over 22O,.
600 Miles Of Track in Operation
in the United States.

From the New York Tribune.
In no industry perhaps does the United
States enjoy a more remarkable ascendancy
over the rest of the world than in its rail-
way service. AT the close of the last CEN
fury North America had no less than go,
$50 miles of track in operation, while the
total for Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
and South America was only trifle greater
about 100000 miles. The United States
then had a mile of road for every 1888 in
habitants, Europe one for every 2,267 ana
British India one for every IL, 400. This
country invented the parlor, sleeping and
dining cars, the pressed steel freight car
many Of the best features of the modern
locomotive, the air BRAKE the automatic
coupler and a host Of related devices, and
1t runs the fastest long-distance trains. II
Is no wonder, then that the handsome and
instructive Transportation" edition OF
the Scientific American should devote q
great deal of space to the railroads of the
United States.
One of the most marvellous developments
in the whole railroad system is that which
has taken place at the head of a train Il,
the last seventy years. The best loco-
motives today are about four times as long
as the De Witt Clinton QS3D. a foot o1
two higher, have drivers that are Y (ol
even 800 inches in diameter instead of only
"a, and carry 200 pounds Of steam instead
of only so. But these figures afford no idea
of the real gain that has been effected Iii
power Relative to the other features, the
boiler has grown abnormally. while the
smokestack has actually diminished in size
In the De Witt Clinton the smokepipe was
as big as the boiler. One does not realize
what modern science has done for this type
OF engine until he is told that it has pull
OF from 10 to 30 tons, as against 919 pounds
locomotive built not long ago for the
Santa Fe road weighed 1884, tons. Treve-
thfck's engine, built just century ago
weighed five! Stephenson's Rocket" -1S29)
was several hundred pounds lighter. Even
between 1850 and 1860 the average weight
of a passenger locomotive was twenty tons
and of a freight engine thirty.
American Locomotives.
One Of the first advances in American To-
connective construction was to mount the
front end of the boiler by stout pivot
upon small independent truck or boyle.
Previously the forward wheels were Sc
cured to the whole frame. That plan made
the machine exceedingly rigid and awk-
ward on sharp curves, where derailment
often resulted. Another improvement was
the link motion for reversing, for which
the credit has been claimed both for an
even distribution Of weight on the wheels
was secured by another Yankee notion,
"equalizing levers" =
At the close Of the fiscal year 1901 there
We're in operation in the United States
195.ss7 miles of track, or within about
%, 600 miles of the total for North Amer
lea. If these roads could be stretched out
into one continuous line they would be long
enough to encircle the globe at the equator
about eight times or to reach nearly nine
tenths of the distance from the earth to
the moon.-
In it's Transportation" edition the Sclen-
flo Ar1a 1<ao ctril xioO
parsons to indicate the bulk of material
used in the construction Of these roads 1t
takes the Great Pyramid of Egypt IS the
starting point in it's calculation. That
base and rises 4S1 feet and contains about
81, 500 900 cubic feet. If a shell of the same
shape and dimensions were manufactured
1t could be let down over the Capitol at
Washington without touching, and the
apex of the pyramid would be 200 feet or
more above the dome of the building.
Weight Of the Rails.
If steel rails used in laying the track of
these American roads were melted up into
a single lump Of a shape that would admit
Of measurement it would be found to con-
tain Is per cent more material than the
Great Pyramid. Another comparison can
be made with the Washington monument,
which rises $50 feet above its base. This
same mass of steel would equal it in height
is cast in a rectangular block 1876 feet
square at the bottom. Some of these rails
weigh from so to 100 pounds to the yard,
but most Of the track west Of the Missis-
sppi is considerably lighter. Probably
%, O00, 900 tons would not be wild estimate
of the total weight.
One can't mold wood like steel, and even
II one could it would doubtless be impossi-
BILE to cast in one chunk the timber now
employed for railroad ties One can COM
pute volumes, though, and it is estimated
that all the wooden ties In service today
occupy a space equal to twenty-four great
pyramids. A similar calculation for rock
and gravel ballast on these American roads
gives bulk 135 times as great as the above
mentioned standard of comparison. Follow
ing the ratio OF length to height which is
found in the pyramid Of Cheops, the heap
Of ballast would measure $500 feet on
each size at the base and rise to a height
Of $500 feet, or about half a mile!
Cars and Employees.
When it comes to rolling stock, equally
impressive results are reached. The 80, 729
locomotives In service are equivalent to
three Great Pyramids, 1851 passenger
cars to three and a half pyramids and
], 400. 472 freight cars to forty pyramids.
Over 100000 employees are required to
operate and keep in running order the
railways Of the United States. Nearly half
of them (459,7O4 are trackmen and la
borers. These figures include switchmen
fagmen and Watchmen, as well as section
bosses and track repairerS. Then there are
2O4, 1A machinists and shop workmen. 1877 :
141 station agents and station men l16 hS5
conductors and brakemen, 90 45S engineers
and firemen, 80. 701 clerks, 26,6O6 telegram
operators and 41oO general officers.