The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-10
RAILROAD WORLD.


 gently made series of experimental runs to determine the maximum train that can be handled with one engine from Reading to Abrams over the division to- ward Philadelphia. An official account has been given of a train hauled by locomo- tive Mo- 1O95 The train consisted of fifty ton steel cars loaded with soft coal, the total weight behind the tender being 5O21 tons. The engine handling the train Is a simple consolidation, having a total weight of 166O0O pounds, the weight on driving wheels being 145. 900 pounds. The cylinders are 22x2S inches and the driving wheels are SC inches in diameter. The boiler has straight top. with medium width firebox, 5x95 feet. and carries pressure of 200 pounds. The total heating surface is 2126 square feet. and the grate area Is 47.5 square feet. From this data the traetive force is 41,200 pounds, using the regular formula The engine was as- sisted in starting the train out of the Reading yards, and from that point ham dled it alone to Abrams, a distance of thirty-nine miles. in three Hours. The av- craze running time was thirteen miles per hour, including three stops. With regard to the track, it may be said that there is an average downgrade from Reading to Abrams of Al feet per mile, but this grade is not regular, as there are a num- Der of level stretches and two short up- grades. The line has a number of curves, the sharpest of which is a little under 6 degrees, but is located on a 17-foot down. grade in the direction in which the train was moving. Since this account was given it has been reported that the same engine has handled a train of seventy-nne cars, weighing 5372 tons, over the same division. AS a result of the tests. 1t is believed by the Reading that with modern cars it Is possible for the engines to haul as long trains as other conditions of operation on that road will permit.
 The following special comes from Aber- deen. Miss.
 The Columbus, Pensacola and Memphis Railroad company was formally organ ized at Columbus, Miss, yesterday. New many Cayse was elected president; W. M.
 
 urer all of that city; w. E. Walker of Aberdeen, general counsel, and a full board of directors and an executive com mittee were named. The company is chartered by the governor of Mississippi, with capital stock of s5O,OOO The object at present is to construct line from Co., lumbus to Aberdeen, a distance of thirty mil fn he ITric and the Illinois Central. The new organiz- alton will proceed at once to procure q survey and right of way, when it is un- derstood that the Frisco VIII take hold and complete the work, as that system desires the Columbus extention. The line presents no engineering obstacles what ever, and the road can be very cheaply constructed.
 The New York Commercial says:
 Before many years most of the western roads will be in a position to build their own locomotives. Until recently few To- comotives were built in the west. and the railroads had to depend entirely upon the big eastern locomotive works for all of their motive power.
 Owing to the great demand for locomo- tives during the last few years the east ern locomotive concerns have not been able to turn out without much delay all the locomotives needed by the western roads, and now these roads have taken steps to make themselves independent of the eastern builders
 The Rock Island is now completing at East Moline what Is said to be the larg- est locomotive repair shop in the United States with facilities for building new locomotives if necessary.
 The St. Paul has lately completed simi- lar locomotive construction and repair shops in Milwaukee.
 George F. Jones, who succeeds Major J. w. Bushnell, engineer in charge of the construction work of the Seaboard Ar Line between Birmingham and Atlanta. started out on the line of the work yester day.
 MT. Jones comes from the Colorado road which line has recently been acquired by the Rock Island and the construction of which is being finished into Kansas City. For some time he was employed under Harry Frazier, the consulting engineer of the Seaboard Air-Line.
 
 PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE.