Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-04
MUCH IS INVESTED.
Wrecking Outfits Cost Railway
Companies a Neat
Sum.
HAVE ONE ON EACH DIVISION
Peculiar Type of Engine OIders a
by the Baltimore ~
Ohio.

Wrecks, besides being Il most pro-
life source Of eNperSC To railroad
companies so far as actual loss and
damage are concerned, necessitate
q e)investment by the 70 ads of thous-
ands of dollars of rolling stock which
yield absolutely nothing in the way
of actual revenue and. which is sim
ply a constant expense to the COM
pany.
Each division must have its wreck
ing outfit. the cost Ct wHIch is at least
So goo. To one who is unacquainted
with railroad work. a peep at one Of
these outfits is a novelty. The outfit
consists of fi<e cars. First. the wreck
er. a car containing the derrick and
other hosting apparatus; second. the
block car, contains ties, rails, spikes,
etc; third, caboose. used for the
mems sleeping and living quarters;
fourth, the truck car, and fifth, the
supply car.
Is Curiosity Shop.
This last named car is regular
curiosity shop. 1t : a bcN car filed
with what would apparently be ma
terial for the making of some sailing
vessel. The car is literally jammed
with ropes. cables. blocks. chains and
all kinds of apparatus necessary in
this work. As everything is of the very
best grade, its contents are val
| ned at $1,000. In one of these outfits
there are 1000 feet of best rope, vary
ing from one to five inches in thick
ness. The five-inch variety resembles
some huge serpent, as it lies coiled
up and is apparently so strong that
| IL would pull the whole solar system
with ease. yet this strong curdage
often breaks off at the critical mo-
ment while a weight OF 80 tons is at
tached TO it.
Sometimes during a fortunate sea
son this outfit will be oHt of use for
months. while at other times it will
| be used frequently. Besides the big
| Investment it costs the company at
| least hundred dollars every time the
outfit is put into use. \ crew of
eight men is taken along. These are
usually shop men. who, while on
wreckiug expeditions. receive time
and half. Every available section
hand is picked up along the lines, so
that by the time the scene of action
is reached as high as 80 are often with
the crew. These men all have to he
fed and cared for at the company 5
expense, so that maintaining a wreck
ing crew necessitateS considerable
expenditure in this one respect.
But the companies do not begrudge
the money spent in this way, for as
long as there are wrecks ii will be
necessary to use prompt action in re-
pairing the damage.
The Biggest Locomotive.
The Baltimore & Ohio railroad has
placed an order with the American
Locomotive company for tandem
compound locomotive that will be,
when completed, the heaviest ever
| built in this country. 1t is known rs
the Mallet articulated type, and modi-
fed examples are being used abroad
to some extent, none. however. being
of the tremendous size of the Balti-
more q Ohio engine.
There is peculiar arrangement OF
the drivers and cylinders. The for
ward cylinder is the high pressure,
while the rear one is the low pres
sure, and the great power of the en-
CINE is apparent when it is considered
that the entire weight of the locOmo-
tive-2s5, 900 pounds-is on the drivers.
This locomotive is being built as an
experiment and will be used as a help
ing engine on a heavy mountain grade
to demonstrate its usefulness in this
class of service. 1t is hoped that it
will be completed in time to give it a
thorough road test before sending it
TO the St Louis worlds fair.