Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-10-18


Twelve minutes lost was handicap
but It did not mean much after the
other things that had happened The
big Az locomotive, with driving wheels
seven feet In diameter, swung out on,
the main line again, and after a few
strokes Of her pistons, sent the speed
rate climbing.
Eighty.eight miles an hour was In
teresting, but not sensational, after
having made ninety-two miles AMI
hour. The heavy train pulled into
North Lacrosse on time-twenty-six
miles in twenty-three and one-half
minutes.
Make Speed Record.
The regular passenger trains Of the
Chicago. Milwaukee & st. Paul rail.
way make speed records sometimes
Their schedules are moderate, yet
their engine drivers are in constant
danger of minor delays and small
losses of time, every minute of which
means a faster actual running SEIZED.
ule and more speed in order to cover
the remaining mileage on time. To)
handle q big train requires several
fQudlltlSS luoot 1lCu Ndlu6-dDSOluI6I
self confidence and self reliance on
the part of the engine driver, conserv-
ative nerve and daring resourceful-
ness and lightning quickness of judg-
ment which must not be nearly right,
but absolutely unerring.
On big locomotive of the Milwau-
KEGS Pioneer Limited a few nights
since, Engineed Sullivan and Fireman
Hultane covered the greater part Of
the run from Lake City to LaCrosse at
a sped averaging for actual running
time between fifty-fve and fifty
eight miles an hour. On another
night. with Engineer Patrick Doyle
and Fireman John Youngquist, many
minor delays and the handicap Of
"slow ORDERS" on one long section Of
track. were overcome by added speed,
and the Pioneer Limited, by an unusu-
ally heavy train on that night, pulled
into Lacrosse on time.
Men like Sullivan, Weaver, Doyle,
smith-who is no longer working
engineer Homer Williams and
their like come but seldom to public
notice, yet their nerve and resourceful-
ness nightly guard the lives of hun
dreds, and their complete mastery of
their profession enables men to cover
long distances without loss of time
and without disagreeable incident.
Test Of Locomotives.
In view of the fact that Superin-
tendent E. Laas and other Milwaukee
officials Of this city made a trip over
the Kansas City division with a dyna-
mometer car last week for the pur-
pose OF establishing a new tonnage
rating for the locomotives the graphic
description Of dynamometer opera
ton involving an Identical principle,
although somewhat different method
of demonstrating which appeared re-
Gently In the Chicago Record Herald
under signature of William e. Curtis
will be of no more than usual local In
.terest. Mr. Curtis says:
Intricate Mechanism.
The most novel, as well as the most
intricate and the most Important piece
OF machinery In operation upon the
exposition grounds, is an apparatus
Tor testing the strength, speed and
other qualities of railway locomotives
set up by the Pennsylvania Railroad
Co.. in the Transportation building at
q cost of $4,000. 1t requires forty
men to operate 1t. They are under
the direction of G.. A. Wall superin-
'tendent Of motive power upon the
Pennsylvania lines west Of Pittsburg.
The Demonstration.
Resting upon secure foundation OF
ofn sr, $50 -
actly similar in size and arrangement
to those Of the standard locomotive. 1t
is reached by ordinary tracks and
switches. and the locomotive to be
tested comes in under it's own steam
and runs along upon set of false
rails until it's wheels are poised ex-
actly above the center OF the fixed
wheels of the testing machine 1t is
then carefully lowered until the tires
Of the machine wheels come in con-
tact. The false rails are then removed
the engine is coupled to an immov-
able wall. steam is turned on and the
wheels Of the locomotive begin to re-
volve upon the supporting wheels, to
which are attached, by delicate APP
paratus. thermometers that automat-
ASe]AAy ASSoia ei0 oPCCd, LlC ISSlSIdllCG
and the strength of the locomotive
upon rolls of paper ruled for that pur-
pose.
Registers Time and Distance.
An engineer sits in the cab, a fire.
man is constantly shoveling coal into
the furnace, columns of black smoke
rise from the stack, and the steam his
ses and whistles, and you can feel the
throb of the heart of the powerful
creature forty feet away 1t quivers
and pants and struggles, and the
wheels revolve at the speed of mile
minute, but it does not move an inch.
Twenty-Five or thirty men in greasy
jumpers move about observing closely
every feature of the test, and their
ears as well as their eyes are alert,
for the slightest change Of sound is
significant. They notice the valves,
the oil cups, the indicators; they in
spect the quality Of the coal and the
manner Of combustion, and when the
test is completed they can compute the
value of every ounce Of fuel that has
been consume and can tell you ex-
actly what the locomotive can do and