The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1907-04-25
TASK FOR AN ENGINE.
Men Who Are Held Responsible when
II Fa!l2 Short in Its Work.

When locomotive is built 1t is
expected to make a certain mileage
before il receives a general overhaul
ing. When that oyer..aGling is done
it is again required to make a def
nife mileage.
A modern passenger locomotive IS
| expected, says TIE Ohio Magazine. to
cover 10c.C00 miles between general
'shCppings," intermediate repairs be-
ing made at the various roundhouses.
Responsibility for failure Of loco
motive to perform the work cut out
for it is easily fixed by means of
system of records. Tie super.ntend-
emit of shops is responsible for all
power cut out of service on TIE roa
and placed inside the shop grounds,
and this responsibility does not chi
until the locomotive is ready for seq
vice again. From the tire that it is
ready for service until ii is once more
cut out for repairs in the Stop the
master mechanic shoulders the re-
spoasibility.
When the locomotive is ready ID
leave the shops ii is inspected jointly
by the shop insi ector under the suL-
erintendent of shops, and an inspector
working under the master mechanic.
Every workman who has any part
whatever IN the handling of the loco
motive is responsible TO his INN ID
ate foreman, just as Ihe foreman is
responsible to lis sureriofs.
In spite of tie many intricate parts
of locomotive the company records
show less than one engine failure for
every 1900 miles. An engine fill
ure' is a delay Of one minute or more ,
to any train, provided it is caused by
failure of the machinery of the loco
motive.
Each of the many locomotives OF
big system-790 in one case-has a !
decided individuality in the eyes of |
the railroad At headquarters is |
known not only the cost of original |
materials used in repairs and the en-
tire expense of maintenance down to |
date.
The labor of every man who works |
for even an hour upon a certain en-
CINE. each mechanic recording his
labor upon a slip of paper known as
a daily time certificate, which in turn
is certified to by his immediate fore
man and forwarded to the general
timekeeper. The records of the road
enable the officials to show the exact
cost of labor and material for each
mile that a locomotive travels. or
each ton hauled.
In the case of collisions or wrecks,
where the fault IL not one of defec-
tie workmanship or material, the
locomotive may enter the general
shops for rebuilding, even though IL
may not have completed the mileage
assigned to IT. and no responsibility
itself TO those on whom II
would otherwise fall. The locomotive
is simply repaired and is allowed to
complete the mileage originally as
signed to it.
When a locomotive is brought int
the shops for work 1t is first stripped
by the men who comprise what is
known as the stripping gang. This
gang Immediately takes off such parts
of the engine as are necessary for the
job.
The parts to be repaired are cleaned
In vat and the work is then distrib-
Ited among the various employees of
the machine and blacksmith depart
ments, each part when repaired to be
to the erecting side of the
shop, to be mounted again on the
locomotive by the date on which 1t 10
scheduled to go on the road. The
iates are posted in a conspicuous
place convenient to each repair gang.