The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-03-05
RETURN TO COAL
Locomotives on the Hartman
Lines Are Now Being Con-
verted-Coal Scarce.

All Oll-Durn1ng freight locomotives
and switch engines in use on the Har-
riman lines in Texas and Louisiana in
not many months will be a thing Of the
past.
Along the lines of the Galveston,
Harrisburg & San Antonio railroad,
the Texas & New Orleans railroad, the
Houston & Texas Central railroad and
the Houston East & West Texas rail-
road, all engines, except those used i'll
the passenger service that have not
been changed will be converted from
oil to coal burners. Now whenever an
engine goes into the shops, and such
has been the case for several months,
the change is made and it comes out
ready for burning coal again.
The passenger engines in service up
on these lines will continue to use oil
as fuel as long as 1t Is possible to Sc
cure that character of fuel, and the
change back to coal will not be made
until it becomes absolutely necessary.
The prominence that the railroads
gained Immediately after they inaugu-
rated their oil-burning locomotives be-
came international, and now that the
travelling public has been treated to
the luxury of riding behind an engine
from which no cinders or smoke are
emitted the officials believe they are
entitled to retain the pleasure in trav-
cling as long as it is within the power
of the railroads to furnish it. Of
ooureo ff %ho nroduot;o,, NJ fuel o;l ~,
Texas is reduced to very much great
er extent and the prices continue TO
rise as they have in the past it will
undoubtedly become necessary to use
coal again in the passenger service.
The use of oil as fuel upon locomo-
tives became general upon many rail-
roads throughout the state of Texas
shortly after the oil field at Beaumont
was discovered, and it was along about
that time that the Hartman lines be-
gan the use of that character of fuel.
1t offered many more inducements than
coal and consequently the railroads
were not long in adopting it and chang
ing their engines from the coal-burn-
ing moguls to the ordinary locomotives.
During recent months the production
of fuel oil in Texas has been greatly
reduced and at the same time the price
of 1t has rapidly increased, and it was
due to these causes that the Hartman
lines were compelled to adopt coal once
more
Many of the locomotives in service
upon the Houston & Texas Central and
the Texas & New Orleans which were
oil-burners have already been changed
back to coalIburners, and the convert
ing of the other locomotives in the
freight service will continue gradually
until all are again made coal-burners.
In the minds OF the railroad officials
the changing of the locomotives from
oil to coal burners is strictly busi-
ness proposition, the coal being much
cheaper now for fuel than oil. With
the passenger service they are willing
to continue the use Of oil until they
will be compelled to revert back TO
coal.
The Southern Pacific company has
purchased from the Pittsburg coal OPP
orators for use upon its railroads and
steamship lines large supply of coal.
The purchase, it is stated, amounted
to approximately 100000 tons. The
coal that is now being used in the To-
comotives is being secured from the
territory mines.