davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

settled entirely devoid OF population The topog-
raphy was frequently such that the highest eugi-
neering skill needed TO overcome the seemingly
insurmountable difficulties: and the supply Of ma
terial and labor so limited that the roads had
to he originally built 10 involve tho minimum ex-
pendture Of these. particularly as-on account Of
the great distances to he covered-the time OF con-
s;ruction was the most important factor.
For the last fifteen years the railroads through
out the United States. especially IN its Eastern
portion. have been undergoing reconstruction:
curves have been straightcncd out. grades eltmt-
mated and extra trackare and facilities added.
Moreover the growth OF business on American
railroads during the last twenty years has had no
precedent in any country; and now. in order 70
meet existing conditions. the most powerful loco
motives required haul the enormous weight
Cf passenger and freight trains. For passenger
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

characteristics better adapted to the elimination
of curves and grades from the line OF road More
over. the time consumed in building railroads IN
England and the rest OF Europe was OF less I'M
portanCe OF this settled condition of the
country and. also of the accessibility of all points
therein, by other means of transportation All
kinds OF material could be readily obtained at any
desired point. and any amount of skilled and un-
skilled labor secured and again on account of the
short distances to be covered, the time of con-
stTuCtion has been much object as
in America In other words in England and the
rest Of Europe the railroads have followed the set
tement Of the country. whilst here they have made
the country; and population. commerce. everything
that has contributed to make America what IT is,
has been entirely dependent 1he railroads In
the construction of the American roads, the dis
tances to be spanned very great. and the coun
Try through which ohey built either sparseiy
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
FREIGHT CMIkA0o" TYPE


the standard of various roads. improvements have
constantly been made. only in the design of the
locomotive as whole. in all its details.
the Increasing and exactinG demand OF require
nlent in service During the past five six years
many noted improvements have been made. prin-
cpal among which the of the wide lrebox
tbefore mentoned) for burning btuminOus coal.
and introduction of improved valve gear, which
is attached outside the driving wheels instead OF
being located. as heretofore between them This
latter arrangement is being used upon the large
tations of width-this is governed by the standard
gauge of track-which render il impractcable TO
procure valve motion of sufficient proportions to
operatc these large engines. when located between
the driving wheels and frames. The advantages of
rbis new adaptation of valve gear that the
whole of II is outside and. therefore. much more
readily accessible fabrication for inspection and
for repairs when necessary. Some recent locOmo-
tives have been fitted with a device known the
.sllperheaJer'': this consists of arrangement of
extra tubes for the purpose of reheating, and for
increasing the temperature. of the steam after il Is
generated and before its Introduction to the cylin-
ders Of the locomotive. the advantage claimed for
This being that there is less condensation. and.
seouentfv less loss power and Increased economy.
Upon locomotives of high power it becomes neces-
sarv TO increase the number of driving wheels In
order to properly distribute the weight over the
track and as a matter of fact. than four
pairs Of wheels of ordinary size or five pairs Of
very small size cannot be used even the
strghtest roads without increasing the rigid wheel
base of the engine beyond that permissible pro-
vide for proper curvature. 1t therefore becomes
necessary to divide the driving wheels into two
sets. Many unsuccessful attempts were made years
ago solve this problem; the least Objectionable OF
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

TWO years later. 1S4s, Rogers again forged 10 the
front with the Victory engine Of the eight
wheel type with four drivers and four-wheel truck
and notable as the first American engine on which
shifting link valve motion used. This year
raw too the first railroad constructed in Chicago.
Pour years elapsed, and then the Erie, extending
across New York State from Piermont, the
Hudson River. 70 Dunkirk. on Lake Erie.
opened-the first American railway Of great
length constructed and operated under manage
Tnenr- A year later the Baltimore & Ohio COM
pleted from Baltimore Nd, Ia Wheeling. Va,
cost Of fifteen onehalf millions, its 379 miles
making il the then longest railroad in the whole
world
n decade slipped by anything Of note hap
pened IN the way Of railway progress. Then. in
7S2 Rogers built the first 'nogul freight engine.
having six drivers and two-wheel leading truck-a
1ypo which soon became a favorite for freight
&5ce
Three years after. the Lehigh Valley had built
the first consolidation locomotive, having eight
drivers and q two-wheeI truck; & weighed 10000
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
HOW PROGRESS IS ENSURED.

All inventions brought TO the notice OF the build
ars are carefully examined as merits by COM
neteut engineers whose opinions are unbiased as
10 their value: everything of the most trivial
nature is given the most thorough consideration
As a general rule, however. inventions pertaining
10 locomotive construction and designed by those
outside of the immediate manufacture OF lOeome-
tives are reason or other. inlpracticaoic-
In many cases the subject has been tried in either
the same or possibly other. forms years before and
abandoned the designs submitted are not adapt
able 10 modern requirements The locomotive =
not q new machine and has arrived at its present
state BY gradual stages extending over the last
seventy years il IS therefore. not 70 be wondered
that outsiders who are entirely unfamiliar with
the design. history and progress should be unable
70 invent something OF a radical nature that viii
materially improve it. AS matter Of fact the
improvements IN locomotives that have proven OK
value have not all been inventions; many have been
merely the adaDtation Of different parts TO new
usages. and many have been Just improvements
of ether parts by those who have made LOCOMOTIVES
design and construction a life study
There are other phases OF locomotive construc-
ton and operation which the general public IS
entirely unfamiliar Chief amongst these are the
operations OF the American Railway Master Me-
chanics Association. the Master Car Builders As
sOciation the American Society for Testing Ma
terials and the various railroad clubs The two
FIRST mentioned were organized some forty Yeas
aso. Their membership comprises the mechanical
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

70 their efficiency as compared with the Anlert-
locomotive.
In open competition in other countries the Aueri-
can locomotive builders moro than hold their own
against foreign competitors. they furnish almost
the entire locomotive supply TO South and Central
America. Cuba. Mexico Canada. Japan. China and
Manchuria, also number Of engines for Egypt.
South Africa. Australia and New Zealand and even
some for the East Indies But in the strictly Eng
Iish and other European colonies, and for roads
controlled entirely by foreign capital the European
builders furnish practically all the locomotives.
For some time. however. American builders have
been so busy endeavorng 70 supply the demands
of this couutrys railroads that little has been or is
now being done in foreign business.
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

American workingman not only for the labor in
manufacturing these locomotives, but for that in
volved in the production of their raw material
which consequently, is greater in cost 70 US than
are similar grades of material to European build
ars And il may be remarked, were our methods or
manufacture and production tedious as those on
the other side the increase IN cost OF the American
product would be so great that we could not sue
cessfully compete for export business. However,
this increase is largely offset by the saving N Iihe
accomplished by our superior methods of construc-
ton, and by the labor saving machinery used In
the process of manufacture by American builders
so that on an equal footing, fully able to
take care of ourselves against our foreign COM
petitors
As between modern locomotives of The same type
there is very little difference in the average
ctfciencv OF the American and the foreign. II must
ne understood that in England, and in Europe gen
eralIy the average and maximum load hauled by
locomotives in proportion TO their size and ca
pacitv is only % 30 per of that hauled
i'm America the American locomotives being
used up to their full capacity at all times
This practically results in the designing of
tho foreign locomotives to be efficient
at the point of their smaller capacity, whilst
the American locomotives designed to be most
efficient at their maximum capacity. Hence, when
The engines are compared under like conditions al
though the European engines are incapable Of hand
,i,., a tonnage which an American locomotive of
4be same nominal size can. the European engines
,arentlv show the greater efficiency II is fact.
hnwever. measured by the American standard
ofcanacity our engines the more efficient. This
fact was well illustrated by the test made on the
PENNSYLVANIA Testing Plant at the Louisiana Pur-
chase Exposition in 1904. when three locomotives,
each representing the most efficient design Tor
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

that during the last ten years the increase IN
weight OF the heaviest engines used has been
over 100000 pounds, or about 95 per cont The in
crease in weight Of average passenger engines
during that period has been over 10000 pounds
or 20 per cent, whilst for the heaviest passenger
engines the Increase in weight has been about
10000 pounds nearly 20 per cent. For oTdl-
nary freight engines the increase in weight has
been 90 600 pounds so per cent. Thus il viii he
seen that ordinary passenger engines now in use
are considerably heavier than the heaviest freight
engine built wears ago. and weigh exactly
twice as much rs the average passenger engine Of
fifteen years ago. whilst ordinary freight engines
very nearly Of the same increased proportions
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

coach this was drawn by horses. and the first
entirely American steam railroad operation may
he said to have been inaugurated, in the
last mentioned wear with the trial OF Peter
Cooper-s Tom Thumb, the first experimental
locomotive built in America-it weighed one ton
and could obtain a speed of twelve miles an hour
and haul four and one-ialf tons, II could be com
fortably slowed away in the tender of the Erie's
1900 that went into commission the other day.
The reader will profit by the fact that much OF
the earlier history of the American railroad is
here given pictoriaIly-a method which, while it
brings strikingly the contrast with latter-day
development has the additional merit of saving
space for more extended description Of the loco
motive building arts maturer, and in a
important periods In that early day the few rail-
roads Of this country not very serious factors
IN it's busiress-later they increasingly became So
until to-day they have grown 10 be so intimately
interviewer with its very fibre that could
vyen expect man to move, and have his being,
without his muscular system, the nation to so
on without its railway land transportation.
II IS only necessary to supplement the illustra-
tous with sketchily presented record of the sue
cessive steps in the evolution Of the railroad,
the locornotive-they are really interchangeable
rerrns-unttl come down to the last decade of
the century Just turned: In August, 1881, The Mo
hawk & Hudson opened the seventeen miles be-
tween Albany and Schenectady which it Oper-
ated the three and one-haIf De Witt Clinton.
A year later springs were first used locomotives.
Then in 1888, the Baltimore & Ohio built rev
tyne Of engine-the first Of the so-called grass
hopner'' type a number Of which were subse-
ouentIy constructed. and some of which in
use within the past thirty years-and named it the
Traveller Compare it with the locomotive tray
eIers q today. Next year trucks We're first used
under the forward end OF a locomotive in order
10 secure fexibity and better distribution Of
weight on the track. Three years later the Balt.
more & Ohio (America owes that road big debto
brought out its crab" an Improvement upon
its grasshopper,' type: a large number Of these
were built. and = few Were in service as re
e,,-l-- as
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

pounds and was the heaviest thus far constructed
this weight not exceeded for ten long years
indeed little change was either in design or
weights Of locomotives until 1876 the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad entered the field Of competition with
its first consolidation engine. weighing in work
Ing order only ton more than the Lehfgh's.
or about g. 600 pounds.
-r1,e next decade witnessed the gradual increase
In size OF the standard eight-wheel, ten-wheeI
.-noguI" and consolidation types; and in 1881
1882 the abolition of fancy mouldings and brass
trimmings and other ornamentaton' and the plain
modern finish was introduced. Also, during this
rersod-5, 1Sl3 TO be exact--the Southern Pacihc
built the al that time heaviest locomotive In Amer
lea il was of ;he twelve-wheel type, and weighed
seventv-seven tons But a still greater increase OF
weight and dimensions took place in the hFe sue
ceetaIrs years. 1857 1892
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

passenger service found three different countries.
France. Germany and America. and. incidentally,
being similar in general respects. tried out.
There not very much difference in the average
showing OF the French and German locomotives,
but taking the average performance of these TWO
compared with the American machine nave
the following results:
Tested at speed of fifty-siX and one-half miles
per hour the American locomotive developed trac-
tive power of 249 per of the average of the
French and German whilst the coal consumption per
horsepower only 104 per cent thus showing Il
fuel economy for the foreign locomotives of about
per cent At a speed of sXty-six miles per hour
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
FIRST WEST OF THE OHIO.

in this year. 1887. Rogers built his first locc"o-
tive '-Sandusly: this the first railway en-
gne used west Of the Ohio River Il had a for
ward truck and one pair Of driving wheels This
type was largely used until about 1873 when an
additional pair OF drivers We're introduced, thus
making up the eight wheel or American type
Of engine
The year 1S40 witnessed the substitution Of regu-
lar rails for the thin straps Of iron. spiked 10
stringers, and the introduction Of headlights hav
ing large reiectors. well. The use Of the iron
strap was retained, especially in the South. for
number of years: in fact, rails were not manu-
factured in tie United States until four years later
In 1886 Winans, Of the Baltimore * Ohio. built
the first locornotive-the Delaware having eight
driving wheels directly connected, although this
was preceded by the mud digger type. built
three years earlier and having its eight connected
driving wheels operated by gearing through an in
dependent shaft. The same year Norris. Of Phila-
oelphia. brought out the Chesapeake the first
--ten-wheeler'' having six drivers and four-wheel
truck designed 20 increase hauling capacity and
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
AN EPOCHAL HALF DECADE.

The last five years, 1902 10 1907. have seen a
grhater increase in weights. dimensions and pro-
portions Of locomotives than any other period in
the Norlds history the increase in weight Of aver
age passenger engines used in 1907 being nearly
40 per cent those 1902, that Of the average
freight VngInes being about 80 per cent In 1904
the then heaviest locomotive in the world
built for the Baltimore &. Ohio. this being Of the
-articuated' type and having twelve driving
wheels, and the total weight Of engine being 800,
600 pounds This, however. has just been exceed
Cd Q9eO by similar engines built for the Erie.
and having sixteen driving wheels and total
weight, each, OF 10000 pounds. 1t wou'- seem
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
AMERICAN AND FOREIGN ENGINES.

American locomotives have for so long a time
exceeded those Of foreign countries In size and
capacity that there is possible means Of COM
parison between them present \ long ago as
the Worlds Fair at Chicago, in 1898. tho
prominent and enterprisinE railroad in England
sent Of its largest passenger locomotives
for exhibition, which at the time attracted
much attention the then famous New York
CentraTs ''999'' The maximum load hauled by this
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
LESSONS OF THE CHARTS.

The accompanying charts, which graphically I'M
part much other valuable information, will give
some idea of the extent which this country IS
indebted TO the above mentioned great concern for
its progress in railway transportation
It's annual output from 1887 TO 1891 is indicated
Diagram No !.
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE TYrE.

1t may be- noted that while there are generally
accepted types Of American locomotives for passen-
ger .or freight and for switching service the sizes
and details vary to suit different conditions and
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
THE GREAT BUILDERS EQUIPMENT.

THE GREAT BUuUEHS > E4U1EMENI.
The plants OF this leading exponent OF American
locomotive building consist Of official headquarters
In New York and the combination of ten ssparsts
works located respectively. at Schenectady. N "
Dunkirk. n Y; Paterson. N J.: Richmond. Va;
F5ttsburg Penn: Providence. R. L: Scranton.
Penn Manchester " H. and Montreal Canada
The shops at these various plants are for the most
mart new or else have been rebuilt rearranged and
brought rI 20 date 20 facilitate the rapid handling
of work pertaining 70 the construction Of modern
locomotives They thoroughly equipped with
+re latest and most improved machinery cf an
lfr5 for the construction of the various details of
these engines.
The total number OF worEmen employed m a.
the plants az the present time Is about tWenrJtvo
thousand. many of whom have oesn engaged n
their particular work for numbers OK years ard
bas conseoueutIy become highly proficient rhere11
The saparatiOn OF the different plants and tneir
location in smaller cities naturally secure 70 Is}
men and their families better surroundings sndp
other advantages. than If all the plants wer-s
centred in one large city Moreover. this sesress'
tfon proIuces a sort Of pleasant rivalry oet~eel
the different plants each endeavoring 70 produces
work as good as or better than another; whereass
If located as aggregation. this spirit on seneF-
Gus emulation would not exist
The executive officials Of the company have been
selected either from railroad or from iocon1osfss
works positions wherein their extensive expert
ence and ability had peculiarly adapted them 70
their respective posts and the subordinate orcaaLSs
engineers fO-emen and others have been seiec0e1
from the same sources And il is for this reason
that this company as a whole. is said 70 possess
a force which adde,to TO its executive ability, alert
ness ur-to-datedness and braininess. has higher
decree Of practical skill and scientific and busa-
ness training which is more in touch with the re-
ouirements and necessities OF customers-from tns
long experience in being personally and tndividuay
fdentined therewith-than almost any other BUSH
ness organization in the world
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

freight locomotives Line A represents the weight
of ordinary passenger locomotives. while Line G
represents the weight of the heaviest passenger
engines Line B indicates the weight OF ordinary
freight locomotives. while Line ID shows the weight
Of the heaviest freight locomotive built.
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

Diagram No. indicates the relation between ths
total number of engines bui1t each year rom
1902 1907 and the relative tonnags OF each year
in hundred tons.
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
STEEL SUBSTITUTE FOR IRON.

The next few years 1893 10 1897. marked an
epoch in locomotive building. for tney saw 1Ie
gradual introduction steel in place OF cast
iron for locomotive driving wheels and other I'M
portant parts and many other marked improve
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

The average weight of locomotives built from 1887
10 1867 Is illustrated Diagram No. g. the dotted
lines representing passenger and the full lines
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15

Thus II VIII be noted that for the year 1903 the
average tons weight an engine S9-c- or. IN
round numbers 100 tons. while for 1907 II only
COS and FOR the present year 1907. nearly 1e7.
Thus showing an average increase of IS per cent
The annual output OF locomotives. IL may be ex-
plafned IS dependent entirely upon the demands OF
railroad companies which accord with the degree OF
prosperity Of the country While there the same
number OF locomotive works in the country az
there were forty years ago. the tonnage OF loco
motives built annually IS ftythres times that of
1861
New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
CHICAG0'S FIRST RAILROAD.

10 distribute evenly upon the track the
SLY lncrease Of Hxeishf On the driver
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-04-23
FINE SUGAR SEASON
FOR VERM0NTERS
Average Of Four Pounds to Tree BY
Barre Man and Six For Another
vermonter.

Except in the more inaccessible see
tioHs, the farmers are now gathering in
their buckets after one Of the most snc-
eessful maple sugar seasons ever known
in Vermont. 1t has lasted for a month,
and for two periods during that time
there were extremely good runs of sap.
The average output of sugar is two and
a half pounds to tree, and this mark is
far exceeded this year, the average be.
ing nearer three and half pounds.
Better than this even is the record Of
II. G. Little, perhaps the heaviest maple
sugar maker in this vicinity. Mr.. Lit
tie has produced very nearly two tons
Of the sweet, or 10 be exact, 1900 pounds
from 1000 trees. This breaks All re.
cords for his suagr camp. This WAS in
a large measure possible because Of
larger and more improved equipment
added this year, which enabled him to
save every drop Of sap. The average
price Of his product WAS 1875 per can
of syrup and l5seents a pound for sugar.
Mr. Little hnd market In the west, but
almost all he could make was snapped
.up in the local market, either here or in
the town Of Barre
Throughout the state there has been
more sugar made on the average than for
- decade at least 1t is estimated that
the product sold for s3,000,0OO.
The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-04-23
DIELINGHAM CHAIRMAN.
Win Lead The Investigation Of THE I'M
migration Problem.

Washington, April 23. The commits
sion appointed ID pursuance of the ac-
tion of the last session Of Congress to
investigate conditions III connection with
the subject Of immigration met yester-
day and organized 81 electing Senator
Dillingham; (vermont) chairman. The
committee probably win be in session
here two or three days arranging pro-
gramme. 1t is expected a preliminary
investigation of the ports of New York
and Boston will be made and that after
ward either the full committee or a
Subcommittee will go abroad for the
purpose of extending the inquiry in
European countries from which most OF
the immigrants come.
IT was voted that each Of the nine
commissioners should have a steno-
gfapher Morton Z. Crane, formerly Of
Massachusetts, was chosen secretary
and disbursing officer, w. w. Husband,
clerk to Senator Dillinghain's immigra-
ton committee, and 9. s. Atkinson,
clerk to Representative Howellis inn
migration committee, were named as
assistahts secretaries at $4,000 each.
Senator Dillingham; viii be chairman Of
tho committee