Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1907-08-02
All-Steel Coaches.


that President Hartman has ordered |
the immediate completion of one hun
dred coaches for overland service on
The Union Pacific. Southern Pacific and
Oregon Short Line, says the Salt Lake
Tribune. This order includes several
alisteei postal cars, the first one of
which has just been turned ont at the
Sacramento shops from designs by the
Southern Pacific's own motive power
engineers. There is not strap of wood
any where in The car--from wheel to
roof 1t is vi steel.
Besides cutting down the danger of
telescOpIng and r sducing the dett rioria-
tion TO u minimum, the value of the all
steel postal car, Tile railroad officials
say, is that il protects the entire train
FROM the fire danger by interposing an
unburnable barrier between the loco
moLlye and the coaches. The addition
al safety TO postal employees and the
contents of the car Is another Important
advantage.
In the new Southern Pacific postal
car, the main feature OF the lower
framing are Two massive rwelveinch
- beams that weigh 3lA pounds Ser
foot. 1t Is mainly due to these beams
that the steel car can withstand over
2OO per cent more shock than the orai-
nary car with wooden siils. Monolith
laid over two courses of corrugated
steel form the floor.
Inside, the car is lined with asbestos
while the ceiling, like the outside and
Inc roof Is of steel plates. In every
direction the car is strongly braced. To
take MP heavy shocks on the end frame,
steel plate twenty iuches wide is riv-
et, d &C. oss the top framing. The whole
car Is 30 completely bound together
that the most severe shock might pos
sibly buckle the framing but could not
telescope the car.
Electric and steam heating, auto
matically regulated. add further 70 the
frsproof qualities of che car All the
fittings, racks and apparatus used in
handling the mails are of steel or brass.
Tue weight of steel car of the same
will not exceed the latter by mnre than
10 per cent, and the cost by more than
~ per cent But engineers ay the
roads 20 too far IN their anxiety to get
cars that shall not only not splinter OF
burn, but that shall not be destroyed
in collision, for they mistakenly fur.
nish specifications which greatly in
crease both cost and weight. "A moy.
ing body when brought to rest, they
explain, lis destroyed by force which
equals the weight OF said body. multi
piled by the velocity at which it ii
travelling. Increased weight product
increased momentum, and destroys ths
body in like proportion"
The performance of these cars, un
der the severest possible conditions, il
shown in the fact that in one of tn,
NUNS rous railroad accidents, one O
them hung over a bridge for half it
length, was pulled back onto the 81 ack
and went on its way with its passenger
rejoicing at their escape from situa
ton that might have cost many of then
their lives or serious injury. had it beel
constructed of wood, for in that cas-
it certainly would have broken in tive
With the successful completion of al
steel passenger and postal cars. tn
Hartman lines have turned their q,
tention to experimenting with all stet
box cars, which is but another step Il
wards the approaching era of steel rol
ing stock of all kinds. It leaves to b
produced only the all steel dining cal
which calls for no new structural fes
lures such as are embodied in othe
types
With greater cubic capacity, the al
steel box car weighs only 81, 200 pounds
or two tons less than a standard woot
en- car Besides the element of create
safety and protection to goods in trar
sit, the steel car has the advantage
requiring less repair than the woode
car, will be out of service less frequen
~ and will therefore give more as we
better service TO the carriers and to til
shippers.
The only difference in Dimensions b
tween the steel and wooden box car
that the steel car il four and one ha
inches wider and two inches lower. I'll
length forty feet. is the same, but IL
steel car has greater capacity by fiji
feet.
Endorsed by the COUNTY