Evening journal., 1907-06-20
NO SMOKE AND
GREATER SPEED
The Use Of BTiquettGS as
Fuel for LEGO.
motives
GRATIFYING TESTS MADi

WASHINGTON. June 2O.-smoke-
less locomotives for the new Union
Station are one of the things practi-
cally promised by the Geological Sur
vey by the time the station gets into
working order The fuel testing de-
partment of the survey has been work.
ing on the problem along with other
lines OF fuel work, and il is believed
that coal briquettes viii turn the trick.
Many factories and powcr-hOuses IN
the big cities have willingly or other
wise installed smoke consumers. but
the railroads, which are responsible for
so much Of the smoke nuisance in city
life, have been heretofore beyond the
reach Of this improvement.
Recently, however, the locomotives
on the stretch from the Long Bridge
TO the Pennsylvania station have been
trying briquettes and coke and other
forms Of smokeless fuel with great
success. and the air in that neighbor-
hood is as clear whom briquettes are
under the boilers as though there were
no railroad tracks in the neighborhood.
These tests are to be continued I'm
corporation with the government fuel
testing plant at Norfolk, Va, and vari-
GUS railroads and If the results verify
what has been done before, this big
move forward win be hailed with great
acclaim by those pioneers in the cru
sade for purer air
Recent tests indicate that a fuel
made from slack coal pressed into
briqu, = s not only burns almost With
out smoke. but also evanorates more
steam and produces more power under
the same boilers than does the same
amount of coal. These brinuettes arc
made by taking the waste or slack Goa
from mines and mixing it with sum
cient tar so that the coal viii hold to-
eether. the whole being pressed int
lblocks or cakes by machinery.
The Missouri Pacific railroad, m
Rock Island, the Illinois Central IN
burlington ami other railroads haV'
been testing these hriquettes for some
time with excellent results. In wv
tests out Of St. Louis, the Missour
Pacific officials reported that pri
ouettes are a satisfactory fuel Tor -
? cor,otives in the service Of this roao
Tho mechanical engineer OF this roa'
under whose supervision these tes-
,,,are made expressed the opiaioh ina
the advanta gos gained In burning pll
o,,ottes were more than sufhcient |
cover the cost ~ their manufacture.
while this official would Ike u Sc
thesA briquettes used throughous ~
svstlm for fuel, it would be lndoun'
edly lgratifying to The dwellers IN 'iu'
n tbL railroads would carry srfiiclen
~ these bricuettes to use ONLY wne
tbe locomotives approached the cilie
T. is llso suggested tha. .he hriquet's
he NJ on fast passenger trains whei
hf,b lsneed Is necessary in expires
se~,,ico and in any difficult work. sue
ciiAnbing hills. where the grea'e'
emcie1cv is demanded from coal.
Tbe successful development - IN
ooai-blouetting industry Of the uni,e
ststes Nepends upon a number nf cor
ditions that are expected to worK o'
: Wen in future tests. The conalu'
75 which has more than any other pro
vented the development Of such an II
90 dnstrv IS the low price Of bitununo'
20 coal. and especially the small dlite'
&c ence between the price of the lum
/. coal and that Of the slack or nne Goa