The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-06-13
Ellie TITLE NEW FAC TOR
I'M MINE TON

Eone day comes To- ont so cants. sTlie
|expense % feeding has gone IN ssj
per cent. IN the last dFe years. The
statistics 81 several an hracite mines;
chow that q mule onsumes III a day
1861 ponds Of hay; and ss.s7s pounds
Tor corn and oats. This Is one or tina
costs that ntinues during the snss
pension OF work as 5at other tines
for the mule must eat whether the
coal Is being mined OF not. ;ss
Compressed Air For II aulinn. 81
81 When at became ad visable to. Sub.
stitute mechanical power for mules,
compressed air locomotives were
adopted because they were secure
against fire or explosion OF gas: Fur
thermore. they were low and cou1l'
get through ganEways which were not
| high enough even for smules Compar.
lattvely simple in their working. they
did not require much training tns bpe.
rating them.
But the cost OF operation is very
large. Along the course over which
the locomotives travels are charging
stations. at any one OF which the
tanks that form part ci tho lloeono.
tive may BIO a lied. The air Is com.
pressed, frst. TO 800 OF 800 pound per
SQUARE in ch7-o maybe less land lis
transferred from the pipes to the 10:
comotlye at, say 125 pounds. The
waste, In manufa curing unused pow
err. is enormous. "a
he distance which an air locomo.
tive can travel Without i replenishing
depends upon the capacity OF the
tanks. "A mile and half Is a long
Journey for a single charge. Smaller.
locomotives can not go more than half
a3mile. The compressor in the power
house above ground has to be going
allthe time. The tanks have a capac.
ity Of from forty to more than two
hundred cubic feet. all according to
the type OF Locomotive. The LOGON s.
tive may weigh ten or twelve thou-
sand pounds. it may wei gil, fifty thou
sand. One may be able to haul d
hundred tons up three per cent!
grade, another Twenty-Five tons.
The mana gers of anthracite mining
companies found. after. thorrug h$ trials!
that air locomotives were less eco.
nomfcal8than those run by electricity.
But that does not mean that compress.
ell air is to be Abandoned, because
theer are certain conditions which de-
mnnd It. II Is in very gaseous mines.
principally, that compressed air8is SUI;
perior to other forms of power. It Is
absolutely safe SO far as fire is con.
cerned. Some have said that cleo
tricfty can be used with absolute safe.
ty, TOP. but that is not 4 universally
agreed. Hence the air locomotive Will
always find s place in some 5ofS the,
mines where gas Is apt to be thick.
There is one mine In the 4anthracita
region. for example. in 4 which COM
pressed air does all the hauling. The
two locomotives are supplemented by,
one mule. which does some odds AMI
ends of work near the bottom OF tho
shaft. On the other hand one OF the
important mining companies has not
a single air locomotive, employing
electricity exclusively for Its mechani-
cal hauling. II 5l
Electric Locomotives.
The first electric mine locomotive
was built In 1887. AT, that time it
was startling Innovation. and gen
eral doubt as to Its usefulness was ex-
pressed. In appearance 1t was very;
unlike the one of today. Among 9TH.
er things. Its. height was too great: for,
the low gansways found in many.
mines. It looks as clumsy compared
to Its modern successor as the mod Ell
OF the! first railway locomotive beside
the gigantic machines turned out
from the shop In the year 1907. W az \
Some OF these early creations how
ever, have lasted straight. through the
period of Improvement and are still
Incorporation. One such was built In
1889. At the time fof the Pan-A meri-
can Exposition. in Buffalo, the on
Gals whose duty 1t was to gather ex-
hibits for the Electrical Building de-
ci!ed to obtain this locomotive. They
wrote to the manager Of the mine
4 n SO ke 4 6ns&NfnuIn