The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-27
RAILROAD NEWS.
Many Advantages in Cylindrical
Locomotive Tenders.
Secret of Union Pacific Odd
Water Tanks Explained.
MUCH LESS FRICTION
Round Tanks Distribute Load
More Equally.
Other Items Of General Interest
i'm Railroad Circles.

There are possibly number of peo-
pie in Topeka who take a glance at
the round tin-can-shaped tenders OF
the passenger locomotives of the Union
Pacific as they pass through the city
every day and wonder why the tenders
of these engines differ so radically
from the tanks on the mammoth Rock
Island and Santa Fe locomotives which
ere SO commonly known.
These tenders are not made for an
ornament and they are not made to be
characteristic for the passenger pullers
of the Union Pacific but they are made
in this shape for practical and advan-
tageous purposes.
Two styles of tenders for carrying
water and fuel for the engines are used
by the railroads of the United States.
One is the box shaped tender which has
been in common use ever since the in
vention of the steam engine in this
country. These tenders are built up
straight on all sides from the truck
and look like a boxcar attached to the
engine. The other tender type in the Uni
ted States is the cylindrical tank, the
Invention of Cornelius Vanderbilt III.
This is the kind used by the Union
Pacific in their passenger work through
Topeka and on all the main lines of this
road in the country.
The Union Pacific is the only rail-
road in the west using the cylindrical
engine tender. This road mas become
SC friendly to the unusual style tank
that they are eqUipping all of their mo-
tive power equipment with the bullet
tenders.
The Many Advantages.
In the first place it prevents the i'm
pact of the water against the sides of
the tank Another advantage is that
the round tank can be set lower on
- r1o to- IL
making the center of gravity of its
weight nearer the ground. The bottom
of the cylindrical tank is only 80 inches
from the ground While the box tender
does not come within 80 inches from
the rail level. The round tanks also
are able to give a greater water capac-
ity than the square.
The one great advantage for which
the cylindrical tanks were made is the
reduction of the impact of the water
against the sides of the tank. Every |
railroad man knows the dangers of a |
box-like tank on a. swaying curve dur |
ing a fast run with a massive lOcOmO- |
tive. The four and five thousand gal |
Ions of water in these box tanks will !
wave back in forth inside the tank as
the engine hits the curve and as a re- |
suit many serious wrecks have been
Caused-the tender throwing itself from
the track and topping over into the
Glitch.
The cylindrical tank says the inven-
tor, will not do this. The round sur
face inside the tank makes it impossi-
BILE for this shift of water against the
sides Of the tender and thus the dan
gers of leaving the track are lessened.
Against this argument the friends of
the box tank declare that the water in
the cylindrical tenders splashes against
the curved sides and glides up the sur
lace around the dome. This gives the
tank tendency to roll over making a
great strain on the trucks.
Romantic Invention.
The story of the invention of this !
cylindrical engine tender is almost a
1 omance. Mr.. Vanderbilt. the inventor,
was displaced as the principal heir by |
his parents for marrying against the |
wishes of his father. This was in 1885, |
This in a way fostered the interest III
mechanical work because the sou went |
to work in the Burnside shops of the |
Illinois Central railroad. 1t was while |
at work in these shops that he con- |
oeived the idea of a cylindrical tank and |
he gradually worked out his theory an |
til he made a success of it and it was |
tried with great favor by the railroad |
for which he was working. He also tried |
80 other inventions as the result of his |
labor in the shops. Many of these are |
in use on the railroads of the country |
today. 1t was through the invention
OF this tank and many other useful |
railroad accessories that Cornelius III |
was reconciled to his father-and they |
lived happily ever afterward.
Meanwhile the romantic cylindrical |
tender is being pulled from one end to |
the other of the great Union Pacific |
:ystem and its practical use and ad- |
vantage will continue to be a puzzle to |
the average man.
KANSAS MAN MAKES GOOD.