The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-11
| ELECTRIC ROAD
|ETURNS TO STEAM
nous Railroad in Water
,wer Switzerland Goes Back
to the Locomotive.
HAL RESULTS SHOW
ENGINES ARE CHEAPER
ite Coal Costs More Than
ack Diamonds, Even Among
Alpine Waterfalls.

\, Alpine Waterfalls.
will come as something OF jar
! onlv TO railroad men and electrical
ueers. but also to the general pub
. hat the Seebach-WettiDgen line OF
Swiss government railroads has Civ
10 the use of electricity and gone
10 the coal and steam locomotive.
main reason given is that the loco
!, We is less expensive even IN coun-
like Switzerland where there are
|v curves, long tunnels, heavy
| les, and where coal is high, but
,rpowcr is cheap, the little repub-
being perhaps the most mountain
country in the world.
coal and steam IN locomotive is
per than electricity in q country
Switzerland, with all its water
the use of the chained lightning
he prairie roads of the United
es and Canada countries, where coal
III so cheap that tens of thousands
cres of coal land still await devel-
ent, is likely TO be postponed for
Y years.
ie Hill lines and the Canadian Pa
Iare using today, and preparing TO
till more, electricity on their noun
divisions, especially in the tunnel
ms, and the outcome of their eX-
nent, compared with that of the
Ia government on its roads under
tconditions, Will be watched with
. interest by those financially and
rwise interested in "white coal, y
cially In the mountain west.
Experiment. Covers Wide Field.
is we'll known that stationary
he is less expensive in coal consump-
fper horsepower than is a locomo-
Now, if coal is cheaper than cleo
ty in locomotives the fact seems to
I'D the field of the Swiss expert.
Is over a far wider field than the
pads.
lilroads running into cities, or oper.
B anywhere, like IN timber, where
is danger of fire, street railways
suburban lines will no doubt use
ficity, even if it should prove to
more costly than the locomotive,
use of the smoke nuisance and other
1ions reasons, but the experiments
be Swiss government on its Alpine
pads would seem to indie ate that
locomotive still has long time to
wasteful in fuel and power as
'cording to the official report of
w. F. NJ. Goss Of the chronological
ch Of the United States geological
ey in 4 bulletin, Utilization of
in Locomotive Practice - one-ffth
ne coal mined in this country is
umed by the railroads IN their en-
The Wasteful Locomotive.
! giving his conclusions as the re.
Of the tests, Prof. Goss says;
ere were in 1906, on the railroads
{Ie United States. 81, 900 locomotives.
estimated that these locomotives
}mcd during the year not less than
LOCO tons OF fuel at cost OF Sl70,-
nt wastes occur In the use OF fuel
\ romotive practice is a matter well
rsfood by all who have given serious
4 nave been made show some chan
through which these wastes occur
ese results are perhaps more favor
10 economy than those attained by
average locomotive OF the country,
ie coal used in the tests was of SUI
quality, the type of locomotive
pyed was better than the average,
NE Standards observed IL the MAIN
ice OF the locomotive were more eX-
: the effect on boiler performance
ng from these differences is not
and. so far as they apply. the
ts may be accepted as fairly repre-
i've oil the general locomotive prac-
pf The country.
ey apply, however, only when the
lotive lis running under constant con-
rs OF operation. They do not in
the Incidental expenditures of fuel
arc involved In the starting Of
IN The switching OF engines, and In
phlntenance OF steam pressure while
ocomotlye is standing. nor do they
ue a measure OF the heat losses oc-
ned by the discharge OF steam
lgh the safety valve,
Details Of Government Test.
nmary OF results obtained from fuel
eu In locomotives:
,sumed in starting fires. in moving
locomotive to Its train. in backing
into or out of sIdings. In making
ssiety valve and leakage losses, and
heping the locomotive hot while
ing (estimated). 5000. 900 tons,
hzen, that Is. represented by heat