Evening journal., 1911-08-30
TESTS SAVE
PENNSY MUCH
Company Laboratories Prove
That Prevention is Far
Better Than Cure
EXAMINES MATERIALS
In ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Nhlie Wlue puOHClty Is OcinE given
to statistics showing, or purporting TO
show, how the railroads waste mil
lions every year through unscientifc
methods, some railroads are en-
deavoring to show what they are do
ing to promote economy.
The Pennsylvania Railroad has de-
partments for the sole purpose Of in
suring it against loss through the use
OF poor materials These departments
do not bring in a dollar OF direct rev
enue. but every year they save the
Company hundreds of thousands of
dollars above the cost of their main
tenance. over two hundred men are
employed in these departments, and
among them are some Of the most
Ekillful engineers and chemists In the
country. The departments are known
as the Test Department and the
Chemical Laboratory. The first Is in
charge OF the Engineer of Tests and
the second is operated under the dir
ection OF the Chemist Of the Pennsyl-
Vania Railroad. Both are situated at
Altoona, Pa.
AS an instance OF the saving pos
Ribilities Of this department, "A short
time ago the engineers in charge OF
the locomotive testing plant noticed
that certain coal was not producing
the right amount Of steam per pound
Upon investigation It was found that
the coal was coming from an outcrop.
a vein lying outside the ground where
IL was damaged by exposure TO the
weather. Shipments from this
source we're Immediately stopped
when the attention of the company
furnishing the coal was directed to
tho matter. On the road It would
probably not have been noticed and
tits estimated that the discovery saved
enough TO pay months expense of
operating the Testing Plant
Some Unique Tests.
Some unique tests recently con-
Quoted were those made In an effort
10 find a fire proof headlining for
passenger cars. The headlining Is the
thin layer of material with which /
the ceiling is finished. A steel coach /
was filled with boards and shavings |
saturated with oil. Two large cans |
of oil we're placed on scantlings run /
between the window-sills. When this |
was ignited there was little doubt /
that anything which withstood the |
ensuing blaze was fireproof.
The longest and heaviest train ever |
operated was run from Altoona to |
Enola, Pa. distance Of 1877 miles. |
under the direction of this department
The length of the train was 4.SSS feet,
more than nine-tenths of a mile--and
The engine was connected with the
cabooso by telephone It consisted
of 100 steel sondola cars loaded with
6450 tons of coal, and was pulled
.ak Ahe rate Of 13 miles an hour by
single locomotive of the type techni-
cally known as the "H-S-b." Includ-
Ing equipment the load was 1885,
000 pounds.
While IL was announced that II was
not the intention of the Pennsylvania
Railroad to operate such heavy
trains I'm regular service. the company
stated that the tests were made to
determine the capacity of its freight
locomotive over the improved lines
where grades have been removed and
curves compensated. They have been
made frequently, but the latest one
represents the heaviest movement
ever secured
Scientific management to nth power
As practiced by the Pennsylvania
Railroad in the purchase of supplies,
and by supplies is meant everything
from a rubber band TO steam loco
motives. Inspectors are stationed so
tory from which materials or equip
ment are bought Not only are the
finished products subjected TO a rigid
examination before they are accepted,
but the material which is bought by
outside concerns must pass the scru-
tiny of these inspectors II It
IS destined Tor equipment
ordered by the Pennsylvania.
Something Of the Importance Of the
work is indicated by the enormous
amounts inspected by these men each
year A few of the things they passed
on in 1910 are; 33.734.552 pounds Of
steel castings, Of which 32,573,173
pounds were accepted and 1,161,379
pounds were rejected: 211.s5 wheels,
OF which 208, 1874 we're accepted, and
2.519 were rejected: and 16,97S yards
OF plush. all of which were accepted.
These outside inspectors are under
the direction of three resident in
spectors with headquarters at AL
toona, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Some things, such as car couplers,
axles, etc, they test themselves at the
works where they are made Usually
however. specimens are sent to the
laboratories at Altoona, where they
are put through physical and chemi-
cal tests, the results of which arc
compared with the specifications.
Relies on Experts.
The company relies on its experts
TO protect It and will accept nothing
that does not come up to the speci
fications prepared by them. These
cover practically everything that II
used by a railroad. The wide range o
articles they embrace is shown by
glance down the list, from automatic
couplers, tin, and lumber for ties an'
telegraph poles, to caustic soda
Tuscan red, soap, passenger ca
thermometers. and sponges Ever.
year new specifications are added ant
the old ones are constantly being re
vised TO conform with more complet
knowledge OF more stringent re
quirements.
Since the plant was installed
1906. 1889 tests have been made. In
ventions are given a trial and me
are constantly at work perfecting tn
locomotive. At present an automati
stoker is being tried out OF cours
road tests are also conducted by th
department, and men trained in tn
plant are sent out along the lines a
inspectors to show how to profit b
what is learned.
The Pennsylvania Railroad begs
the testing of materials IA 1875 tn