El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-03

roundhouse when the engines start out
are worth notice There are 100 and
more engines at Pedro Miguel, all of
! which leave at 6-30 a m Every engi-
neer is ready before that time and
when the whistle blows the conductors
and brakemen are all in their places
we have a record Of dispatching 100
engines from that yard within five
minutes, and the usual time required
/ is only seven minutes. Some of these
engines go to 8Iiraflores. some to the
Culebra cut, and others to other
AT the same time other engines are
/ sent out from other yards and the
; whole system moves like one fine ma
chine. In order to keep the engines
! in shane they are gone over every
! night as soon as they come in from
| the work and are cleaned up and re-
| paired before morning. Those which
( need il are sent to the repair shops,
| where the work is done chiefly by
electric light, all the defects being
1 remedied between 7 p. m and a. m
In addition to the regular trains
| there are wrecking trains, which keep
| up steam night and day. There are
/ hospital cars, which are especially fit
/ ted with mattresses and berths for
carrying the sick or those who meet
| with accidents, and there are coaling
| trains, which go through the canal
when the work is not in progress and
| load the steam shOvels and supply the
\ blacksmith shops and other places
| where coal is needed.
The handling of the trains. and the
| managing of the switches is a great
work. The trains are moved by flags
and signals. a green flag meaning
southbound and a yellow one north
/ bound The semaphore is also en-
ployed, and when the steam shovels
are working in the cut a negro stands
yardmaster signals. Indeed. the sys-
TEN is such that accidents are com
paratively few.
On an Oil Burning Locomotive.
The machinery and equipment Of
these railroads are Of the most mod
ern description. The engines used in
hauling out the earth and rock are
the largest of their kind, and those
Of the Panama railway proper are
modern and firstclass in every partic-
ular. As we came across the isthmus
on the road we were surprised to see
that there was no dust nor cindeTs
and very little smoke, and when we
asked why we were told that the en-
gines were oil burning. During my
stay here I have taken a ride on one
Of these oil locomotives, and after
riding on it from Ancon TO Culebra
my face was as clean as when I left
Panama
My engine was No. SIS. constructed
by one Of our American locomotive
companies, and its only fuel was crude
petroleum The trip was arranged for
me by A. K. Stone, the master of
transportation of the Panama railroad
and brother OF Warren 5 stone. the
grand chief Of the international Broth
erhood Of Locomotive Engineers. I
was accompanied by James A. Craig,
the senior travelling engineer Of the
commission, and the man who--ran the !
locomotive was Peg Corners one of
the old standbys here and we'll known
in the States. Peg" told me that his
engine weighed $4,000 pounds and
that It was carrying 200 pounds OF
steam pressure.
The only fuel was crude oil Just /
back Of the engine was an oil tank Of
$500 gallons, and this held sufficient !
for run Of 500 miles. The oil was
let into the engine through pipes. and ,
the fireman could increase or lower {
the temperature by turning a valve.
I looked into the furnace. a mighty /
flame filled the firebox and I was /
told that the heat within was 1900 de- /
grees above zero It made me feel as 1
if there was only a sheet of brown I
paper between me and Hades- I then /
looked out of the window at the I
smokestack. There was practically &
nothing rising into the air, but mo- (
ment later, when the fireman threw q
shoveliull of sand into the furnace, a Q
great black cloud burst forth, and the /
SCOT flew out by the bushel. It is this /,
way that the smoke pipe is cleaned,
the tremendous draft caused by the j
flame carrying the sand through and !
cutting the SCOT.
AS I rode I could see the economy of 4
using the oil When we went down (,
grade the oil was shut off and gravity .
did the work The flow was also re- +
duced al, the stations. and fuel was /
only needed when the engine required I
it. Such an engine costs about $4,000. {
1t has what is known as the z. T.
track equipment. The one on which I +
rode was built like a watch. and it (
ran as smoothly.
The Railroad Men OF the Isthmus.
Mr. Smith. the general superintend- /
ent of the Panama railway, tells me /
that Uncle sam has down here at /
Panama the cream of the railroad en-
g1neerS and conductors of the United {
States. We pay the highest salaries
that are paid TO railroad men any I
where in the world and our men have
the best treatment We now have I
altogether 413 locomotive engineers on J
the isthmus, and $50 of these are re- 4
ceiving more than S2.500 year. We ]
have other engineers. who are not
qualified to run on the main line of 4
the Panama road. who are receiving
$3.50 a month.
The wages of our conductors range 4
from $3.50 to S215 per month. and both I
engineers and conductors. like all the 4
gold employees of the isthmus, have /
43 days vacation with pay. They have 4
also a sick leave for 80 days, making j
a total of y days in the year that a
man may be out of his work and still
receive pay.
As a result Of these. advantages.
making the pay 40 or so percent more
than that in the States. the railroad
company has no trouble in getting the
best men. It has a long waiting list,
and every railroad man who has come
here and gone away wants to get
back At first such appointments
were largely political. but the misfits
nave been DISCHARGED and weeded out,
until the service is now the most eff I
Client to be found anywhere.
am told that many OF these rail-
road men are saving money. They can I
lay away more out OF their salaries Z
than they could earn in the states,
and, owing to the low prices Of the
commissary, they can live more cheap I
~ here than at home. The most of such (
men are fine looking physically and
I am told they are morally clean.
Frank G. Carpenter.