The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1915-04-30
UJfvU fTTrOGa.i s1G ~ 9S
Electric Locomotives of Unique De-
sign, With a Cog Rail System, Are
Used For Towing Purposes-Safe-
guarding the Lock Walls and Gates.

guarding the Lock Walls and Gates.
Forty electric locomotives of unique
design are used to tow shipping
through the huge locks of the Panama
canal. When the canal was being
planned 1t was apparent that the vari.
Gus winch and capstan systems in
vogue for towing ships through exist
ing canals and locks would not do at
all for Panama. After thorough
study Of the entire problem of maneu-
yertng ships through the locks at Pan
anna it was evident that they could not
safely proceed through the locks under
their own power and that a substitute
for the ships power should embrace
the following requirements;
Ability to place the ship in proper re.
lation to the locls
Capability for keeping the ship In its
course
Accelerating and retarding the ship
without rupturing the lines
The lines when once attached should
be used without change for lockage In
flight
In passing through the canal from
the Atlantic TO the Pacific vessel en-
ters the approach channel in Limon
bay, which extends to Gatun, dis.
tance OF about seven miles At Gatun
1t enters a series of three locks iD
flight and is raised eighty five feet to
the level of Gatun lake 1t then
steams at full speed through the great.
er part OF the channel iii this lake for
q distance of twenty-four miles to Bas
Obispo, where it enters the Cuebra
cut. 1t passes through this cut, which
has a length of nine miles, and reach.
es Pedro Miguel. where it enters
lock and is lowered thirty feet. Then
it passes through Miradores lake for
q distance of one and half miles
until it reaches Miradores, where it is
lowered fifty-fve feet through two
locks to the sea level, after which il
passes out into the Pacific through an
eight and one-half mile channel
The main features of all the lock
sites are identical, and the following
brief description of the Gatun locks,
with special reference to the arrange
ment of the towing tracks, ship chan.
nels, inclines and approaches, gives a
clearer conception of the towing
scheme in general.
There are two channels at Catun,
one for traffic in each direction. The
channels are separated by a center
wall, the total length Of which is 6.3330
feet There are two systems Of tracks,
one for towing and the other for the
return of the electric locomotives when
returning idle This however, refers
only to the outer walls. For the cen
ter wall there is only one return track
In common for both the towing tracks.
The towing tracks are naturally placed
next to the channel side. and the sys-
TEN of towing utilizes normally not
less than four locomotives running
along the lock walls Two of them are
opposite each other in advance of the
vessel, and two run opposite each 9th
er following the vessel. The number
of locomotives is, however, increased
when the tonnage of the ship de
mands it.
Cables extend from the forward To-
comotives and connect with the port
and stag5oard sides, respectively, of
the vessel near the bow, and other ca
bles connect the rear locomotives with
the port and starboard quarters of the
vessel. The lengths of the various ca
bles are adjusted by a special winding
drum on the locomotive to place the
vessel substantially in midchannel
When the leading locomotives are start
ed they tow the vessel, while the trail
ing locomotives follow and keep the ca
bles taut BY changing the lengths Of
the rear cables the vessel can be guild
ed, and to stop the vessel all the loco
motives are slowed down and stopped
thus bringing the rear locomotives in
action to retard the ship. Therefore
the vessel Is always under complete
control quite independent Of its own
power, which is not used, and the dan
ger of injury to the lock walls and
gates is consequently very greatly les
sened.
These towing tracks have specially
designed rack rail extending the entire
length of the track between the rails
1t is through this rack that the loco
motive exerts the traction necessary
for propelling large ships and climbing
the steep inclines. When the locomo-
tive reaches one Of the inclines between
the locks, the grade of which may be
as much as "A per cent, or when it is
towing ship, the cog rail system Is
utilized to enable the locomotive to
climb the grade and in the other case
to exert traction necessary for pulling
the ships. The cog or rack rail is laid
between the track rails and the loco
motive is provided with a cog wheel or
rack pinion to engage the rail.-Elec-
tric News.