Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-12-17
MONSTER OF THE RAIL
FUTURE LOCOMOTIVE WILL BE
A VERITABLE GIANT.
Engineers Have Been Called On to-
Deal With Problem, and Have
Achieved Results That Are
Momentous.

When the huge multipleX Mallet en-
CINE was put to work on the Erie rail
road, many thought that the limit of
locomotive dimensions had been
reached, but our engineers say No"
The output of the locomotive engine
must be increased. Labor unions give
us no rest, and the cost of wages and
material is constantly rising. Appar-
emily nothing will stop it, and the only
way to meet the situation is by han.
ding the traffic in larger and larger
units. By this means, and by this
only, can the enormous advance in the
price of labor and material be met
without a proportionate increase in
rates, both freight and passenger.
One of the greatest difficulties en-
countered by engineers who are called
upon to design powerful locomotives
arises from the fact that the track
gauge of our railways cannot be
changed Whether Stephenson's gauge
of four feet 81 inches is the best
gauge is open to question. Brunei
thought otherwise, and in 1886 he laid
the track of the celebrated Great
Western railway (England) to a gauge
of seven feet; but the obvious neces-
sity of uniform gauge for English
railroads gradually forced the CONVEX
sion of the Great Western railroad to
the standard gauge, although George
Stephenson himself admitted at the
time that five feet two inches would
have been better gauge than four
feet 81 inches. Other eminent engi-
neers gave their opinion that the
standard gauge was too narrow for
the proper development of the locomo-
tive, and that gauge of from five to
six feet would have been preferable
However that may be, the standard
gauge is here to stay; and not only
this, but the clearance limits of plat
forms, bridges and tunnels are rigid
and Interchangeable; therefore the only
way in which the dimensions of 10.
connective engine can be increased is
in the direction of it's length.
A bold solution of this problem has
been proposed by Mr.. George r. Hen
derson, consulting engineer of the
Baldwin locomotive works by whose
courtesy the leading particulars of
this remarkable design are here pub
lished.
BY referring to the accompanying
Illustration, giving a general outline
Of the engine (some details being not
yet fully worked OUT, it will be seen
that the dimensions of this future loco
motive are beyond anything hitherto
placed on wheels. 1t will be remem-
bered that the largest and most pow
erful locomotive in the world is the
Erie engine already referred to. To
compare this engine with the pro-
posed locomotive now under consider
alton we will repeat some of the di-
mansions. The Erie engine with its
steam tender weighs $4,000 pounds.
The total wheel base measures 80
feet, and the tractive effort is 10000
pounds.
Like the Erie locomotive. design in.
cludes a pair of cylinders placed un,
der the tender, but with the addition
of a third pair under the locomotive
proper, thus making a total of four
sets of engines, each set driving a
group of eight coupled wheels, all of
which are 60 inches in diameter. This
locomotive will be known as the
"Quadruplex," or 2-S-8-8.8-2 type
From the Scientific American.