The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-08-23
$500 LOCOMOTIVES;
10000 FREIGHT CARS
American Railway Commission in Russia
Recommends These Be Furnished
As Soon As Possible.

As Soon As Possible.
Moscow, Aug. 23,-tCorespondencc o
the Associated Press. John Y. Stevens
and his associates on the American rail
way commission now visiting Russia fol
the purpose of assisting the admnistra
tion of the Russian railways in increas
ing their efficiency have discovered many
ways in which transportation may be
speeded up ON all Russian lines without
additional equipment.
The commission has advised the Unit
with $500 more locomotives and 10000
more freight cars as soon as possible
However, ii will be considerable time
before this rolling stock can be manu-
featured and shipped to Russia. The
shortage of bottoms on the Atlantic and
the Pacific will delay the delivery of the
new rolling stock and additional shops
must be erected at Vladivostok before
such great quantities of locomotives and
cars can be put together speedily.
| Meantime Russia must make the most
of its available rolling stock and locomo-
tive power and the American engineers
are busily engaged assisting the Russian
railway officials in study of the i'm
mediate problems.
The Russian roadbeds are in excellent
condition. Virtually all the lines were
well built originally and the tracks have
been kept up, chiefly through the work
of peasant women, in spite of the short.
age of labor created by the heavy draft
the war has made upon the male popula-
tion.
After travelling the full length of the
Trans Siberian line and inspecting many
of the important lines in central and
southern European Russia, the American
way men are working at great disad
vantage in not having up-to-date equip
ment for coaling, watering and cleaning
locomotives.
At nearly all stations in both Europe
an and Asiatic Russia, engines are wat
cred by means of eight-inch pipes. From
twelve TO twenty minutes is required for
the work which is accomplished in the
United States in four or five minutes. |
By the installation of twelve-i inch pipes I
this delay can be eliminated
BY the Russian methods twenty four /
hours is required to clean locomotive
coal ii and get up steam again. Coal /
chutes are lacking and the fuel is trans
ferred from piles to the tender by means
of steam shovels Work that could
be done in five minutes with modern
coaling apparatus requires much time.
Then the Russian engine houses lack the
hot water equipment necessary for the
washing out of boiler engines as soon as
the locomotive comes off its run. Engines
are allowed to cool before they are
washed. Then the boilers are washed
with cold water. Steam must then be
raised in a stone cold boiler before the
locomotive is ready to go ON its run.
With modern coaling apparatus and faeil-
ties for supplying abundant hot water
20 cleanse boilers, the American railways
,oal and clean an engine in four hours,
i saving of twenty hours over the Rus .
'ian system. {
Oil is used as fuel for locomotives in 9
southern Russia but, in Siberia and
lorthern European Russia, coal and wood 4
ire the fuel. The facilities for loading b
wood are also bad and plans are under r
way for improvements in the system. G
Water is supplied to passenger cars by ,
means of buckets at most railway sta. '
ions. Few stations have the hose neces- p
airy for water cars in hurry These $
ave not been required because engines il
ook water so slowly and labor was so Il
bundant that it was possible to supply y
he cars with water by hand while the |
was being cared for
But now even the labor of women /
lust be economical as much as possible |
lace men. They are the baggage hand
RS at most stations and are even fir
* locomotives. Wages necessarily have W
sen with the increased cost of living y"
nd every possible labor-ssving device q
ust be used.
Because of the lack of skilled labor, ne
lie inadequscy of repair shops and the Y
arcity of metals and other supplies 70
any locomotives on the Russian rail w
avs are out of repair. The American 81
ilway engineers have advised an i'm ba
ediate extension of repair shops and
e employment of foreign mechanics, if
cessary, to restore these locomotives
service Immediately
Pig iron is among the needs of Rus
/ which officials have reported to the RI
nerican experts. Worn rails and 9TH
iron and steel have been used very II
odigslly by the railways in construc-
IN work. AT nearly every railway sta
IN in Russia tons of old steel rails are
use as hand-rsilings. They are
ed at railway crossings for fences and
; found in many other places on rail
" property where wood would serve as
II. In the larger cities hundreds of
is of old steel and iron could be col
ted by the government from railway
,perty on short notice. This material
uld meet the urgent demand for iron
hout placing further burden upon
reloaded ships. and it is not unlikely
It the government will avail itself
this metal.
Russia is also in need of far more coal
N its mines are producing. The