White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1919-05-18

March 10, 1919
Dear Dad.
viii drop you a few lines thi:
morning which will let you know thai
| am still alive and we'll, and sincere
ly hope you are better by this time as
I am sure you have been very sick
since ! left.
Well, have put in an application
for immediate discharge from the
army and return to the United States
as soon as possible. But this military
system seems to be very slow to me
as acting on anything in that line: 1t
has TO go through so many different
channels and they take nobody's word
for anything-it has all got to be
proven on paper. | am al
most sure ! will make it o. X, as l
have had a recommend from the cap
tain | am under.
They transferred our company out
OF the engineers to the railroad trans
portation corps. If they had not done
this We would probably have been
home and mustered out of the army
by this time as the fighting was Just
about done when We arrived. We
were on our way to the front when
the armistiee was signed and | was
not a bit sorry as 1t was sure hell
over here. believe me. No one can
imagine what 1t was unless here in
some branch of the service. AS for
myself, ! think ] understand what
it was and take it from me J am not
in favor Of another one.
We are stationed at a little town
called st. Sulpice, about 10 miles
from Bordeaux, a seaport town. This
is one of the largest railroad yards in
France and the main base for the
American army supplies. There are
several big warehouses in this yard.
They are about 200 feet wide and IL
they were all put together ~lengthwise
they would be twenty-seYen miles
long. so you can imagine what they
handle here at this point.
We have a Dukes mixture of en-
gines-Belgian engines of all kinds,
German engines. French engines and
American engines. The American en-
gines are made by the Baldwin loco
motive works and are of the consoli-
dated type, the same as the engines
on the Nevada Northern, but have
piston valves and Walscheart valve
gear. They are good engines and sure
show the Germans. French and Bel
CLANS that they are in the dark as
far as modern railroad equipment Is
concerned. l will state further that
the United States has got 1t on them
about four hundred years on mos,
anything you could point ont.
The Belgian and French engines
are crude looking: boilers and flues
are all copper. but the boilers are very
good and give no trouble as to leak.
ing. There is not a globe valve used
on any Of their engines-all stop.
cocks such as we use In the States or
air reservoirs and train line connec
tons. Their engines reverse with q
screw with about two threads TO the
inch and they are sure some engines
to reverse. especially when used for
switching purposes. The main rods
cylinders, guides and valves are OF
the inside of the frame. The side
rods are on the outside and are con
nected up on a crank. The axles are
extended through the wheels about
IL inches and the cranks are pressed
and keyed To the axles. Some OF the
engines are throttled from the lefI
side-that is the French. The Ger.
man engines from the right. With the
Belgian engines some are throttled
from the left and some from the
right side. The throttles are a very
queer layout and very awkward. The
throttle stem comes through the boil
or head and has a half-circle rod or
1t. Lifting 1t upward gives the en-
CINE steam to move and pushing down
closes the throttle valve which is 10