The New York herald., 1922-08-20
ROLLER BEARING RY.
CARS IMPRACTICAL
Engineers Here Say Sir Henry
Thornton's Device Dis
carded One.
COST TOO PR0HIBITIvE
Even if Feasible as Fuel Saver
Equipment Would Total
S5OO,OOO,OO

Mild cynicism and a somewhat
skeptical attitude was evinced by me-
chanical engineers and experts in rail-
road equipment AMI operation who com.
mented yesterday uron published reports
that Sir Henry Thornton, general man.
ager of the Great Eastern Railways of
England. had. achieved at last the sue
cessful construction OF roller bearings
for railway trains. .ss
Sir Henry before he went to England
and was knighted was the superintend-
ent of the Long Is'and Railroad. In a
copyrighted cable dispatch to the Phila-
delphia Public Ledger he Is reported 10
have proved by tests that a twenty
seven ton coach which without bearings
took seven men to push could be pushed
easily by one man when equipped with
roller bearings" The report added that
Saving in fuel consumption due to this
fact is expected to be in the neighbor-
hood of 80 per cent"
Howard Ingersell assistant to tie
president of the New York Central
Lines. recognized expert OF high
standing in railway mechanics AMI
operation, said roller and ball bearing
devices for application to steam railway
rolling stock hal been protected IN
America for years by patent rights.
-Four years ago he said, Il tried out
this device on the Central Railroad u
Mexico. but never have recommended
it's general adoption. Railway men are
familiar with it, but thus far its practi-
cability as applied to American trans
portation conditions, has not appealed
seriously to anybody. The proof OF the
pudding Is in the eating thereof
assuming the cable report to be quite
accurate" Mr. Ingersoll continued, "ths
roller bearing device costs 5000 for each
car on which 1t Is installed. To equip
with it all the freight cars in the United
States would cost $500.000,000 at the
least calculation. and that looks pro-
hibitory. If twenty-seven ton coach
was pushed easily by one man / must
assume that the coach was on level
track and also that its inertia had been
overcome before the man began to push.
American freight cars laden to capacity
frequently weigh fifty tons. They are
more like travelling warehouses than
coaches Hook long train of them to-
gether. start them up even light ] or
per cent. grade and you face conditions
very different, fancy, from those under
which Sir Henry's test was made
Mr.. Ingersoll secuted the suggestion
that roller bearings, at least in American
railroad conditions, could effect a gen.
cral saving in, fuel consumption of 30
per cent. He pointed out that fuel con-
sumption, furthermore. is determined not
alone by axle friction but also by track
friction, wind resistance, gradient and
many other factors.
III. N. Latey, chief engineer of the
Bureau of Equipment and Operation Of
the State Transit Commission. read the
dispatch and said: For thirty years
< have been hearing just such claims.
Since 1896, at least. engineers have been
experimenting with both roller and ball
bearings as applied to rail borne rolling
stock. But as yet these devices are not
used to any material extent except in
some cases upon light weight surface
car equipment. such as some of the So
called one man trolley cars now being
operated in this city and elsewhere"
Mr.. Latey added that without know
Ing either the precise character of Sir
Henry's perfected device or the exact
conditions under which his practical
tests were made he did not care to COM
ment further. He was frankly skeptical.
however. concerning the possibility of
so per cent fuel economy.