New Britain Herald Newspaper, November 3, 1915, Page 10

The Evolution of the Locomotive From the Pygmies of the Past to the Giants of the Present—What Becomes of Old Locomotives and Rallwav Cars and Those That Have Outhved Their Usefulness? THE COMET OF THE HARTFORD AND NEW- HAVEN HEB progress of transportation in this country and its present high state of efficiency can be emphasized in no better way than by a comparison of the large and powerful steam and electric locomo- tives used by the New Haven today with some of their prototypes of some of the old New England railroads which now form part of the New Ha- ven's system in southern New Eng- land. Comparing these pygmies of the past with the giant locomotives of today brings to the mind at once the enor- mous strides made by rail transporta- tion in the last three-quarters of a cen- tury and presents one of the chief rea- sons for the country's growth in this . period. These locomotives, seen in tons, had cylinders 16 by 20 in<hes and four and one-half foot drivers. For many years it ran between Fitchburg and South Framingham. The Washington, Built by Griggs, 1854. An engine of a somewhat different type and of later design was the Wash- ington of the Boston and Providence. This engine was built in the Roxbury shops of the company by G. S. Griggs, the road’s master mechanic, who turn- ed out many famous engines. This lo- comotive was constructed in 1854 and for years made fast time over the line between Boston and Providence, now traveled by the New Haven’s big Pa- cifics and its limited trains. The Wash- ington weighed twenty-four and three- quarter tons, its cylinders were 15 by 20 and its driving wheels five feet in their successive types, are like steps in the ladder of national progress. Some Historic Railroads. Many types of locomotives have been seen on the New Haven’s lines, types representing every stage of the locomo- tive’s marvelous evolution, and this is because the New Haven is made up of more of the original railroads of this country than any other large system. The development of the locomotive is indissolubly linked with the history of these railroads. The Earliest Locomotives. Between the very early locomotives, such as that seen hauling a train on the old Hartford and New Haven in 1841, and the latest Pacific type en- gines used to haul the New Haven's fast passenger trains there is little re- semblance. Yet in these curious con- trivances, spouting smoke from their tall smokestacks and at first barely beating out the horse, 18 seen the germ of the idea now embodied in all its completeness of detail in the engines of today. It remained for mechanical genius to perfect this idea in order to make the transportation industry the great instrument of commerce and so- cial intercourse that it has now be- come. The Governor Bradford, 1844, Representing a considerable advance over the very early types of loco- motives is the Governor Bradford, which was once familiar to patrons of the Old Colony. Here the locomotive was actually beginning to take shape. Built by the old Boston firm of Hinck- ley & Drury in 1844, this engine weigh- ed fourteen and a half tons. Its cylin- ders ware 12 by 20 inches, and its sin- gle drivers had a diameter of five feet. In 1885 this old engine, rebuilt and modernized to some extent, was still deing duty as a switch engine in the Boston yards. The Uncle Tom, 1844. A contemporary of the Governor Bradford and of the same type was the Uncle Tom, used at one time on the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg, now merged In the New Haven sys- tem. Built some time in”the fortles, this curious engine for years hauled a local passenger train consisting of two cars between Fitchburg and Sterling, Mass. Like all early engines, it burned wood and for the purpose of letting off steam had a tall pipe close to the cab. But. the feature of this engine which ‘attracted attention through the countryside was the figure of the little darky, Uncle Tom, mounted in front and used as a flag holder. This en- gine had four foot drivers, The Leominster of the B, B. and F, Appearing orn!y flve years after the Governor Bradford and the product of the same builders, the Leominster, also of the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg, bears interesting testimony to the ra- pidity with which the evolution of the locomotive was proceeding in those years ‘and reveals the constant study the early designers were making of the problems of increasing the power, ' weight and speed of their creations. {Ehis locomotive welghed twenty-four diameter. Like many engines of this period, the Washington was what is known as “an inside connected engine,” its main rods being between the frames and working on a cranked axle joining the main driving wheels. This type is still fol- lowed by English engine builders. It was discarded years ago by American builders. In this type the cylinders are placed below the smoke box. The Roger Williams, 1848, Marking the transition stage from 1o- comotives of the Governor Bradford type and those of a later period was the Roger Williams. This locomotive @ /C THE"MOHEGAN"OF THE N 8. W,1859. comotives of that period. This engine weighed 50,360 pounds, had 14 by 22 inch cylinders and four and one-half foot drivers. It made over fifty miles an hour at times. The Comet of the Hartford and New Haven. Falirly representative of the American style engine of the sixties was the en- gine Comet of the Hartford and New Haven, possessing among its features two domes, one for the whistle and one for the safety valve, and having its sand boxes curiously concealed in the wheel covers. The New Haven Engine of 1879. The Hercules of the New Haven road is more or less typical likewise of the vealing, as compared with its proto- types, a great increase in weight and in was built in Lowell, Mass.,, and was rebuilt and enlarged In 1846. It then weighed twelve tons, had 13 by 16 inch cylinders and five foot drivers. To this locomotive fell the honor of pulling the first passenger train from Providence to Stonington in 1873 on the road, the New York, Providence and Boston, which now forms part of the New Ha- ven’s shore line. The Daniel Nason, 1888, The Daniel Nason, for many years one of the moest famous engines of the Boston and Providence, was another creation of Master Mechanic Griggs. This engine was built in the Roxbury shops in 1858, weighed twenty-five and three-quarter tons and had cylinders measuring 16 by 20 inches and four and one-half foot drivers. A con- spicuous feature of these engines was the running board, with its guard rails chiefly to permit the fireman to crawl forward while the locomotive was run- ning and lubricate the cylinders and valves. Locomotives of this type fre- quently attained a speed of sixty miles an hour. This locomotive continued in service until 1889. It was exhibited at the World’s fair at Chicago and is now in the museum at Purdue univer- sity. The Mohegan of the N. and W, 1859. Engine No. 9 of the old Norwich and ‘Worcester road, now one of the New Haven’s leased lines, was a type very common half a century ago and of which numbers are yet to be seen. This locomotive, the Mohegan, was purchased of Samuel Hatch in 1859. It cost $8,000, an average price for lo- comotive was built in the New Haven’s THE ROGER WILLIAMS, 1848 shops In 1879 and welghed 75,200 pounds. Its driving wheels were sixty- three inches in diameter. It was con- demned about 1897, One of the Early Consols, 1880. Size and power became increasingly evident in the locomotives turned out for these New England roads in the eighties, as shown, for example, in the consolidation engine No. 94 of the New York and New England. This type ap- pears but a few steps behind the pres- ent. Built at the Hinckley works in Boston in 1880, the big locomotive re- veals the great strides made by the builders of the Governor Bradford in the decades that had intervened. Without the tender this englne weighed sixty tons. It had 22 by 22 inch cylinders and forty-four Inch driv- ers. It was one of the biggest engines seen east of the Hudson and for years was used in the freight service be- tween Hartford and Hopewell Junc- tlon. Big as this engine appears in comparison with the early ones, it would take about four such engines to equal the efficiency of the New Ha- ven’s largest engines of today. Two Early Moguls. The Mogul type of engine is repre- sented in the Capitol of the old Providence and Worcester road and also in engine 160 of the New York and New England. The latter was built at Providence in 1888 and weigh- ed 127,000 pounds. Its cylinders were 20 by 24 and drivers sixty-eight inches. This locomotive hauled the famous locomotives of the early eighties, re-| the size of the driving wheels. This lo-| THE NEW HAVENYS LATES‘T ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE ‘White Ghost passenger traln on the New England betweei Buston and Wii- limantic and was the first large Mogul seen in New England. In 1890 it was sold to the Ifousatonic road and there- after was used in the freight service. The New Haven's Giants of Today. Dwarfing even these large locomo- tives, however, are the New Haven's Pacific type engines, known as the 1300 serfes, the embodiment of power and efliciency and capable of tremen- dous speed if required. Compared with the fourteen and a half tons of the Governor Bradford, these leviathans of the rail weigh 154, 000 pounds on the drivers and have a | total weight of 251,500 pounds (384,100 pounds, including tanks). The drivers, instead of being s ameter, are seventy-three inches, and there are six of them instead of two. {|The 12 by 20 inch cylinders of the Governor Bradford have grown into cylinders measuring 24 by 28 inches, wrought in the addition of the super- beater device by which steam is heat- adds 25 per cent to the power and fuel economy of the locomotive. These 37,600 pounds. The New Haven’s Latest Electric Lo- comotive. Typical of the new chapter of trans- portation history which the progress of electrical science has brought about are the New Haven's latest electric lo- comotives used in hauling pa aud freight trains in its electric zone between New York and New Haven. Differing radically in appearance from the latest steam leviathans, these elec- tric locomotives have littie about them to suggest the tremendous tractive force of which they are capable. “A box on wheels” they mizht be called. Yet these electric locomotives will haul an 800 ton passenger train at a maxi- mum speed of fifty-five miles an hour. They will handle 1,500 ton freight trains at & maximum speed of thirty- five miles an hour, But more than this these electric mo- tors can do. Unlike the steam locomo tive, it is possible to hitch two together and operate them with one crew as u single unit on what is called the multi- ple unit plan, thus doubling the power. Thus two of these locomotives operated by one crew will haul a 1,600 ton pas senger train at fifty-five miles an hour and a 3,000 ton freight train at thirty- five miles an hour. Freight trains of this size, 3,000 tons being the trailing load, are, in fact, operated daily between the New Ha- ven’s Harlem river terminal and New Haven. These electric locomotives welgh 110 tons, 80 per cent of this weight being directly on the four pairs of drivers. The maximum tractive force they can exert is 40,000 pounds, 13,000 pounds continuously. In this type of motor the current, having 11,000 volts, passes from the trolley wire through the pan- tagraph and by means of transformers inside the cab is reduced to 600 volts and is then delivered to the motors. There are eight of these in all, ar- ranged in four groups. These locomo- tives were built under the combined direction of the engineering forces of the New Haven and the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing company, inches in di-| and a further metamorphosis has been | ed to a very high temperature, which | locomotives exert a tractive force of | enger | 'THE NEW HAVEN'S GIANTS OF TODAY Secondhand Engines and Cars. The Independent of June 21, 1915, asks, “What becomes of all the old locomotives and railway cars and those that have outlived their usefulness?” And the paper replies: “They are sold to small roads and to contractors, and the market for them is worldwide. “When some one in India or Africa wishes to build and equip a railway cheaply and quickly he communicates | with an agent in New York, and the rest Is easy. There are a number of dealers in secondhand railway equip- ment in this country. The advertise- ments of their stock appear in the trade journals. Negotiations are concluded | quickly, and it is not long before a big |tramp steamer loading at a New York dock has a consignment of hundreds of tons of railway cargo stowed in its hold to be unloaded at some port at the world’s end. “When, some years ago, the motive power of the New York elevated lines was changed from steam to electricity there was sent out one of the largest lots of secondhand railway material ever put on the market—3840 engines and 134 cars. So Americans traveling in strange places frequently encounter | these old elevated engines. Some are in ‘lAfrlcn, some in India; they are scat- tered all over South America. In Mex- THE UNGCLE ico they are used by mining companies that have their own branch lines run- ning to the government roads. “In Japan, when the emperor’s troops started off for Manchuria at the time of the war with Russia, many of the troop trains were hauled by these small nosed engines with the word ‘Manhat- tan’ still painted on them. Some of these engines were used on the Mukden railroad in the war. “These tiny locomotives cost $5,000 aplece when new; secondhand they fetched from $2,600 down. The cars were sold at from $400 to $600 each. “Cars and engines that have been used on steam railroads of standard gauge bring much higher prices. Prac- tically no freight cars are shipped en- tire, although there is 8 good demand for passenger cars. The consumption of these castoffs of the big railroads is mostly among the logging roads of the country. The railroad, as a rule, clings more tenaciously to its cars than to its engines.” Present Railway Efficiency, With the development of the locomo- tive the progress in other departments of railroad transportation has naturally kept pace. While in 1840 there were but 426% miles of completed railroad in the New England states, in 1914 there were 7,822 single track miles in this section and 13,628 total miles of all track. In this respect the United States has far outstripped Europe in the build- ing of railways, for with a census esti- mated population in 1914 of 98,900,081 the United States had 245,894 miles of raflway, while Europe, yith a popula tion of 455,547,673, reported but 212,641 miles of railway. It would be impossible to compare freight and passenger car equipment of the present day with that of the early railroad period. While today the equipment of practically all railroads of the country is more or less stand- ardized, in the early days of rallroad bullding passenger cars in particular were of any design that appealed to the maker. In other Instances old stagecoaches were utilized. The pres- ent equipment of the railroads of the United States s practically all modern. About four-fifths of the loco- motives and freight cars now in use and about three-quarters of the pas- senger cars have been purchased since 1900. An estimate of the cost of rail- way equipment now In use by rail- ways representing 245,624 miles is placed at $3,573.680,300. Of the 2,304, 267 freight cars in service in 1914 the average capacity was 8890 tons and the total capacity 89,784,883 tons. More freight can be carried in one of the modern freight cars than was hauled In a freight train of twelve cars in the early days of raflroading. Some idea of the growth of rallroads may be gleaned from statistics of the New Haven railroad. There are in the TOM, 1844. tracks of the company over 600,000 tons of steel in the rails, which is 70,- 000 more tons than in all the battle- ships owned by the United States gov- ernment. There are 2,223 bridges— thirty-one miles of bridges. The num- ber of freight cars is 37,000, passenger cars 2,500, locomotives 1,300. The country have increased in number in ten years 146.7 per cent. The average journey of each passen- ger on the railroads of the United States duripg 1914 was thirty-fom miles, which compares with an avi journey of 26.54 miles in 1894, or an in. crease of 28.1 per cent. Each train car ried in 1914 an average of fifty-nine passengers, compared with forty-four in 1894 There were 1,032,086,000 pas sengers carried on these railroads in 1914 and 540,688,000 in 1804, an In- crease of 80.9 per cent, and there were 85,129,260,000 passengers carried one mile in 1914 as compared with 14,289, 445,000 passengers carried ome mile twenty years ago, an increase of I per cent. The number of locomotives in twep- ty years increased 81.5 per cent. while their weight increased 231.6 per cent The number of employees increased in the same period 117.90 per cent, and their compensation increased 212.9" pet cent. There were 691 employees per hundred miles of line in 1914 and 444 in 1894, an increase of 56.1 per cent. The present efficlency of American railroads and the low cost of the serv. ice may be seen from a comparison ot the rates charged for hauling one tom of freight one mile. In the United Kingdom this service costs 2.39 cents, in Germany, 1.37 cents, France 1.30 cents, Russia 1.17 cents, Austria 1.45 cents, while in the United States this service is performed for 7.20 wills, or $0.00729. As the people of the United States were the first to grasp the true signifi- cance of the discovery that steam gould be utilized as a motive power, so they, have been first in every stage of rafl| road development. No European coun.’ try can boast of such efficient railroad service as that which is performed by, the railroads of the United States nor of such low cost of operation. In three- quarters of a century the rallroad man- agers of the country have taken a crude contrivance—the original loco-, motive—and have constructed out of that idea an efficient machive that i beyond comparison. When Wives Were Sold, When the war between Britaln and France ended In 1815 many of the English soldiers found that their wtves bad married again in the belief they were widows. The formal sell ing of the wife was regarded among: the ignorant as a legal solution to ti problem thus presented, and It is eal that the authorities of the day deem it best to shut their eyes at the pro= ceeding. A certaln amount of formak ity had to be observed, however, bé freight cars run every day over 673,- 000 miles, while the passenger cars run 10,000 miles an hour. There are 952 stations and about 36,000 employ- ees, receiving over $33.000.000 a year in wages. About 500,000 persons are served every day by this one railroad. In 1914 there were 1,608,818 employ- ees on the railroads of the United States, who received compensation amounting to $1.373,069.811, or 45.15 per cent of the gross earnings. In other words, of every dollar taken in by the railroads the employees get a littie over 45 cents. Of all money paid out by the railroads for operating expenses the employees’ share amounted to 62.51 per cent. The capital cost of the raflroads of the country is $15.531,631.376, or $04,- 479 per mile, which compares with a capital cost of European railroads of about $25.000,000.000, or $124,000 per mile. It cost nearly twice as much to build the European railroads as it did to build those in the United States, de- spite the higher cost of labor in this country. There are 376.807 stockholders of American railroad stock, of whom 20, 675 are stockholders of the New Ha- fore the sale was considered legal by the most ignorant. A Yorkshi writer mentions two conditions whicl must be carried out to ma a sal isfactory sale—the price of the wife must not be less than 1 lhllllnl‘fl‘ cents), and she must be delivered to ber purchaser with a new halter around her neck. The same writer fé: cords the case of the woman who zesl ously preserved the receipts for ber self as a proof of respectability, Granada. Granada was at one time part of ébe Roman province of Roetia, but after the Arab invasion it became an Inde- pendent Moorish kingdom. It was the last possession of the Moors in Spain, who tearfully gave up their country & their eonquerors, Ferdinand snd I bella of Spain, in 1402 P Not Aloud. “Oh, dear,” groaned the young ‘ “I don't know what to use to raise Wy bread! I've tried everything.” “A derrick and a couple of jacl ought to do iL." thought ber i but he didn’t say it aloud.—Pl ven railroad. The stockholders of the phia Ledger.