Every-day Science: Volume VII. The Conquest of Time and Space

was the outcome of iron railroads which had been in existence for half a century. These iron railroads were a devel

parallel rails with grooved or flanged wheels to fit them; but if so there seems to be no definite

at the time. Half a century later there was a railroad in operation near the river Tyne which has been described by Roger North as being made of "rails of timber placed end to end and exactly straight, and in two

heels that ran upon them, were of no fixed pattern. Some of these rails were in the form of depressed grooves into which an ordinary wheel fitted. But these were very unsatisfactory because

type adopted when iron rails first came into use, about 1767. Ten years later the idea of the single flange was conceived, not placed on the wheels of the cars as at present, but cast on the ra

un upon an elevated molding-shaped iron rail; and the many points of superiority of this type of wheel soon led to its general adoption. So that

ve been successful many years before they were, but the advantages of railroads was not as evident then as now, and the inventors' eff

bining the principle of the steamboat and the locomotive in the same vehicle, and in 1803 a Philadelphian by the name of Evans made a steam dredge and land-wagon combined which was fairly successful in both capacities of boat and wagon. He called his machine the "Oruktor Amphibious," and upon one occasion mad

ads proved disastrous to his engine, and as it could make no better time than a slow horse, it was soon abandoned. But Trevithick had learned from this failure that a good roadbed was quite as essential to the success of a locomotive as the machine itself, and two years later he produ

roved conclusively on paper by endless hair-splitting calculations that the thing was impossible,-that any locomotive strong enough to propel itself along a smooth iron rail would be heavy enough to break the strongest rail, and smash the roadbed. In the face of these arguments the idea of smooth rails and smoot

arranged to pass around a barrel-wheel on the locomotive, which thus pulled itself along, just as some of the boats on the Rhine do

re designed to trot behind and "kick the wagon along." "The legs or propellers, imitated the legs of a man or the fore-legs of a horse, with joints, and when worked by the machine alternately lifted and pressed against the ground or road, propelling the engine forward, as a man shoves a boat ahead by pressing with a pole against the b

er, William Hedley, had built several steam locomotives which only managed to crawl along the tracks under the most favorable conditions, wishing to determine if it were the fault of loc

rades of considerable incline. The experiments of Blackett settled this question beyond the possibility of controversy, and removed a very important obstacle

E STE

N SOLVES

ucation, even to the extent of learning the alphabet. It was only after he had spent many years in the colliery, and had finally worked himself up from the position of "picker" at three pence a day to that of fireman, that he was able to spen

n the habit of dismantling his engine, and carefully studying every detail of its construction. Thus by the time he had reached his majority he was a skillful engineer, besides having many new ideas that had developed during his examinations of the machinery. But besides his knowledge of enginee

confidence of his employers to such an extent that he was permitted to build a locomotive for them-a thing that had been his am

two very radical defects-it would not keep up steam and the noise of the steam-pipe exhausting into the open air frightened the horses of the neighborhood to such a degree that the authorities ordered the inventor either to stop running his engine, or suppress its noise. As an experiment, therefore, Stephenson arranged the exhaust pipes so that they opened into the smokestack, where the sound would be m

ar from being the practical machine that was to supplant horse-power. It could haul heavier loads

nd freight traffic not having occurred to anyone until about 1820. Then the Englishman, Thomas Gray, suggested the construction of such a road between Liverpool and Manchester, advocating steam as the motive powe

e a traction engine using chain or cable, was employed for certain purposes. In 1825, however, Stephenson began the construction of an improved locomotive, this time at his own modest establishment; and

witness the trial; some, more sanguine, came to witness the success, but far the greater portion came to see the bubble burst. The proceedings began

l twenty-eight vehicles. The word being given that all was ready, the engine began to move, gradually at first, but afterward, in part of the road, attaining a speed of twelve miles an hour. At that time the number of passengers amounted to four hundred and fifty, which would, with the remainder of the load, amount to upwards of ninety tons. The train arrived at Darlington, eight an

that developed on this particular road in the years immediately following the invention of the practical locomotive. When the road was projected it was estimated that its max

OGRESS IN LOCO

Darlington Railway, England, built by Messrs R. Stevenson & Company in 1825. This engine ran successfully for 21 years. Fig. 3.-The locomotive "Royal George" which worked on the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1827–1842. It will be observed that each of these engines antedated Stevenson's famous "Rocket

scribed it as "a modest and uncouth-looking affair, made more for strength than for beauty. A row of seats ran along each side of the interior, and a long table was fixed in th

few that were in favor of steam did not favor the use of locomotives, but a system that would now be called a relay-cable system. According to this plan the road of about thirty miles was to be divided into nineteen sections, over each of which a stationary steam-engine was to work a chain or cable. But when the board of engineers appointed to investigate th

ut with the glaring defects of the cable road, and the enormous cost of maintenance impressed upon the directors, the idea of the locomotive became at once more attractive, and the performance of Stephenson's locomot

t effectually con

tons' weight, including the tender, and water-tank, at ten miles an hour, with a

er of which must be fastened down, and one of th

ngs and rest on six wheels, the height of the whole

less weight would be preferred although drawing a proportionately less load

he machine, showing the steam pressure ab

nd ready for trial, at the Liverpool end of

the engine must

wn smoke; for even at the present time this is considered a difficult problem. But this was not so considered by the inventors of that

it proved to be possible to make a locomotive go ten miles an hour, he would undertake to eat a stewed

csson signified its intention of competing, with a locomotive that they named the Novelty. Another firm entered the contest with an en

mpetitors. The Novelty, indeed, made such a good showing, and afterwards proved to be such a good locomotive, that although it lost the contest, many competent judges have since regarded it as equal to the Rocket, if not supe

-box" part of the engine frame, in front of the boiler, so that it required no tender. On its first trial, running without any load, it reached a speed of twenty-four miles an hour-a speed more than double the "stewed engi

ENGINE AND THE "NO

called for a carrying capacity of about 4-1/2 tons and a speed of 2-1/4 miles per hour on level ground. Cugnot's original engine had attained this speed on a common road while carrying four persons; notwithstanding which fact the machine above shown was for some reason never given a trial. It is now preserved in the Conservatoir

It excited much interest, attaining a speed of almost 32 miles per hour when running light, but owing to breakdowns was

ion of over-weight was waived by the judges, and the engine given a fair trial, it showed such a capacity for consuming fuel without any corresponding ability to perform work, that it

length and a little over three feet in diameter. The upper half of the boiler was used as a reservoir for steam, the lower half being filled with water and having copper pipes running through it. The fire-box, two feet wide and three feet high, was placed immediately beh

irst day of the contests over the two miles of trial tracks, it covered twelve miles in considerably less than an hour, shuttling back and forth over the road. The next day, as none of the other engines was in condition to exhibit, Stephenson offered to satisfy the curiosity of the great c

n tons' weight, it ran back and forth over the two-mile road, covering thirty-five miles in one hour and forty-eight minutes including stoppages. The maximum velocity at

OTIVES "ROCKET"

hester Railway. The "Sans Pareil," which, like the "Rocket," is still preserved at the South Kensington Museum in London, competed unsuccessfully for the prize. Though not

ed a few months later by the suggestion of Timothy Hackworth, who drew plans for a locomotive having horizontal cylinders to be used on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. His plans were submitted to Stephenson, who constructed an engine from them called the Globe, which differed from the Rocket in having the cylinders not only horizontal, but placed on the inside of the wheels. A little later Stephenson built the Planet

invention of the cab; and it was here also that the bell, whistle, pilot, and sand-box were first introduced. But by 1850 the present type of locomotive had been pr

N LOCOMOTIVES

mprovements as well as many changes in the size of the more recent types of locomotives. In a general way these changes may be summarized as follows: A great increase in the size and weight, with increased speed and tractive

ht of a locomotive turned out ten years ago was 92,000 pounds for the engine alone, without the tender. At the present time the engines being manufactured by the same firm average 129,000 pounds, an increase of 37,000 pounds, or something over forty per cent. This average weight

ntal countries a great difficulty has been found to exist in the unlimited size of locomotives, in the fact that the bridges and tunnels of these railroads are, almost without ex

this had been increased to about 160 pounds; while at the present time steam is used frequently at a pressure of 225 pounds. Naturally this increase in pressure compels the use of heavier

am is utilized, instead of a considerable portion of it being a dead loss, as in the older type of engine. As every one knows, the passage of the steam through a single cylinder of an engine does not exhaust its e

pressure in the smaller cylinder exerts upon the piston approximately the same force that is exerted by steam at a lower pressure in the larger cylinder. Steam is admitted first into the smaller cylinder, where it expends a portion of its initial energy, and then passes into the larger cylinder, where it performs an equal amount of work by exerting a diminished pressure upon a larger surface. This is the principle of compoundi

ive works of the country, some points of interest concernin

the weight on the driving wheels, the cylinder dimensions being proportioned to this weight, and, whether the locomotive is compound or single expansion, no larger boiler can be provided, after allowing for the wheels, frame and mechanism, than the total limit of weight permits. The heating surface and grate areas in both compound and single-expansion locomotives of the same class are practically the same, and the evaporative efficiency of both locomotives is chiefly determined by the action o

omotive engineer. Power can, of course, be increased by building a larger engine and augmenting this weight but in the present construction of tracks and bridges the limit of drivin

will, at very slow speed, on heavy grades, keep a train moving where a single-expansion will slip and stall. This is due to the pressure on the crank-pins of the compound being mor

en made with these two classes of engines, and the widest ranges of differences were shown in many instances. In some cases the compounds seem to show a saving of some forty per cent. in fuel; but this is by no means a determinative factor in the daily use of an engine. I

nical stokers, or to find some other kind of fuel. In point of fact the mechanical stoker has been recently tried with success, and this will probably help in solving the problem. But there is also the strong probability that the use of liquid fuel will become more and more popular. At the present time many locomotives in the West and Southwest, as well as in Europe and in Asia, have been equipped with burners for the consumption of crude petroleum. No modification in the construction of the locomotive is requi

INGHOUSE

the trains once they had started. On short trains made up of the light cars used at first, the hand brakes were sufficiently effective for practical purposes. But a

l the brakes simultaneously. But in practice it was found impossible to maintain this ideal condition. For emergency stops the brakemen were summoned by signals of the whistle given

part of the train, and being applied suddenly, caused the rear cars to rush against the forward cars with terrific force, sometimes driving in the bumpers and wrecking the train. Obviously an

using steam as a working force, or systems of hand-wound springs; but Mr. Westi

m was used for making the compression. From this reservoir a line of gas pipe ran through the cab of the engine beneath the tender and under each car, the space between the cars being bridged by rubber tubes and easily-adjusted c

in pipe and thus act upon the brake cylinders of the cars. This could be done gradually for making a slow stop, or with full force as

erent points, but was placed entirely in the hands of the engineer who applied the required power almost simultaneously at all points along

xhausted into the atmosphere instead of acting on the brake cylinders. The common accident of having his train "break in two" rendered the engineer powerless to stop the cars, and disastrous "runaways" sometimes resulted. The second defect, which became more and more apparent a

ddition each car was equipped with a storage reservoir of sufficient size to supply the brake cylinder. In place of the older arrangement in which the train pipe simply retained air at atmospheric pressure when not in use, the new system kept the air in the train pipe under a considerable pressure at

on was produced in the new system. Any leakage of air, either from a break or a defect, caused every brake on the entire train to be applied to the wheels and brought the train to a stop. Moreover, with the new system it was n

rs caused them to strike the forward cars with great violence. But Mr. Westinghouse overcame this defect by an ingenious use of the triple valve mechanism of each car, whereby the application of the emergency brake by the engineer caused the air in the train pipe on each car to be discharged simultaneously into the brake cylinder. In this manner the discharge of air not only allowed the brakes

ke cylinder. In the high-speed air brake as applied when the train is running rapidly, the highest possible pressure is applied at once to the wheels, but this pressure is lessened by the automatic pressure-reducing valves as t

as been touched upon in connection with electric railroads. In such brakes the compression of the air is accompl

erfection. For a time a vacuum brake, which utilized atmospheric pressure, offered keen rivalry. But eventually the type of brake perfected

TIC CO

in the matter of maiming its victims, when not actually killing them. This was the old method of coupling freight cars as practiced in America. There were few old-tim

y trip. And he literally took his life in his hands upon eac

n the buffer of the stationary car and tilted it at an angle in the pin-hole at the top of the buffer so that, while it remained raised, the jar of the striking buffers at the moment of coupling caused it to fall into place and complete the coupling. The link was left hanging

aise the link, insert it, and remove his hand in a fraction of a second if the car was moving at a fair rate of speed, otherwise his fingers or hand would be caught bet

the buffer. Some railroads at first furnished sticks for this purpose. But no brakeman would stoop to use them. Had he done so he would have been hooted

he appalling loss of life among the brakemen, passed laws compelling all cars to be equipped with some form of automatic coupling device, and naturally the Janney coupling was the one adopted. In using this coupling the brakeman did not have to

description of this c

of the knuckles are open when the vehicles come into contact, coupling will be effected; to uncouple, it is only necessary to raise either of the locking pins, by means of a chain or lever at the side of the vehicle. The knuckles have each a hole in them to permit of the use of the old link and pin coupler, when such a fitting is met with. At fi

which in effect was that of two crooked fingers hooked together, allowed the ends of the coaches to swing and roll in a manner most disagreeabl

ON-THE OLD

long. In 1909 the Southern Pacific Railway purchased a Mallet Compound locomotive which, with its tender, weighs three hundred tons, or approximately forty times the weight of t

MENT OF THE

eight of the "Rocket," with its four-wheel tender which carried 264 gallons of water and 450 pounds of coke was 4-1/4 tons. The French locomotive with

riously enough the driving wheels of the two engines show little discrepancy, those of the Rocket being fifty-six inches in diameter, as against fifty-seven for those of the larger engine. The total heating surface of the Rocket was

it is evident that the engine is designed for strength rather than speed, although of course relatively high speed can be attained if desired. On the section of road over