HOW TO RUN A TRAIN.
A good engineer works his engine with direct reference to the number of
cars he has to pull.
It would seem as though any fool might know this, yet instances are on
record where careless engineers have actually pulled out of a station
without their trains, and never discovered that they were missing until
they had occasion to whistle for brakes.
STARTING.
In starting the regulator should be opened gently, especially with a
full boiler.
Care is necessary when starting to keep the cylinders and valves clear
of water. Half a pint of water will wash the faces of the cylinders
and valves. Slip or no slip, it is better to use a little sand than to
incur the risk of slipping when the rails are inclined to be slippery.
When the engine begins to feel its load the regulator can be opened
more. A few clear, sonorous puffs at the start do good; they rouse the
fire into action at once--there is no hesitation in the matter. They
also clear the tubes of loose cinders and soot left in them after being
swept out.
When you are well under way pull the lever up a notch or two at a time
until you get it just where you want it. Don't jerk it too far, then
let it out too much and have to pull it back. Feel your way as you go,
and time and trouble will be saved.
Nothing looks so bad as to see an engineer suddenly close the
regulator, pull the lever very nearly out of gear and "smack" the steam
on again. The force with which the steam may strike the piston under
such circumstances is very great and often may do damage.
To an attentive engineer the start is full of interest; for, although
he may have made a careful and thorough examination of his engine
before joining his train, he cannot feel satisfied that all is right
until the full pressure of the steam is on the piston and the engine
feels its load.
STEAM BLOWING.
Now the engineer must begin to use his ears and eyes.
As the train moves on he listens.
Is the steam blowing?
It is.
Which side?
This is the way to find out.
Suppose a blow is heard at each turn and only when the outside crank
is nearly in a straight line with the piston rod looking from the
left-hand side of the foot-plate and with the outside cranks on the
same center line and on the same side of the axle as the inside crank.
Then it would be discovered that a piston is blowing because the
sound is intermittent, for the blowing through of a valve would be a
continuous leaking.
Further it would be certain that the defect was not in the left hand
cylinder, there being no steam in it when the cranks were in the
position above described, and therefore we must look to the right hand
cylinder where the full pressure of steam must be on the piston.
BEATS OF THE ENGINE.
There are four beats for one revolution of the driving wheel or the
crank axle.
These beats tell you in emphatic language whether the engine is running
right, or whether there is something out of gear.
Learn what they mean and never let your attention be drawn from them.
If the beats weaken--any one of them--it means trouble. Taken in time
the difficulty may be easily remedied, allowed to pass unnoticed, death
and disaster may result.
KEEPING UP STEAM.
It is scarcely necessary to state that to properly run your engine
steam must be kept up.
When the engine has got the train up to speed, steam should begin to
issue from the safety valves. When it does not do so there has not been
a full boiler, as there always should be at the start and the fireman
must be made to understand how to make a starting fire in proper shape.
On short runs this does not matter so much, but on express trains it is
of the highest importance.
On long runs if the engine is not instantly up to the mark at the
start, and if the feeds must be held off to allow the fire and the
engine a chance of recovery, the consequences are that the water in the
boiler gets lower and less, and the uncertainty of ever getting the
water up again becomes greater every minute, especially with a heavy
train and against a strong side wind.
MANAGEMENT OF FIRES.
Of course the state of the steam depends altogether upon the way
the fires are managed, but for us to give directions how to manage
a locomotive fire-box to the best advantage would require pages of
description which could scarcely be understood unless one had had
previous practical experience.
Remember one thing, the engineer is responsible for the fire, even if
he does not make it. He must therefore know when a fire is good and
when it is bad, _why_ and _what to do_.
We shall, however, describe two styles of fire, the thoroughly bad and
the thoroughly good. All intermediate grades every man must learn for
himself.
HOW TO BUILD A BAD FIRE.
Pile your coal up in the shape of a cone, by shoveling all the coal
into the middle of the fire box, and putting as little on the sides as
you possibly can.
Such a fire possesses the following characteristics: Uncertainty as
regards steam making, positive certainty as regards the destruction
of fire boxes and tubes. It generally draws air at the walls of the
fire-box, and in consequence, the fire-irons are always in the fire,
knocking it about and wasting the fuel.
As such fires are found in the center of the grate, they weigh down the
bars and burn them out in the middle in short order. Lastly, the cold
air being admitted into the fire-box up the sides instead of in the
middle, comes in direct contact with the heated plates and stays, doing
them a great deal of damage by causing contraction and expansion.
Take the best engine ever built and let an engineer run it awhile with
these "haycock" fires, as they are called--and many do it--you will be
sure to find the boiler subject to sudden leakage, either in the joints
of the plates or in the stays, the tubes, or the foundation ring. Such
engines are always in the repair shop, and because of bad firing and
nothing else.
HOW TO BUILD A GOOD FIRE.
The good locomotive fire should maintain steam under all circumstances
of load or weather, should consume its own smoke, should burn up every
particle of good matter in the coal, or, in other words, capable of
being worked to the highest point of economy.
Such a fire requires to be made at the beginning, and maintained in a
form almost resembling the inside of a saucer, shallow and concave,
with its thinnest part in the center.
A fire like this will make steam when other fires will make none.
It is the only style of fire that should be permitted by a good
engineer.
FIRING.
To fire properly the fireman should stand in such a position as to be
able to reach the coals in the tender easily, and to work the shovel
without shifting his feet, except when he turns slightly on his heels,
first, toward the coal, and then toward the fire hole.
If a fireman, in the act of firing, lifts his feet off the foot
plate, he will roll about, and the firing will be improperly done, in
consequence of the coal being knocked off the shovel by the latter
catching against the fire hole ring or depletion plate.
Don't jam the shovel into the fire-box--stop it dead at the fire-hole
ring. Give the coals a fling, discharging them like shot right into
their intended destination.
Don't jam your shovel into the coal and load it down as much as
possible. A few lumps of coal lying nicely on the body of the shovel
can be handled better. The shovel should not be pushed into the coal by
the knees, but should be worked only by the muscles of the arm.
Throw the first shovelful of coal into the left hand front corner, the
second shovelful in the right hand front corner, the third shovelful in
the right hand back corner, the fourth shovelful in the left hand back
corner, the fifth shovelful under the brick arch, close to the tube
plate; the sixth and last shovelful under the door. To land this one
properly the shovel must enter the fire-box and should be turned over
sharp to prevent the coals falling in the center of the grate or the
fire.
Now comes the question when to fire.
To fire properly, with the greatest effect in saving fuel, it should be
done as soon as the steam begins to lift the valves, when by opening
the fire-door and putting on a small quantity of coal the steam is
checked sufficiently to prevent its being wasted by blowing off.
Some engineers have an idea that unless the steam blows off furiously
they have not done their duty by the engine.
A big mistake this.
When steam, water and fuel are being thrown away through the safety
valves, it is a positive proof of the existence of either one or the
other of the following evils:
Either the engine is too small for its work or too great for its man,
and both the engine and the man would do better on short runs; the
former until it could be doctored, or the latter until he had learned
to bottle his noise.
The intervals between the rounds of firing, which should consist of
six shovelfuls only each time the door is opened, is in every case
regulated by the weight of the train or load, the state of the weather
and the time allowed for running the trip, together with the quality of
coal.
The greatest possible mistake on an engine is putting on too much coal.
The fire is choked, clinkers are formed, the temperature of the boiler
is reduced, contraction and expansion sets in and leaks are formed--in
a word everything goes wrong.
The secret of good firing is to fire frequently, a little at a time.
FEEDING.
Having discussed fire, let us now consider the other element upon which
the locomotive lives--water.
The maintainance of steam in proper shape requires a knowledge of how
and when to feed.
The aim in feeding should be to regulate, as nearly as possible, the
supply to the demand--just sufficient to keep the water at a proper
level in the glass.
This keeps up an even temperature in the boiler plates, tubes and
fire-box, and this has much to do with the service of an engine. Many
engineers always work their feed in the precise way to get the worst
results.
As soon as the boiler is full of steam and blowing off they turn on the
pump full and keep it on until the steam is from 30 to 50 pounds below
the maximum pressure before turning it off.
This method is the very worst possible. What is wanted is a constant
moderate supply of water, keeping the pressure as nearly even as
possible. Nothing can beat this.
When injectors are used one of them should be screwed down so that it
will act moderately like a pump. This will save the water which is
usually lost in turning injector on and off.
ON THE FOOT-PLATE.
When the train is under full headway the engineer should stand in
his proper place on the foot-plate so as to be able to command the
regulator and reversing valve at an instant's notice.
Especially is this necessary at night, when the engineer's attention
should always be on his engine, listening constantly to its beats
to detect any irregularity which may arise from some defect in the
machinery, frequently casting his eyes on the pressure gauge, and on
the level of the water in the gauge glass.
When the fireman puts on coal, the engineer should look round
occasionally, to be sure that he is doing it right, placing the coal
next to the walls of the fire-box, and not piling them in a heap in the
middle.
When the rails are slippery, great care is required to prevent the
engine from slipping, by closing the regulator in time.
When about to enter a tunnel, the sand valves should be opened, and
the sand allowed to flow freely until the train emerges from the
tunnel--sand is cheaper than steam.
Never forget that lives and property depend upon the faithful
performance of your work.