The careful examination of a Locomotive Engine when in the Station, and
its judicious management while running, are essential to the full
performance of its duty, and to ensure the safety of the passengers by
the train.
While an Engine is stopping at the Station before a trip, the fire should
be properly kept up,--the tubes clear at both ends,--and the fire-bars
picked free from clinkers: the regulator should be closed and
locked,--the tender-break screwed down tight,--the reversing-lever fixed
in the middle position, so that the slides may be out of gear,--the cocks
of the oil-vessels and feed-pipes turned off,--and the steam blowing off
from the safety-valve at a pressure of 35 lbs. per square inch; if
blowing off in any excess, the waste steam may be turned into the
Tender-cistern to heat the water, and the door of the smoke-box may be
opened to check the fire, but it should be fastened up again 10 or 15
minutes before the time of starting.
Before an Engine starts with a train, the attention of the Engine-man
should first be directed to its being in complete working order; with
this view he should go beneath the Engine, and carefully examine the
working gear in detail.
The connecting-rod is a very important part, and more liable perhaps than
any other to fail for want of proper examination. The cotters must be
secure, and in case the brasses have too much play they must be tightened
up; observing, however, that brasses should never be set so hard as to
cause friction. If there are set-screws at the side of the cotters, they
should be tight, and all cotters should have a split-pin at the bottom
for greater security. The cotters which fasten the piston-rods to the
cross-heads should be firm in their place, as well as the set-screws,
keys, or other connections, by which the feed-pump pistons are secured to
the piston-rod.
The brasses of the inner framing which carry the inside bearings of the
cranked axle must be examined, and any considerable play prevented by
screwing them up if necessary. The wheels ought to be accurately square
and firm on their axles, and the keys driven up tight. All the pins,
bolts, &c., by which the slide-valve gear is connected, the
lifting-links, and the slings of the slide-spindles, must be secure in
their proper places; the spanners ought to be fast on the lifting and
weigh-bars, and the studs on the spanners of the weigh-bars should be
particularly noticed, as, if loose, they may be shaken off on the road
and cause the stoppage of the Engine. A similar examination must be
extended to the hand-gear, if there be any; and the bolts which fasten
the plummer-blocks of the weigh-bars, &c., must be screwed up if they are
loose.
The straps of the eccentrics should work with sufficient freedom, and the
eccentrics must be firm in their right position on the axle, or the
Engine will beat unevenly: if any escape of steam has been observed in
the stuffing-boxes of the piston-rod and slide-valve spindle, or of water
from the joints of the feed-pumps and suction-pipes, they must be screwed
up; and any dirt that may have collected near any of the bearings or
connections must be carefully wiped off with cotton waste.
The inspection beneath the Engine being complete, the Engine-man should
examine the ends of the tubes of the boiler, and if there should be
leakage to any serious extent, it would be prudent to drive in a plug at
each end of the defective tube. A small quantity of Russian tallow
should occasionally be introduced into the steam-chests and cylinders, to
grease the slides and pistons. This is done, either by cocks on the
outside of the smoke-box or in the cylinder covers, or through holes
secured by plugs, in the steam-chest covers. The ashes should be emptied
out of the smoke-box, and the small ash-door carefully secured.
Occasionally the gauge should be applied to the wheels, and the Engine
should never be allowed to run when they are found to be at all incorrect
or out of the square.
If there are oil-vessels at the side of the Engine with pipes to the
pistons, bearings, &c., the Engine-man must see that they are filled, and
the cotton wicks in the top of the pipes, and hanging over into the oil;
that the grease-boxes of the axle-bearings are filled; and the pins,
links, &c., of the springs right and sound. The draw-bar connecting the
Engine and Tender must be secure, and the safety-chains attached.
The Tender must be replenished with coke and water. An Engine-man should
never run with an Engine without knowing what stock of both the Tender
will carry. It is impossible to lay down any general rule for the
quantity of water evaporated and the coke consumed per mile with the same
Engine, as the amount depends entirely on the extent of duty performed.
The stock of coke is usually nearly twice as much as that of water,--the
water which most Tenders contain is ordinarily sufficient for running 30
miles with certainty; but when the gradients are steep, the load heavy,
and stoppages frequent, additional water may be oftener required; and on
the other hand, with light duty, an Engine may sometimes run further
without any stoppage. The inconvenience attached to the necessity of
frequent stoppages, and the expense of maintaining a large number of coke
and water stations, have lately induced the manufacture of a larger class
of Tender on six wheels, which, from superior capacity, will admit of a
much longer run.
After a little practice, the examination described above occupies a very
short time: it ought to be completed, and the Engine in its position at
the head of the train, at least five minutes before the hour of starting,
when oil must be copiously supplied by the small oiling-can, to the
oil-cups of the guides, connecting-rods, &c., and to all rubbing parts
not fed by the oiling-pipes; the cocks of the large oil-vessels must be
opened, and the safety-valve screwed down to the working pressure, say 45
lbs. per square inch.
It would ensure a careful inspection, if, before any train starts, the
Engine-man were required to deliver to the Superintendent of the Station
a certificate that he has examined his Engine, and finds it in good
working order.
Several articles should be constantly carried on the Tender, as either
being frequently required in the working of the Engine, or occasionally
in cases of derangement or accident. The following may be taken as a
list:
One large can of oil, and one or two small oiling-cans and an
oiling-tube, a box of Russian tallow, a quantity of cotton waste, hemp,
and gasken, a hand-brush, keys fitted to all the principal bolts, one
large and one small monkey-wrench, rods for clearing the tubes and fire,
an arrow-headed poker, a shovel, and a rake.
A number of iron or wooden plugs, an iron plug-holder, and a 7 lb. maul,
two cold chisels, a hammer and a file, spare washers, and duplicates of
the principal bolts, nuts, pins, cotters, &c., a quantity of thick and
thin cord, and some tarred line, a fire-bucket, two long crow-bars, a
spare coupling-chain, with shackle and hook complete, several wooden
wedges, about 2 feet long, 4 or 5 inches wide and 3 inches thick, and, if
running long journeys, two spare ball-clacks, and a screw-jack.