Transcriber’s Note
Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_; superscripts are shown as
^{123}; subscripts are shown as ᵥ{123}. Other notes appear at the end
of this eBook.
[Illustration]
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE
RUNNING AND MANAGEMENT:
A Treatise on Locomotive Engines,
SHOWING THEIR PERFORMANCE IN RUNNING DIFFERENT
KINDS OF TRAINS WITH ECONOMY AND DISPATCH;
ALSO DIRECTIONS REGARDING THE CARE,
MANAGEMENT, AND REPAIRS OF
LOCOMOTIVES AND ALL
THEIR CONNECTIONS.
BY
ANGUS SINCLAIR,
MEMBER OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, MEMBER OF THE
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, ASSOCIATE MEMBER
OF THE AMERICAN RAILWAY MASTER MECHANICS’ ASSOCIATION,
ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE UNITED
STATES NAVAL INSTITUTE, ETC.
_TENTH EDITION._
NEW YORK:
JOHN WILEY AND SONS.
1888.
COPYRIGHT, 1884,
BY JOHN WILEY & SONS.
ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED
BY RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY,
BOSTON, MASS.
PREFACE.
While following the occupation of a locomotive engineer, I often
observed peculiarities about the working of my engine, while running,
that I did not entirely understand. As I was perfectly aware, even
before making my first trip on a locomotive engine, that there is no
effect without a cause, I never felt satisfied to accept any thing
as incomprehensible without investigation, and fell into the habit
of noting down facts about the working of the engine, with the view
of studying out, at leisure, any thing which was not quite clear.
When, some years ago, I abandoned engine-running to take charge of
the round-house at the mechanical headquarters of the Burlington,
Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railway, in Iowa, the practice of keeping
notes was continued. The work connected with the ordinary repairing
of running-engines, the emergency repairing executed to get engines
ready hurriedly to meet the traffic demands on a road then chronically
short of power, and diagnosing the numerous diseases that locomotives
are heir to, provided ample material for voluminous notes. Those notes
formed the raw material from which this book was constructed.
The original intention was, to publish a book on Locomotive Engine
Running alone, and the first portion of the work was prepared with
that idea in view; but, before the articles were finished, I joined
the editorial staff of the _American Machinist_. The correspondence in
the office of that paper convinced me that an urgent demand existed,
among engineers, machinists, and others, for plainly given information
relating to numerous operations connected with the repairing and
maintenance of locomotives. To meet this demand, the chapters on
“Valve-Motion” and all the succeeding part of the book were written.
Most of that matter was originally written for the pages of the
_American Machinist_, but was afterwards re-arranged for the book.
In preparing a book for the use of engineers, firemen, machinists,
and others interested in locomotive matters, it has been my aim to
treat all subjects discussed in such a way that any reader would
easily understand every sentence written. No attempt is made to convey
instruction in any thing beyond elementary problems in mechanical
engineering, and all problems brought forward are treated in the
simplest manner possible.
The practice of applying to books for information concerning their
work, is rapidly spreading among the engineers and mechanics of this
school-spangled country; and this book is published in the hope that
its pages may furnish a share of the needed assistance. Those men, who,
Socrates-like, search for knowledge from the recorded experience of
others, are the men, who, in the near future, will take leading places
in our march of national progress. To such men, who are earnestly
toiling up the steep grade of Self-help, this book is respectfully
dedicated.
ANGUS SINCLAIR.
NEW YORK CITY,
Jan. 1, 1885.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
I desire to thank the railroad world and the technical press for
the kind reception they have extended to my book. The necessity for
publishing the third edition within three months after the first one
was issued, indicates that the book was wanted.
In the present edition I have corrected a few errors, and made some
necessary alterations, that will add to the value of the book.
ANGUS SINCLAIR,
NEW YORK, April 6, 1885.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
ENGINEERS AND THEIR DUTIES 1
Attributes that make a Good Engineer.--How Engineering
Knowledge and Skill are Acquired.--Public Interest in
Locomotive Engineers.--Ignorance _versus_ Knowledge.--
Illiterate Engineers not wanted in America.--Growing
Importance of Engineers’ Duties.--Individuality of
American Engineers.--Necessity for Class Improvement.--
The Skill of Engineers influences Operating Expenses.--
Methods of Self-improvement.--Observing Shop Operations.--
Where Ignorance was Ruin.--Prejudice against studying
Books.--The Kind of Knowledge gained from Books.
CHAPTER II.
HOW LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS ARE MADE 11
Reliable Men needed to run Locomotives.--Early Methods
of making Locomotive Engineers.--Practice of raising
Engineers from Machinists and Technical-school Graduates
not found satisfactory.--Experience demonstrated that
Firemen made the Best Engineers.--Difficulties of running
Locomotives at Night, and during Bad Weather.--Kind of
Men to be chosen as Firemen.--Modern Methods of selecting
Firemen.--First Trips.--Popular Misconception of a
Fireman’s Duties.--Learning Firemen’s Duties.--A Good
Fireman makes a Good Engineer.--Learning an Engineer’s
Duties.--Conditions of Engine Running that vanquish the
Inexperienced Man.--Learning to keep the Locomotive
in Running-order.--Methods of Promotion on our Leading
Roads.--Nature of Examination to be passed.--Master
Mechanics on the Best Method of Educating Young Men for
Engineers.
CHAPTER III.
INSPECTION OF THE LOCOMOTIVE 30
Locomotive Inspectors.--Good Engineers Inspect their own
Engines.--What comes of neglecting Systematic Inspection
of Locomotives.--Confidence on the Road derived
from Inspection.--Inspection on the Pit.--Outside
Inspection.--Oil-cups.--Inspection of Running-gear.--
Attentions to the Boiler.--Miscellaneous Attentions.--
Reward of Thorough Inspection.
CHAPTER IV.
GETTING READY FOR THE ROAD 39
Raising Steam.--Precautions against Scorching Boilers.--
Starting the Fire.--Fireman’s First Duties.--Saving the
Grates.--Supplies.--Engineer’s First Duties.--Reaching
his Engine in Good Season.--Oiling the Machinery.--
Quantity of Oil that Different Bearings need.--Leaving the
Engine-house.
CHAPTER V.
RUNNING A FAST FREIGHT TRAIN 48
Running Freight Trains.--The Engine.--The Train.--The
Division.--Pulling out.--Hooking back the Links.--
Working the Steam Expansively.--Advantage of Cutting-off
Short.--Boiler Pressure Best for Economical Working.--
Running with Low Steam.--The Throttle-lever.--Management
of the Fire.--Conditions that demand Good Firing.--
Highest Type of Fireman.--Scientific Methods of Good
Firemen.--The Medium Fireman.--The Hopelessly Bad
Fireman.--Who is to Blame for Bad Firing?
CHAPTER VI.
GETTING UP THE HILL 61
Special Skill and Attention required to get a Train up a
Steep Grade.--Getting Ready for the Grade.--Working
up the Hill.--Wheel-slipping.--How to use Sand.--
Slippery Engines.--Feeding the Boiler.--Choice of Pump
and Injector.--Fall of Boiler-temperature not indicated
by the Steam-gauge.--Some Effects of Injudicious
Boiler-feeding.--Careful Feeding and Firing preserve
Boilers.--Operating the Dampers.--Loss of Heat through
Excess of Air.--Loss of Heat from Bad Dampers.
CHAPTER VII.
FINISHING THE TRIP 74
Running over Ordinary Track.--Stopping-places.--Knowledge
of Train-rights.--Precautions to be observed in
approaching and passing Stations.--The Best Rules must be
Supplemented by Good Judgment.--Operating Single Tracks
Safely.--Causes of Anxiety to Engineers.--Acquaintance
with the Road.--Final Duties of the Trip.
CHAPTER VIII.
RUNNING A FAST PASSENGER TRAIN 82
Average Speed.--Speed between Jersey City and
Philadelphia.--Requisites of a High-speed Locomotive.--
Making up the Fire.--Getting ready for the Trip.--The
Train to be pulled.--The Start.--Getting the Train over
the Road.--How the Engineer did his Work.--Qualifications
that make a Successful Engineer.--How the Firing was done.
CHAPTER IX.
HARD-STEAMING ENGINES 92
Importance of Locomotives Steaming Freely.--Essentials for
Good-steaming Engines.--Causes Detrimental to making
Steam.--Petticoat-pipe.--The Smoke-stack.--Obstructions
to Draught.--Choking the Netting with Oil.--Silicious
Deposit on Flue-sheet.--The Extended Smoke-box.--
Steam-pipes leaking.--Defects of Grates.--Lime, Scale,
and Mud.--Preventing Accumulation of Mud in Boilers.--
Temporary Cures for Leaky Flues.--Good Management Makes
Engines Steam.--Intermittent Boiler-feeding.--Too Much
Piston Clearance.--Badly Proportioned Smoke-stacks.--The
Exhaust Nozzles.
CHAPTER X.
SHORTNESS OF WATER.--PUMP DISORDERS 109
Trouble develops Natural Energy.--Shortness of Water a
Serious Predicament.--How to deal with Shortness of
Water.--Watching the Water-gauges.--What to do when
the Tender is found empty between Stations.--A Trying
Position.--Watching the Strainers.--Care of Pumps.--
How the Condition of Pumps can be tested.--Lift of
Pump-valves.--Keep Pipes tight, and Packing in Order.--
Sand in the Pump-chambers.--Delivery Orifice choked with
Lime Sediment.--Minor Pump Troubles.
CHAPTER XI.
INJECTORS 119
Invention of the Injector.--Trying to find out how the
Injector worked.--The Principle of the Injector’s
Action.--Different Forms of Injector.--A Heater-pipe
acting as an Injector.--Skill and Reflection Needed in
Repairing Injectors.--Care of Injectors.--The Most Common
Causes of Derangement.--How to Keep an Injector in Good
Order.--Curious Cases of Trouble with an Injector.--
Common Defects.--Care of Injectors in Winter.--Sellers
Injector.--The Nathan Manufacturing Company’s Monitor
Injector.--The Korting Injector.--The Hancock Inspirator.
CHAPTER XII.
BOILERS AND FIRE-BOXES 136
Care of Locomotive Boilers.--Factor of Safety.--Boiler
Explosions.--Preservation of Boilers.--Causing Injury
to Boilers.--Dangers of Mud and Scale.--Blowing off
Boilers.--Over-pressure.--Relieving Over-pressure.--
Bursted Flues.
CHAPTER XIII.
ACCIDENTS TO THE VALVE-MOTION 143
Running Worn-out Engines.--Care and Energy defy Defeat.--
Watching the Exhaust.--The Attentive Ear detects
Deterioration of Valves.--Locating the Four Exhaust
Sounds.--Identifying Defects by Sound of the Steam.--
Accidents Prevented by attending to the Note of Warning
from the Exhaust.--Neglecting a Warning.--How an
Eccentric-strap Punched a Hole in a Fire-box.--Interest
in the Valve-motion among Engineers.--Trouble with the
Valve-motion.--A Wrong Conclusion.--Locating Defects of
the Valve-motion.--Position of Eccentrics.--Method of
Setting Slipped Eccentrics.--Slipped Eccentric-rods.--
Detecting the Cause of a Lame Exhaust.--What to do when
Eccentrics, Straps, or Rods Break.--Different Ways of
securing the Cross-head.--Broken Tumbling-shaft.--
Broken Valve-stem, or Valve-yoke.--When a Rocker-shaft
or Lower Rocker-arm Breaks.--Miscellaneous Accidents to
Valve-motion.--Broken Steam-chest Cover.--Steam-pipe
Bursted.--Testing the Valves.
CHAPTER XIV.
ACCIDENTS TO CYLINDERS AND STEAM CONNECTIONS 162
Importance of the Piston in the Train of Mechanism.--Causes
that lead to Broken Cylinder-heads.--Broken Cylinder-heads
often Preventable.--When a Main Rod breaks.--Crank-pin
broken.--Throttle disconnected.--Oiling the Valves when
the Throttle is Disconnected.--What causes a Disconnected
Throttle.--Bursting a Dry Pipe.--Other Throttle
Accidents.--Pounding of the Working-parts.--Some Causes
of Pounding.--Locating a Mysterious Pound.
CHAPTER XV.
OFF THE TRACK.--ACCIDENTS TO RUNNING-GEAR 172
Getting Ditched.--Dealing with Sudden Emergencies.--
Stopping a Freight Train in Case of Danger.--Saving the
Heating Surfaces.--Getting the Engine on the Track.--
Understanding the Running-gear.--Broken Driving-spring.--
Equalizer Broken.--Accidents to Trucks.--Broken Frame.--
Broken Driving Axles, Wheels, and Tires.
CHAPTER XVI.
CONNECTING-RODS, SIDE RODS, AND WEDGES 182
Care of Locomotive Rods.--Functions of Connecting-rods.--
Effects of Bad Fitting.--Striking Points and Clearance.--
Watching Rods on the Road.--Side Rods.--Adjustment of
Side Rods.--Keying Side Rods.--Difficulty in locating
Defects.--Pounding in Driving-boxes and Wedges.--
Importance of having Wedges properly Fitted.--Influence of
Half-round Brasses.--Position of Boxes while setting up
Wedges.--Necessity for keeping Boxes and Wedges Clean.--
Temperature of the Box to be considered.--Small Disorders
that cause Rough Riding.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE VALVE-MOTION 199
The Locomotive Slide-valve.--Invention and Application
of the Slide-valve.--Description of the Slide-valve.--
Primitive Slide-valve.--Outside Lap.--Some Effects of
Lap.--Inside Lap.--The Extent of Lap usually adopted.--
First Application of Lap.--The Allen Valve.--Advantages
of the Allen Valve.--Case where the Allen Valve proved
its Value.--Inside Clearance.--Lead.--Operation of
the Steam in the Cylinders.--Back Pressure in the
Cylinders.--Effect of too Much Inside Lap.--Running into
a Hill.--Compression.--Definition of an Eccentric.--
Early Application of the Eccentric.--Relative Motion of
Piston and Crank, Slide-valve, and Eccentrics.--Attempts
to Abolish the Crank.--Valve Movement.--Effect of
Lap on the Eccentric’s Position.--Angular Advance of
Eccentrics.--Angularity of Connecting-rod.--Effect on
the Valve-motion of Connecting-rod Angularity.--Aids
to the Study of Valve-motion.--Events of the Piston
Stroke.--What Happens Inside the Cylinders when an Engine
is Reversed.--Events of the Stroke in Reversed Motion.--
Purpose of Relief-valve on Dry Pipe.--Using Reverse-motion
as a Brake.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SHIFTING-LINK 229
Early Reversing Motions.--Invention of the Link.--
Construction of the Shifting Link.--Action of the Link.--
Valve-motion of a Fast Passenger Locomotive.--Effect of
changing Valve-travel.--Weak Points of the Link-motion.--
Why Decreasing the Valve-travel Increases the Period of
Expansion.--Influence of Eccentric Throw on the Valve.--
Harmony of Working-parts.--Adjustment of Link.--Slip of
the Link.--Radius of Link.--Increase of Lead.
CHAPTER XIX.
SETTING THE VALVES 246
The Men who learn Valve-setting.--Best way to learn
Valve-setting.--Preliminary Operations.--Connecting
Eccentric-rods to Link.--Marking the Valve-stem.--Length
of the Valve-rod.--Accuracy Essential in Locating the Dead
Center Points.--Finding the Dead Centers.--Turning Wheels
and Moving Eccentrics.--Setting by the Lead Opening.--
Ascertaining the Point of Cut-off.--Adjustment of Cut-off.
CHAPTER XX.
LAYING OUT LINK-MOTION 257
Preliminary Explanations.--Definition of Terms used.--
Conditions.--Problems Involved in Laying Out
Link-motion.--To find the Position of Crank when the
Piston is at Full and Half Stroke.--To find the
Center Line of Motion and the Amount of Offset in the
Lower Rocker-arm.--To find the Relative Positions of
Crank-pin and Eccentrics when the Piston is at Full and
Half Stroke.--To determine the Correct Length of the
Eccentric-rods.--To find the Position of the Center
of Saddle-pin.--To Find the Position of the Center of
Lifting-shaft and the Length of its Arms.--Dimensions of
Locomotives.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE STEVENS VALVE-GEAR 287
Description of Motion.--Arrangement of the Motion.--Valve
Movement.--Valve-stems and Stuffing-boxes.--How Movement
of Valve is Governed.--How Exhaust Lead is Controlled.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE JOY VALVE-GEAR 292
Description of Motion.--How to Apply this Gear to American
Locomotives.--Construction Directions.--How Lap and Lead
are Regulated.--Advantages claimed for the Motion.--
Action of the Motion.--Rules for laying down the Center
Lines of the Motion.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE STEAM ENGINE INDICATOR 303
Purpose of the Indicator.--Description of Instrument.--
Operation of the Indicator.--Lines of the Diagram.--
Data Necessary for Analyzing the Diagram.--Advantages of
Indicating Locomotives.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE WESTINGHOUSE AIR-BRAKE 309
Invention of the Westinghouse Atmospheric Brake.--Distinct
Classes of Inventions.--Benefits conferred on Train
Men by Good Brakes.--First Trials of the Westinghouse
Atmospheric Brake.--First Roads that Adopted the
Westinghouse Brake.--Outlines of the Atmospheric Brake.--
How Eastern Railroads kept aloof from the Westinghouse
Brake.--Lesson of the Revere Railroad Accident.--Weak
Points of the Atmospheric Brake.--The Westinghouse
Automatic Air-brake.--Life-saving Value of the Automatic
Brake.--First Railroads that adopted the Westinghouse
Automatic Air-brake.--Essential Parts of the Westinghouse
Automatic Air-brake.--The Air-pump.--How the Air-pump
Works.--How the Air-end Operates.--Air-pump Disorders.--
Puny Difficulties Vanquish the Ignorant Engineer.--Causes
that make Brakes Inoperative often Easily Remedied.--Care
of the Air-pump.--Pump Packing.--How Steam Passages get
Choked.--Sagacity needed in Repairing Air-pumps.--Gradual
Degeneration of the Air-pump.--Causes that make a Pump
Pound.--The Triple Valve.--Action of the Triple Valve.--
To prevent creeping on of Brakes.--How to Apply and
Release the Brake.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE EAMES VACUUM BRAKE 341
Efficiency of the Brake on the Elevated Railroads.--
Operation of the Brake.--The Diaphragm.--The Ejector.--
Care of the Brake.
CHAPTER XXVI.
POWER OF LOCOMOTIVES AND TRAIN RESISTANCES 346
Calculating Power of Locomotives.--Proportion of Adhesion
to Traction.--Estimating Tractive Power.--Horse-power of
Locomotives.--Formulas of Train Resistances.--Experiments
of Train Resistances on the Erie Railway.--Conditions that
Increase Train Resistances.--Resistance of Curves.--Work
done by a Locomotive pulling a Train.--Record of Fast
Express Train made by Professor P. H. Dudley’s Dynagraph
Car.--Calculations of Weight of Trains that Locomotives
can Pull.
CHAPTER XXVII.
WATER FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS 359
How Water gets mixed with Lime.--Expense entailed by
using Bad Water.--Efforts of Master Mechanics to secure
Good Water.--Loss of Faith in Purifying Methods.--
Scale-making Agencies.--To Ascertain the Quality of
Water.--Appliances needed in Testing Water.--Preparing
for the Experiments.--Lime held in Solution by Free
Carbonic Acid.--Test for Lime Salts.--Test for Sulphate
of Lime.--Test for Carbonate of Magnesia.--Test for Salts
of Iron.--Test for Chlorine.--Learning the Manipulation
of Tests.--Making Qualitative Tests.--The Soap-test for
Hardness.--Modification of the Clark Soap-test.--Applying
the Soap-test.--Difficulties of purifying Water for
Locomotives.--Mud.--Carbonate of Lime.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
EXAMINATION FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS 376
Principal Duties of an Engineer.--Carrying Water
in Boiler.--Procedure when Short of Water.--
Boiler-foaming.--Disconnecting the Engine.--Slipping an
Eccentric.--Breaking a Valve-yoke.--Cylinder-packing
Blowing.--Broken Rocker-arm.--Broken Link-hanger.--
Broken Side Rods.--Throttle Disconnected.--Broken Tires.
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE RUNNING.
CHAPTER I.
_ENGINEERS AND THEIR DUTIES._
ATTRIBUTES THAT MAKE A GOOD ENGINEER.
The locomotive engine which reaches nearest perfection, is one which
performs the greatest amount of work at the least cost for fuel,
lubricants, wear and tear of machinery, and of the track traversed:
the nearest approach to perfection in an engineer, is the man who can
work the engine so as to develop its best capabilities at the least
cost. Poets are said to be born, not made. The same may be said of
engineers. One man may have charge of an engine for only a few months,
and yet exhibit thorough knowledge of his business, displaying sagacity
resembling instinct concerning the treatment necessary to secure the
best performance from his engine: another man, who appears equally
intelligent in matters not pertaining to the locomotive, never develops
a thorough understanding of the machine.
HOW ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL ARE ACQUIRED.
A man who possesses the natural gifts necessary for the making of a
good engineer, will advance more rapidly in acquiring mastery of the
business than does one whom Nature intended for a ditcher. But there
is no royal road to the knowledge requisite for making a first-class
engineer. The capability of handling an engine can be acquired by a few
months’ practice. Opening the throttle, and moving the reverse lever,
require but scanty skill; there is no great accomplishment in being
able to pack a gland, or tighten up a loose nut; but the magazine of
practical knowledge, which enables an engineer to meet every emergency
with calmness and promptitude, is obtained only by years of experience
on the footboard, and by assiduous observation while there.
PUBLIC INTEREST IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
Ever since the incipiency of the railroad system, a close interest has
been manifested by the general public in the character and capabilities
of locomotive engineers. This is natural, for no other class of men
hold the safe-keeping of so much life and property in their hands.
IGNORANCE VERSUS KNOWLEDGE.
Two leading pioneers of railway progress in Europe took diametrically
opposite views of the intellectual qualities best calculated to make
a good engineer. George Stephenson preferred intelligent men, well
educated and read up in mechanical and physical science; Brunel
recommended illiterate men for taking charge of engines, on the novel
hypothesis, that, having nothing else in their heads, there would be
abundant room for the acquirement of knowledge respecting their work.
In every test of skill, the intelligent men proved victors.
ILLITERATE ENGINEERS NOT WANTED IN AMERICA.
No demand for illiterate or ignorant engineers has ever arisen in
America. Many men who have spent an important portion of their lives on
the footboard, have risen to grace the highest ranks of the mechanical
and social world. The pioneer engines, which demonstrated the
successful working of locomotive power, were run by some of the most
accomplished mechanical engineers in the country. As an engine adapted
to the work it has to perform, the American locomotive is recognized to
have always kept ahead of its compeers in other parts of the world. No
inconsiderable part of this superiority is due to the fact, that nearly
all the master mechanics who control the designing of our locomotives
have had experience in running them, and thereby understand exactly the
qualities most needed for the work to be done.
GROWING IMPORTANCE OF ENGINEERS’ DUTIES.
The safe and punctual operation of our railroads has always depended
to a great extent upon the discriminating care of the engineer.
The present tendency of railroad operating is to increase his
responsibility. Every advance in brake improvement increases the duties
of the enginemen, and upon them will soon devolve the entire management
and control of trains while in motion.
INDIVIDUALITY OF AMERICAN ENGINEERS.
Writing on the fitness of various railroad employés for their duties,
that eminent authority, Ex-Railroad-Commissioner Charles F. Adams,
jun., says, “In discussing and comparing the appliances used in the
practical operating of railroads in different countries, there is one
element, however, which can never be left out of the account. The
intelligence, quickness of perception, and capacity for taking care
of themselves,--that combination of qualities, which, taken together,
constitute individuality, and adaptability to circumstances,--vary
greatly among the railroad employés of different countries. The
American locomotive engineer, as he is called, is especially gifted in
this way. He can be relied on to take care of himself and his train
under circumstances which in other countries would be thought to insure
disaster.”
NECESSITY FOR CLASS IMPROVEMENT.
While American locomotive engineers can confidently invite comparison
between their own mechanical and intellectual attainments and those of
their compeers in any nation under the sun, there still remains ample
room for improvement. If they are not advancing, they are retrograding.
The engineer who looks back to companions of a generation ago, and says
that we know as much as they did, but no more, implies the assertion
that his class is going backward. On very few roads, and in but rare
instances, can this grave charge be made, that the engineers are
falling behind in the intellectual race. On the contrary, there are
signs all around us of substantial work in the cause of intellectual
and moral advancement.
THE SKILL OF ENGINEERS INFLUENCES OPERATING EXPENSES.
No class of railroad-men affects the expenses of operating so directly
as engineers do. The daily wages paid to an engineer is a trifling sum
compared to the amount he can save or waste by good or bad management
of his engine. Fuel wasted, lubricants thrown away, supplies destroyed,
and machinery abused, leading to extravagant running repairs, make up
a long bill by the end of each month, where enginemen are incompetent.
Every man with any spark of manliness in his breast will strive to
become master of his work; and, stirred by this ambition, he will avoid
wasting the material of his employer just as zealously as if the stores
were his own property; and only such men deserve a position on the
footboard.
The day has passed away when an engineer was regarded as perfectly
competent so long as he could take his train over the road on time.
Nowadays a man must get the train along on schedule time to be
tolerated at all, and he is not considered a first-class engineer
unless he possesses the knowledge which enables him to take the
greatest amount of work out of the engine with the least possible
expense. To accomplish such results, a thorough acquaintance with all
details of the engine is essential, so that the entire machine may
be operated as a harmonious unit, without jar or pound: the various
methods of economizing heat must be intimately understood, and the laws
which govern combustion should be well known so far as they apply to
the management of the fire.
METHODS OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT.
To obtain this knowledge, which gives power, and directly increases
a man’s intrinsic value, young engineers and aspiring firemen must
devote a portion of their leisure time to the form of self-improvement
relating to the locomotive. Socrates, a sagacious old Greek
philosopher, believed that the easiest way to obtain knowledge was
by persistently asking questions. Young engineers can turn this
system to good account. Never feel ashamed to ask for information
where it is needed, and do not imagine that a man has reached the
limit of mechanical knowledge when he knows how to open and shut
the throttle-valve. The more a man progresses in studying out the
philosophy of the locomotive and its economical operation, the more he
gets convinced of his own limited knowledge. A young engineer who seeks
for knowledge by questioning his elders must not feel discouraged at
a rebuff. Men who refuse to answer civilly questions asked by juniors
searching for information, are generally in the dark themselves, and
attempt by rudeness to conceal their own ignorance.
OBSERVING SHOP OPERATIONS.
The system in vogue in most of our States, especially in the West, of
taking on men for firemen who have received no previous mechanical
training, leaves a wide field open for engineering instruction. Such
men can not spend too much time watching the operations going on in
repair-shops; every detail of round-house work should be closely
observed; the various parts of the great machine they are learning
to manage should be studied in detail. No operation of repairs is
too trifling to receive strict attention. Where the machinists are
examining piston-packing, facing valves, reducing rod-brasses, or
lining down wedges, the ambitious novice will, by close watching of
the work, obtain knowledge of the most useful kind. Looking on will
not teach him how to do the work, but interesting himself in the
procedure is a long step in the direction of learning. Repairing of
pumps and injectors is interesting work, full of instructive points
which may prove invaluable on the road. The rough work performed by
the men who change truck-wheels, put new brasses in oil-boxes, and
replace broken springs, is worthy of close attention; for it is just
such work that enginemen are most likely to be called upon to perform
on the road in cases of accident. To obtain a thorough insight into
the working of the locomotive, no detail of its construction is too
trifling for attention. The unison of the aggregate machine depends
upon the harmonious adjustment of the various parts; and, unless a man
understands the connection of the details, he is never likely to become
skillful in detecting derangements.
WHERE IGNORANCE WAS RUIN.
I knew a case where the neglect to learn how minor work about the
engine was done, proved fatal to the prospects of a young engineer.
A new engine-truck box had been adopted shortly before he went
running; and, although he had often seen the cellar taken down by the
round-house men when they were packing the trucks, he never paid close
attention to how it was done. As the new plan was a radical change from
the old practice, taking down the new cellar was a little puzzling
at first to a man who did not know how to do it. One day this young
engineer took out an engine with the new kind of truck, and a journal
got running hot. He crept under the truck among snow and slush, to
take the cellar down for packing; but he struggled half an hour over
it, and could not get the thing down. Then the conductor came along, to
see what was the matter; and, being posted on such work, he perceived
that the young engineer did not know how to take the cellar out of
the box. The conductor helped the engineer to do a job he should
have needed no assistance with. The story was presently carried to
headquarters with additions, and was the means of returning the young
engineer to the left-hand side.
PREJUDICE AGAINST STUDYING BOOKS.
There is a silly prejudice in some quarters against engineers
applying to books for information respecting their engines. Engineers
are numerous who boast noisily that all their knowledge is derived
from actual experience, and they despise theorists who study
books, drawings, or models in acquiring particulars concerning the
construction or operation of the locomotive parts. Such men have
nothing to boast of. They never learn much, because ignorant egotism
keeps them blind. They keep the ranks of the mere stopper and starter
well filled.
THE KIND OF KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM BOOKS.
The books on mechanical practice which these ultra practical men
despise, contain in condensed form the experience and discoveries that
have been gleaned from the hardest workers and thinkers of past ages.
The product of long years of toilful experiment, where intense thought
has furrowed expansive brows, and weary watching has whitened raven
locks, is often recorded on a few pages. A mechanical fact which an
experimenter has spent years in discovering and elucidating, can be
learned and tested by a student in as many hours. The man who despises
book-knowledge relating to any calling or profession, rejects the
wisdom begotten of former recorded labor.
A careful perusal of _Forney’s Catechism of the Locomotive_ will teach
the young engineer valuable lessons about his engine which can be daily
substantiated by practice. In nearly every instance, reading such a
work acts as a stimulant to the perceptive faculties of an engineer.
An explanation of a point helps to throw new light on something that
was hazy, but now appears perfectly clear. An assertion made that
a man does not agree with provokes thought, and thought leads to
investigation. A writer may continually present matters at variance
with the views of a reader, and yet be the means of imparting valuable
knowledge. When an engineer wishes to gain a thorough knowledge of the
valve-motion,--and most of us pride ourselves on what we know about
this subject,--he may go in for a systematic study of Auchincloss on
_Link and Valve Motions_. Here he will obtain information that can
never be reached by mere practice with the actual motion; yet access
to, and observation of, the working-motion, will engrave the principles
upon his memory so that they can never be forgotten. _Porter on the
Indicator_ is a good source from whence accurate knowledge respecting
the expansive working of steam can be obtained. Many other springs
of knowledge flow clear and free. What is needed is the inclination
to receive and the determination to obtain. When a man is searching
honestly for information upon mechanical subjects, he will quickly find
means of gratifying his desire.