_OFF THE TRACK.--ACCIDENTS TO RUNNING-GEAR._
GETTING DITCHED.
There is something pathetic in the spectacle of a noble locomotive,
whose speed capabilities are so wonderful, lying with its wheels in the
air, or sunk to the hubs in mud or gravel. Kindred sights are, a ship
thrown high and dry upon the beach, away from the element that gives it
power and beauty; or a monster whale, the leviathan of the deep, lying
stranded and helpless upon the shore.
Few engineers have run many years without getting their engine off the
track in some way,--over the ends of switches, by jumping bad track,
or getting into the ditch through some serious accident, collision or
otherwise. Most of them have felt that shock of the engine thumping
over the ties, and momentarily wondered in what position it was going
to stop; doing all in their power, meanwhile, to stop, and prevent
damage.
DEALING WITH SUDDEN EMERGENCIES.
Of course, an engineer’s first duty is to conduct his engine in a way
that will avoid accident so far as human foresight can aid in doing
so; but, when an accident is inevitable, his next duty is to use every
exertion towards reducing its severity. The most common form of serious
accident occurring on our railroads is a collision. Rear-end collisions
occur most frequently, although head-to-head collisions annually claim
many victims. When an accident of this kind is impending, the engineer
generally has but a few seconds of warning; but these brief seconds
well utilized often save many lives, and impress the principal actor
with the stamp of true heroism. Rounding a curve at a high speed, an
engineer perceives another train approaching. Quick as thought he
shuts off steam, applies the brake, reverses the engine, and opens
the sand-valves and the throttle. This will take about ten seconds’
time; and, if the engine is running thirty miles an hour, the train
will pass over forty-four feet each second. Assuming that no reduction
of speed has taken place till all the appliances for stopping are
in operation, four hundred and forty feet will be passed over as
a preliminary to stopping. With the automatic Westinghouse brake,
application and retarding power are almost simultaneous. Until he
has applied all means of reducing speed, an engineer rarely or never
consults his own safety, however certain death may be staring him in
the face. But after the brakes are known to be doing their work, aided
by sanded rails, and steam working against the piston, personal safety
is considered. A glance at the position of the two trains tells if they
are coming violently together; and the engineer jumps off, or remains
on the engine, as he deems best. This applies to trains equipped with
continuous brakes.
STOPPING A FREIGHT TRAIN IN CASE OF DANGER.
With freight trains where the means of stopping are not immediately
under the hand of the engineer, he must call for brakes on the first
indication of danger, and do all that a reversed engine can achieve to
aid in stopping the train. Where a driver brake is used, the engineer
will have to watch the reversed engine; because the wheels will soon
begin sliding, even on thick sand, and their retarding power will be
seriously diminished. To prevent this, the engineer should let off
the driver brake, and open the cylinder-cocks, till the wheels begin
to revolve, when the brake may be applied again. Working and watching
in this way greatly assist in stopping a train, and preventing the
flattening of wheels.
SAVING THE HEATING SURFACES.
Should the engine get into the ditch, the engineer’s first duty is
to save the engine from getting burned, unless saving of life, or
protecting the train, demands his attention. If the engine is in a
position where the flues or fire-box crown will be left without water,
the fire should be quenched as quickly as possible. Sand or gravel
thrown over the fire, and then saturated with water, is a good and
prompt way of extinguishing the fire.
GETTING THE ENGINE ON THE TRACK.
It can be understood in a few minutes after derailment whether or not
the engine can be put back on the track without assistance. Sometimes
a pull from another engine is all that is required: again, nothing
can be done without the aid of heavy tools to raise it up. In this
case, no time should be lost in sending for the wrecking outfit. It
often happens that an engine gets off the track while switching among
sidings, and sinks down in the road-bed so as to be helpless. In an
event of this kind, jacking up a few inches will often enable the
engine to work back to the rails. Before beginning to hoist with the
screw-jacks, some labor can generally be saved by putting pieces of
iron between the bottom of the driving-boxes and the pedestal-braces.
As the wheels begin to rise out of the gravel, pieces of plank or
wooden wedges should be driven under them to hold good every inch
raised. Where the attempt is made to work an engine on the rails by
means of wrecking-frogs, wooden filling should be laid down crosswise
to prevent the wheels from sinking between the ties, should they slip
off the frogs. Where jacking up has to be resorted to, there is often
difficulty experienced in getting up the engine-truck; as raising the
frame usually leaves the truck behind in the mire. The best plan is, to
jack up the front of the engine to the desired level, then with a rail
well manned pry up the truck, and hold it in position by driving shims
under the wheels. An engine will generally go on the rails easiest the
way it comes off.
When a derailed engine is being pulled on the track by another engine,
the work should be done carefully, and with proper deliberation. When
every thing is made ready for a pull, some men act as if the best plan
was to start both engines off with full throttle; and this often leaves
the situation worse than it was at first. When truck-wheels stand at
an angle to the track, it is often necessary to jerk them in line by
attaching a chain or rope to one side. A wrecking-frog should be laid
in front of the wheel outside the rail, and blocking before the inside
wheel, sufficient to raise the tread of the wheel above the level of
the rail. Then move ahead slowly, and the chances are that the wheels
will go on the rails. Sometimes the easiest way is to open the track at
a joint, move it aside to the line of the wheels, and spike it there,
then draw or run the engine on.
Having an engine off the track, is a position where good judgment is
more potent than a volume of written directions.
UNDERSTANDING THE RUNNING-GEAR.
The driving-wheels, axles, boxes, frames, with the trucks and all their
attachments, are somewhat dirty articles to handle. The examination
of how they are put together, and how they are hanging together,
is pursued under soiling circumstances. Perhaps this is the reason
these things are studied less than they ought to be. To creep under a
greasy locomotive to examine wheels, axles, and truck-boxes, is not a
dignified proceeding by any means; but it is a very useful one. The
running-gear is the fundamental part of the machine, and its whole
make-up should be thoroughly understood. The builds of trucks are so
multifarious that no specified directions can be given respecting
accidents happening to them. There is, therefore, the greater need
for an engineer’s familiarizing himself with the make-up of his
running-gear, so that, when an accident happens, he will know exactly
what to do. Disraeli said: “There is nothing so likely to happen as
the unexpected.” This applies very aptly to railroad engineering.
Industrious accumulation of knowledge respecting every part of the
machine is the proper way to defy the unexpected.
BROKEN DRIVING-SPRING.
The running-gear of some engines is so arranged, that, in case a
driving-spring breaks on the road, it can readily be replaced if a
spare spring is carried. With the average run of engines, however, and
the accumulating complication of brake-gear attached to the frames,
the replacing of a driving-spring is a tedious operation, that would
involve too much delay with an engine attached to a train. Consequently
engineers seldom attempt to change a broken spring. They merely remove
the attachments likely to shake out of place, and block the engine up
so as to get home safely. When a forward driving-spring breaks, it is
generally best to take the spring out with its saddle and hangers. Then
run the back drivers up on wedges to take the weight off the forward
drivers, and put a piece of hard wood or a rubber spring between the
top of the box and the frame. Now run the forward drivers on the
wedges, which will take the weight off the back drivers, and with a
pinch-bar pry up the end of the equalizer till that lever stands level,
and block it in that position by jamming a piece of wood between it
and the frame. For a back driving-spring, this order of procedure
should be reversed. A back driving-spring is often hard to get out of
its position; and it sometimes can be left in place, as it is not very
liable to cause mischief.
Where a spring drops its load through a hanger breaking, the mishap can
occasionally be remedied by chaining the spring to the frame. Should
this prove impracticable, the same process must be followed as that
which was made necessary by a broken spring.
EQUALIZER BROKEN.
For a broken equalizer, all the pieces likely to shake off, or to be
caught by the revolving wheels, must come out; and both driving-boxes
on that side must be blocked on top with wood or rubber. Where good
screw-jacks are carried, it will often prove time-saving to raise the
engine by jacking up at the back end of the frame instead of running it
up on wedges. Where the wedge plan is likely to prove easiest, it must
be adopted only on a straight track; and then too much care can not be
used to prevent the wheels from leaving the rails.
ACCIDENTS TO TRUCKS.
The breaking of an engine-truck spring which transmits the weight
to the boxes by means of an equalizer, requires that the equalizer
should be taken out, and the frame blocked above the boxes. This
blocking above the boxes is necessary to prevent the two unyielding
iron surfaces, which would otherwise come together, from hammering
each other to pieces. Wood or rubber has more elasticity, and acts as
a spring. Whatever may be the form of truck used, if the breaking of
a spring allows the rigid frame to drop upon the top of one or more
boxes, it must be raised, and a yielding substance inserted, if the
engine is to be run even at a moderate speed, and the engineer wishes
to avoid further breakage. Sometimes truck-springs, especially with
tanks, are so arranged that the removal of one will take away the
support of the frame at that point. In such a case, a cross-tie or
other suitable piece of wood must be fitted into the place to support
the weight which the spring held up.
BROKEN FRAME.
A broken truck-frame can generally be held together by means of a
chain, and a piece of broken rail or wooden beam to act as a “splice.”
Should a truck-wheel or axle break, it can be chained up to enable
the engine to reach the nearest side track where new wheels may be
procured, or the broken parts fastened so that the engine may proceed
carefully home. The back wheel of an engine-truck can be chained
up securely to a rail or cross-tie placed across the top of the
engine-frame. If an accident happens to the front wheels, and it proves
impracticable to get a sound pair, the truck should be turned round
when a side track is reached. An accident to the wheels or axle of a
tender-truck can be managed in the same way as an engine-truck, but the
cross-beam to support the chained weight must be placed across the top
of the tender. A bent axle or broken wheel that prevents a truck from
following the rail, can be run to the nearest side track by fastening
the wheels so that they will slide on the rails.
BROKEN DRIVING AXLES, WHEELS, AND TIRES.
Accidents of this nature often disable the engine entirely; but
sometimes the breakage occurs in such a way that the engine can run
itself home, or into a side track, by good and careful management.
Driving-axles generally break in the box, or between the box and the
wheel. When this happens to a main driving-axle, or when any thing
happens to the forward driving-wheel or tire of such a serious nature
that the engine can not be moved until the wheel is raised away from
the rail, the engineer’s first duty is to take down the main rod on
that side, and secure the piston, then to take down both of the side
rods. Cases could be cited where engineers have brought in engines with
broken axles without disconnecting any thing, but these men did not
take the safe side by a long way.
The rods being disconnected, run the disabled wheel up on a wedge or
block of wood, and secure it in the raised position by driving blocking
between the axle-box and the pedestal-brace. To get the box high enough
in the jaws, it is sometimes necessary to remove the spring and saddle
from the top of the box. A wheel may break and not fall to pieces, but
still be dangerous to use, except for moving along slowly. A tire may
break, and yet remain on the wheel, only requiring the most careful
handling. On the other hand, the breaking of a wheel or tire may render
the wheel useless, when it must be raised from the rail the same way as
was recommended for a broken axle, and the same precautions in regard
to stripping that side of the engine must all be taken. In the event of
an accident happening which disables both forward drivers, they must
both be raised from the rails, and the engine pulled in, the truck and
hind drivers supporting the weight. Both side rods must come down.
The breaking of back driving-axles, or accidents to wheels or tires,
is very difficult to manage; because the weight must be supported in
some way. The first act when such a mishap occurs, is to take down
both side rods. If the engine can be moved to the nearest side track
without further change, take it there; now jack up the back part of the
engine, and fasten two pieces of rail by chaining or otherwise to the
frames of the engine, their ends resting on the tank-deck, so that,
when the jacks are lowered, the tank will help to support the hind part
of the engine.
I have seen a case where one piece of rail was pushed into the draw-bar
casting, and it held the engine up through a journey of seventy miles.
If one of the back driving-wheels can be used, it lessens the weight
that has to be borne by any lever contrivance. When one wheel is
disabled, it must be blocked up in the jaws; and, should both wheels
be rendered useless, they must both be held up, so that as much as
possible of the weight may be thrown upon the forward drivers.