For this reason, when he becomes conscious of the fact that there is some certain thing pertaining to his business of which he is ignorant he informs himself on that particular point without delay, while other matters of which he is ignorant, and concerning which he is not aware, rest until some happening or discussion with other men brings them to his attention," remarked Tom Bailey.

"That is just the reason we are having these talks," said Smith.

"Well, that will apply all right in most cases, but not in all. Now I have not the slightest idea how a man feels who is rich. I am aware of my ignorance, but see no way of acquiring knowledge along that line from a practical standpoint," said Jim Burns.

"Well, you are reaching out for the unattainable, and, therefore, you have no reason to expect to gain knowledge of that subject. Let's get down to business. What have you got, Smith, to lay before this assembly today. We always look to you to state the trouble, and you have never failed us yet," replied Tom Bailey.

"Very well. We will have something easy today for your consideration: What would you do with a broken valve seat, to repair it out on the road so as to bring your engine and what cars you could handle into the terminal?" asked Charley Smith.

"That is real easy, as a broken valve seat is ordinarily one of the hard breakdowns that an engineer is called on to repair. Usually when a valve seat is broken other damage will result either to the rocker arms, valve rod or eccentric blades, as the valve catching on the broken seat will bend or break one or more of these parts, and such parts will need to be removed or disconnected as conditions may require. If the forward steam port is broken, place the valve so as to cover the exhaust and back steam ports, disconnect and clamp the valve rod, take down your main rod and block crosshead with piston at back end of cylinder. The reason you take down the main rod with this breakdown or with back port broken is that steam has free admission to your cylinder and the disabled side would be working against the good side one-half of the time.

"If back steam port is broken, disconnect valve stem, place valve to cover front and exhaust ports and clamp it; take down main rod, and block cross-head with piston at front end of cylinder. If bridge between either steam port and ex

haust port should be broken, disconnect valve stem, cover ports with valve and clamp valve rod. Leave the main rod up.

"With a false seat, take it up if you can and block to cover ports on cylinder casting seat. Sometimes the broken pieces can be fitted together to make a tight joint, or a piece of board can be fitted in to make a tight joint," explained Bailey.

"If there was a strong blow at the exhause, what trouble would you look for?" asked Smith.

"A broken bridge or a cocked valve would cause that. As we have discussed what to do with a broken bridge, I will pass over that and tell you what I would do for a cocked valve. Jerking the lever quickly back and forth will sometimes seat the valve. If that fails, disconnect the valve stem and move the valve by pushing the valve stem in and pulling it with a shaking motion. If that fails, take up the chest cover and seat it as a last resort," said Bailey.

"What would you do for a broken steam chest or chest cover?" asked Smith. "Loosen the studs to a joint of the steam pipe in the front end and put in a blind gasket of some thin sheet metal. If chest is cracked down the side, take off the casing and slacken nuts on chest cover to studs near the crack, and wedge between studs and side of steam chest to close the break. In case you are unable to fit a blind gasket in steam-pipe joint, fit blocks in steam ways in cylinder face and fasten them down with blocks. Perhaps the live steam will render them useless before you get in, but it is the only other alternative unless you put the fire out and get ready to be towed," said Bailey.

"I judge that it is a good deal easier to put a blind gasket in a steam-pipe joint, in your mind, than to put it in on the road on a hot engine. To go in a hot front end and do work of that kind is far from being pleasant," remarked Andy Johnson.

"That is very true, but there are many unpleasant experiences encountered by every man in all walks of life and, as the old saying runs, we must 'take the bitter with the sweet.' The fire wants to be as low as possible and the air-pump throttle and lubricator shut off when you go in front end, and then it will be a hot job at best," said Tom Bailey.

"I went out and pulled in a train a few weeks ago, and the engine that was pulling the train had a broken steam chest.

They had blocked the admission ports with wood, and before we had gone fifteen miles the steam had destroyed them until she got to blowing so bad that the engineer had to shut off steam, and I pulled him in to the terminal," said Ed Miller.

"That is the result where steam is brought in contact with wood. It softens it and the pressure forces it to pieces," replied Bailey.

"Then it would appear to me the wisest and best thing to do with a breakdown requiring the stoppage of the admission of steam to the chest, is to get the engine ready for towing," said Miller.

"It certainly is, for on most divisions an engine can be sent to you before you can get your engine ready for service, and then, if she is a heavy engine, she will probably fail to handle herself. In that case your work of shutting off the steam from the chest is of no practical value," said Bailey.

"I can tell you of a thing I have seen tried with good results where an engine is going along on one side, or in the case of a broken piston head it will aid you in locating the difficulty. When running on one side, just before the engine would come to a stop, release your brakes and put the lever in the opposite gear from the direction you are going, pull your throttle open and the engine will stop on the quarter on the good side. It will save you trouble with the pinchbar or the valve on the disabled side to get your engine off center on the good side," remarked Andy Johnson.

"Why will the engine stop on the quarter on the good side?" asked Burns.

"For the reason that at that point the greatest resistance is offered to her farther advancing," explained Johnson.

"It's worth trying, at any rate," said Bailey.

"If you broke a piston head or a cylinder head, what would you disconnect, Miller?" asked Smith.

"Just the valve stem, and clamp it to cover the ports, provided that with a broken piston there is no damage to the piston rod or its connections rendering it necessary to take down the main rod, and this latter is not very liable to occur," replied Miller.

"What are the causes of cylinder-head breakages?" asked Burns.

"A broken main pin, main-rod strap, cross-head, cross-head key or piston rod. A loose follower bolt, too much water in the cylinder, or any hard obstruction that

might get in there would cause a like result. The head might become too weak to stand the pressure exerted against it and, in the case of a back head, an obstruction left in the guides would tear the head out. With a cracked front head sometimes you can brace it with a timber against the pilot beam and get in without any further damage," said Miller.

"A broken back head would cause more work to disconnect and get the engine ready for towing than a front head," said Burns.

"Yes, considerable more," replied Miller.

"With both front cylinder heads gone one could get in by blocking the front ports," remarked Andy Johnson.

"It would not pay for the work and the delay involved in doing it. The chest covers must be taken up-quite a job when you figure on the tools you have to do the work with. When fitting blocks in the ports you will be hampered by like conditions, and when the job is finished the chances are that it will not last ten miles. It is a breakdown that seldom occurs, but if it should happen to an engine I was running I would cover the ports and tell them to come and get her," said Miller.

"That would be my way of doing," said Tom Bailey.

"What is the best way of fixing up a broken valve stem or piston gland with one or both gland studs broken?" asked Smith.

"With broken glands, disconnect. With one stud broken, if soft packing is used some of it can be taken out and the gland pushed in farther by screwing up the nut on the sound stud. As soft packing is about obsolete, the chances are you would have hard packing and would have to disconnect on that side.

"The most important things to do when you break down are to protect your train and clear the main line as speedily as possible. If your breakdown is of any serious character the probability is that the engine will do no more than handle herself, and perhaps not that, so that one must send for help as speedily as possible," said Ed Miller.

"The hauling of the entire train over the road and getting the disabled engine in where it can be made ready for service more than offsets any extra expense that might be incurred. On a branch line where there was no other train to be delayed, or it was hard to get an engine to

one in reasonable time, then a man might make repairs that he would not be justified in doing on a busy line," said Charley Smith.

"I think we can all agree on the wisdom of sending for an engine to help you in case of a serious breakdown," said Tom Bailey.

"Then we are adjourned until a favorable time for our reconvening," said Charley Smith; and the meeting adjourned.

W. L. FRENCH.

Pacific Ocean, of San Francisco, the distant mountains, plains, forests, streams, and valleys. All the outlying regions for a radius of 75 miles may be seen at a single glance of the eye, as it sweeps the four points of the compass.

In making the ascent of the mountain, the view is superb beyond description. At each turn of the serpentine road, the train rises higher and higher, thus giving the passengers wider range of vision -more extended views. At last the train reaches the apex of the mountain, and seemingly, all the earth lies at one's

World.

What is known as a "marine geared" locomotive is used in pulling trains from Mill Valley, in Martin County, California, to the summit of Mount Tamalpais. The apex of this peak is about 2,600 feet above sea level; and the grade is a terrific one to overcome in making the ascent. For much of the distance (the total length of the mountain road is 8 1-5 miles) the grade is 7 per cent. The degrees of the curves run all the way from 30 to 93. In that stretch of road there are 281 curves; and the longest piece of straight track is only 413 feet. The road is a standard gauge (broad) with steam, oil burning locomotive of a special type, whose cylinders turn a shaft geared similarly as a propeller shaft, that propels the driving wheels. This shaft is furnished with universal joints, so that the many very acute curves may be made with ease and safety. This mountain climbing is not a cog road. The engine is generally called a "Shay" engine. It has great powers as a steep grade climber -moving smoothly and steadily forward on the track without much apparent effort or labor. It is also considered very safe and reliable as a mountain engine. It was built at Lima, Ohio, and is one of three possessed by the company owning the Mount Tamalpais Railroad. It weighs about 30 tons, and has a maximum speed of about 10 miles per hour, when moving over a level stretch of track or climbing a very sharp grade.

The Mill Valley and Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway enjoys the reputation of being "the crookedest railroad in the world;" that is, for its length. This railway has been in operation for several years, and thus far no accident has occurred. The view from the summit of Mount Tamalpais is incomparably grand and sublime. Views are obtained of the

The construction of this short piece of road cost a great sum of money, and required a long time. The work was a triumph of railroad engineering. For many years only a narrow, tortuous trail led up along the precipitous sides of this lofty mountain; and the ascent on foot was regarded as a most laborious feat. When the project of constructing a railway to the summit was first mooted, it was deemed an almost impossible task; yet, with capital, energy and enterprise, the great work was accomplished. Mount Tamalpais is one of the real wonders of the Pacific Coast, and is the Mecca of many thousands of tourists who come west. Several trips are made every day over the line. About 40 minutes are required to make the ascent from Mill Valley to the summit, and, of course, the descent is made in much less time.

For some distance after Mill Valley is left, the road leads up through a magnificent belt of timber, past beautiful groves of fragrant woods and thickets, and along the banks of a rushing little stream. Before the real base of the mountain is reached, the road crosses the stream a number of times.

Mr. T. J. Johnson, a veteran engineer who has "handled the throttle lever" for many a year, is the man in charge of the train. For more than seven years Mr. Johnson has made four trips each day, winter and summer-and Sundays. Under his experienced management no accident has ever occurred, and not a passenger has ever been injured. This is a record of which any engineer may well feel proud.

The name of "Tamalpais" is of an interesting origin. Years ago-before the discovery of gold in California-the peninsula north of the Golden Gate was inhabited by a tribe of Indians called "Tamais." "Pais" means in the Spanish tongue "country," hence the word "Tam