at is that if there is blame in this case it should be on Ted Harrow for being down on the deck when he should have been looking out for signals," said Harris.

"A man has got to put a fire in some time. A fireman can't sit upon the seat and let the fire go out, even to watch signals," remarked Burns.

"There is no need that he should. Neither is there any need that he should let the engineer incur any danger of doing damage in order that he may put in a fire. When the engine is going ahead a fire can be put in, and the worst that can happen is for the cars to run over the switch a little further than necessary. If one wished to avoid that one could wait until the signal to stop was given, jump down and put in a fire and be back on the seat in time to catch the signal to back up," said Wesley Harris.

"Good idea, Wesley. That is one of the things concerning which many firemen are careless. There are two important reasons why enginemen should be watchful of signals; one is that it will keep them out of trouble many times; the other that it aids in getting over the road. A hustling train crew will get tired after awhile giving signals over and over before they are seen, and will feel discouraged about trying to get over the road quickly," said Tom Bailey.

"A fireman who is watchful for signals and exercises good judgment about such matters is building up a reputation for himself that will be of good use to him later on," said Charley Smith.

"Suppose you were firing a way freight run for a man like the one I have, I don't think you would have much encouragement to try and be a first-class man. When we leave town on goes his injector before he hooks her up any, and working so strong that from a third of a glass the boiler has gained up to a full glass by the time the next town is reached, and when he shuts off steam off goes the injector. Coming into town I must either let my fire burn down until I have none to switch with, and must run the risk of losing it, or else I must take the blame for her blowing off continually about the station," said Jim Burns.

"Well, that is a very disagreeable condition to work under. The man you are with is not doing that to be disagreeable but because he has not given the matter due thought. He is in a rut and needs to be lifted out of it. Suppose that in the morning before you leave you suggest to him that inasmuch as his injector works

too strong that he allow you to try yours and see what it will do, and be sure that you show him results, if you do the pumping, in a more uniform steam pressure and less popping around stations," said Harris.

"There is nothing that will work more hardship on a fireman than poor pumping," remarked Tom Bailey.

"The worst part of it is, too, that it is totally unnecessary," said Smith.

"I was firing an engine not long ago," said Andy Johnson, "that had been steaming good and had not been leaking any to speak about. All at once she commenced to steam hard. I had to fight her all the way over the road and the flues commenced to leak, but nothing could be found wrong about the front end. After a week or so of this, one day when we were getting out of the house I noticed fire dropping down into the front of the ashpan. I found the front of the dump grate sagged down a good bit and lots of room for cold air to get up above the sheet at the front of the box to the flues. The rod that held the dump grate up ran through the ashpan and, having got too hot, had bent and allowed the dump grate to hang down. I told the engineer about it and he had it fixed, and she steams as good as she did before that happened. It don't take much to spoil an engine's good steaming qualities."

"No, a very little disorder in some part or a small change in some particular often works wonders," said Harris.

"Will an engine steam the best with lump or fine coal with a heavy fire?" asked Burns.

"With lump coal," Harris replied.

"Will you explain why?" asked Burns. "When the fire grows heavy the admission of air through the grates is retarded. Fine coal lies close and hinders the admission of air more than lumps that fall and lie more unevenly on the fire. If there is clinker in the fire lump coal may burn on it, but you may be sure that fine coal will not. The same method would apply to the firing on a dump grate after it got covered with dead stuff," said Harris.

"The locomotive I am firing now drums pretty bad when we are standing around stations. If I drop the dampers or latch the door open with the blower on lightly the drumming ceases. I would like to know the cause of the drumming," said Andy Johnson.

"The hydrogen gas escaping from the coal combines with the oxygen in the air in such proportion as to form a new and

explosive gas, and it is the explosion of the minute particles of this gas that causes the very disagreeable drumming you ask about. When an engine drums the fire is always in good condition," said Harris.

"When a locomotive has been steaming freely and suddenly becomes a hard steamer something that was in the right position has shifted, or a leak has started somewhere, and these troubles can be found more easily as a rule than the trouble can with engines just out of the shop that are not steaming. With them you have experiments to make until you locate the defect," said Tom Bailey.

"How could one determine if the exhaust was not filling the stack equally on all sides?" asked Andy Johnson.

"Just after you have put in a heavy fire of green coal you could see the smoke apparently filling the stack, but while it might be full from your point of view at the rear, yet if you were to look from the front you might find an entirely different condition. The front half might show light. A good way to test this is to get on top of the boiler shell behind the stack and hold a narrow strip of board over the stack all the way around when the engine is working. The force of the exhaust against the stack at the different points will indicate plainly to you whether the exhaust is equally distributed over the enclosed stack area. If anything was found wrong you could soon determine whether the trouble was with the stack, the petticoat pipe or the nozzle stand pipe," said Bailey.

"What is the effect of them being out of line?" asked Johnson.

"The proper vacuum is not created in the front end, the draft is lessened and the fire does not receive the proper amount of air," said Bailey.

"Well, boys, as this discussion has reached the usual limit we will stand adjourned," said the Chairman.

W. L. FRENCH.

Wheel Sliding.

At this season of the year when wheel sliding is unfortunately so common, all concerned put forth even greater efforts than usual to guard against it. Sliding wheels any considerable distance causes flat spots. If such exceed 14 inches on passenger cars or 21⁄2 inches on freight cars the wheels must be replaced. Castiron wheels must be scrapped, entailing an

expense of about $10 per pair. Steel-tired wheels are turned, $2 being allowed for each 1-16-inch of metal removed. To this must be added the labor charge, making an expense of about $11 per pair when -inch of tire metal is removed.

Even though the flat spot is not long enough to warrant removing the wheels, it will shorten the life of those made of cast iron, as in time the wheels will shell out where burned by the sliding. This unremunerative expense and the delays to cars needed in service show why railway officials should and, as a rule, do put forth strong efforts to prevent wheel sliding.

It is confidently believed that in by far the majority of cases the wheel sliding that causes flat spots occurs in starting instead of while stopping. This does not include the holding between stops when descending steep grades and in which service it is known that the use of hand brakes greatly increases the number of wheels slid flat.

The rails being generally more slippery in winter than at other seasons renders it easier to slide wheels. Where the weather is very cold much sliding occurs through shoes freezing to the wheels. While, back of the tender, the trainmen must be mainly relied upon to prevent sliding from this cause, yet the engineer can aid more than some at least suppose. He should not leave the air brakes applied after a stop unless absolutely necessary. Where the locomotive has the combined automatic and straight-air brake he can release freight train brakes sufficiently before coming to a stop to allow the shoes to fall away from the wheels, using the straight-air not only to prevent any shock from release, but to finish the stop and to hold the train while standing. While brakes so released are liable to reapply from train-pipe leakage after the engine is cut off, the shoes are not as liable to freeze to the wheels as where the brakes are held applied to the stop. Taking the slack of a train before starting has a tendency to break loose any shoes that are frozen to the wheels.

When cars are picked up, and after a stop of any duration where brakes have been applied, the trainmen should, in very cold weather, inspect the train immediately after it is started so as to detect sliding wheels in season to prevent serious damage. It will cause them more labor and a small loss of time through keeping the speed low enough for them to get on after the cars have all been inspected, but in no other way can the desired result be

accomplished. While the trainmen should note and release any brakes that are sticking at this time, yet the engineer who frequently has stuck brakes is not doing good braking. Observing the following few, simple rules will almost entirely prevent brakes from sticking where coupled to the engine:

1. In releasing brakes after an ordinary application move the brake-valve handle to full release position and leave it there for a time proportionate to the number of brakes coupled up, then move it to running position. Allowing one-half of a second per brake, with a limit of about 25 seconds for the longest train, is a very good rule for determining the proper time.

2. With long trains move the handle again to release position for two or three seconds within ten to fifteen seconds after the first return to running position and before standard train-pipe pressure is restored. The object is to "kick-off" any head brake or brakes that may have reapplied slightly when the train pipe pressure equalized after the first return to running position. After this leave the handle in running position until it is desired to apply the brakes. This means not to again move the handle to release when the signal to go is given or when approaching a hard pull, as it is this "kick-off" movement after full train-pipe pressure is restored that is the common cause of brakes "creeping on" while the train is running.

3. Avoid the need of attempting to release the brakes following a small reduction from standard train-pipe pressure. With trains of 30 cars or more the reduction should be at least 10 pounds before releasing. Also, endeavor to have full main reservoir pressure before releasing.

Bear in mind first that the rear brakes are the hardest to release because of the difficulty of getting a quick and considerable rise in train-pipe pressure there; that the nearer the brakes are to full service application and the higher the main reservoir pressure the quicker and greater rise in train-pipe pressure can be obtained at the rear end; that to insure this rise the brake-valve handle must be placed and kept in full release a considerable

time; that during this time the train-pipe pressure is kept much higher at the head than at the rear end, thus causing the head auxiliary reservoirs to charge faster than the rear ones; that when the valve handle is returned to running position the lower pressure at the rear end of the train pipe will draw down that at the head end in equalizing; that this may cause some head brakes to reapply; and that the "kick-off" movement will release them, but without bringing about a condition that will cause them to reapply again.

Remember, also, that to cause brakes to apply the train-pipe pressure must be reduced below that in the auxiliary reservoirs; that if such a reduction is either very small or very slow the leakage may prevent the brakes from applying, but that a stuck brake, even though so lightly applied as to cause the brake shoe to rub little or not at all, may gradually apply harder without any further trainpipe reduction; that moving the brakevalve handle to release position after the full train-pipe pressure is restored will raise it above the adjustment of the feed valve and, after return to running position, will be as liable to cause brakes to creep on as would temporarily closing the angle cock at the rear of the tender, with the difference that such brakes might release when it was again cut in but will not when the train-pipe pressure leaks down enough to cause the feed valve to open again. The former would be followed by a rise in train-pipe pressure, but the feed valve opening would merely prevent a farther decrease.

Finally, distinguished between the operation that may "kick-off" a brake and the one that may "kick" it on, slide wheels, stall trains and raise a general "kick" from the train crew up to the higher official and back to the road foreman or general air brake inspector who is expected to determine the cause of the trouble and whose inquiries develop (?) that the brakes were in good order on both engine and cars and that they were properly handled. Don't start out with bad train-pipe leakage, and in very cold weather don't fail to stretch the train before inspection so as to develop the increased leakage this generally causes.

F. B. FARMER.

Dialogue No. 28-Train Handling. Student. I have just come in, as my appearance probably indicates, and we had quite a time with the air coming home. Larry was running. Just been set up, you know. Well, we had 60 cars, all air, and the train line leaked pretty badly. The first of our trouble occurred at bridge No. 200, where there are slow boards calling for 6 miles per hour. Larry shut off and applied the brake and the leakage kept applying it harder, so that when about 300 or 400 feet from the bridge it was necessary to release or stall, and he released, or attempted to do so, by placing the handle of the brake valve in full release position. The speed at the time was very slow, I should say not over 4 to 6 miles per hour. Directly after the handle was moved to full release I felt a shock that had a tendency to throw me towards the head end of the engine, and the train came to an abrupt stop. I noticed that the air pressure was escaping, and I reached over and moved the handle of the brake valve to lap position. Larry said, "I guess something has happened back in the train." "Probably a hose has bursted," I replied. We had but little time ahead of train No. 36, and I thought perhaps I might help some if I took a hose and wrench back. I got the spare hose out of the tender box and started back with it and the big monkey wrench, and I was surprised, I must say, to find that the train was broke in two at two different places. The first place was between the eleventh and twelfth cars from the engine, and the drawbar was out of the eleventh car. The other place was between the fifteenth and sixteenth cars from the rear end. The knuckle being broken on the sixteenth car was the cause of the separation at this point. We ran up and put the eleventh head car in on the turnout the other side of the bridge, put a knuckle in the sixteenth car from the rear end, coupled up, pulled the train up and cut off the caboose on the main track and backed on to the car in on the turnout. We then pulled up and backed on to the caboose, which we chained to the rear car, the one with the drawbar out, tried the brake and went along. After this Larry brought the train to a full stop whenever it slowed down to about 10

miles per hour or less, and we had no further trouble from its breaking in two. I have been thinking about what happened and have tried to account for the train being broken apart at two different places, but have been unable to do so. I thought I would sleep better if I knew, and that is the reason why I came right up to see you.

Instructor. It is difficult to say how slack in a long train will bunch when the brakes are applied, and it depends largely on the bunching of the slack what will happen when the brakes are released at a slow speed.

Student.-Why do you say slow speed? I know there is a difference, but I never really understood it.

Instructor. With brake shoes forced against the wheels with the same pressure they retard the wheels from revolving most when the train is running the slowest. Thus, if all brakes are not released those remaining applied have a greater retarding effect at a slow speed. As I was saying, it is difficult to say how the slack in a long train will bunch when the brakes are applied and, therefore, difficult to prophesy what will happen when the brakes are released at a slow speed. If the triples could be moved to the release position at the same instant on every car in the train there would probably be no bad results from releasing at slow speed, no matter how the slack was bunched by the application of the brakes. But, as I think I have explained to you before, the brakes release a little earlier on the head end than on the rear in practice. The release of brakes is accomplished by quickly increasing the train line pressure above that of the auxiliary reservoirs, and air stored in the main reservoir or reservoirs is depended on to accomplish this, as you know. Now in order for any of this air to reach the rear car it must pass through about 2,400 feet of pipe on a 60-car freight train. The frictional resistance which it meets with retards its flow, resulting in the head brakes releasing earlier than the rear ones. There are also several other things which effect this difference in time of release. For instance, all other things being equal, the tighter the train line the less difference there will be between the release of the head and rear ends. The volume of main reser

voir pressure and amount of excess pressure carried also affect the difference in time, that is, the larger the main reservoirs are and the higher the excess pressure the less difference there will be in the time, all other things being equal. And, of course, you understand that the longer the train, all other things being the same, the greater difference there will be in the time. It is a fact that is not generally understood that increasing the main reservoir pressure 25 per cent. will reduce this difference in time more than it will be reduced by increasing the main reservoir volume 150 per cent. Again speaking about the slack, should it be stretched out when an application is made the same as it is when the locomotive is drawing a train, then the difference in the time of release would not cause much if any of a shock. The slack, however, when an application is made generally bunches towards the engine, the same as it is when the engine is backing the train; then with brakes releasing considerably earlier on the head end than on the rear the slack, due to the reaction of the drawbar springs which were compressed more or less from the slack bunching, runs out quickly, until it is suddenly arrested by those cars at the rear on which the brakes have not released, resulting in a shock of more or less severity and, when the draft gear is not sufficiently strong to withstand it, the train is parted. When the break occurs near the middle, or further back, the application of the brakes on the head portion, due to the hose couplings separating, generally results in the head portion being broken in two at one or two other places, so that when the train is finally stopped it will be separated into three or four different parts. The severity of the first shock depends largely on the make-up of the train, the weight of the engine in particular. The greater the weight of the engine the greater the shock. The amount of compression of the drawbar springs at the time of release affects the shock. Also it is affected by the retarding power of the rear brakes. An illustration of this may be had by attaching one end of a cord about 3 feet long to a 2-pound weight, and the other end to, say a 2-pound weight, the first to represent the weight of the engine and the second the retarding effect of the brakes on the rear which have not released. Place them on a table with the leaf up, the 2-pound weight on the main part and the other on the leaf, so that there is about a foot of slack

cord, and in such a position that the large weight can be moved to take up all the slack without being moved off the leaf. Then tip the leaf just enough to cause the large weight to slide toward the floor. We will assume the cord is just strong enough to stand the shock and permit the large weight to pull the smaller one along with it. Now increase the larger weight to 4 pounds and repeat the experiment, and you will find that the cord will be broken. Repeat the experiment again, and this time use the same large weight as was used in the first experiment when the cord was not broken, increase the small weight to 1 pound, and you will find that the cord will now be broken. The first experiment would have resulted in the cord being broken had it not been quite so strong. Therefore, the result of brakes not releasing as early on the rear end as on the head end, depends on the bunching of the slack, weight of the head end, retarding effect of the rear brakes (which is determined by the application, braking power, and speed), and the strength of the draft gear.

Student. You certainly have made this matter very clear to me and I now understand why we broke in two at two different places. It would appear to me that the only safe way to do is to stop when the train has been slowed down to 10 miles per hour or less.

Instructor.-You are right in regard to long trains, unless retaining power is applied on the head end until the brakes have had time to release on the rear end. This is accomplished very nicely with engines equipped with the "combined automatic and straight air brake."

Student. I have never seen this brake used on a freight engine; in fact, I have not yet made a trip on an engine equipped with it. I always understood the straight air brake was designed for switching engines.

Instructor. It was originally designed for switching engines, but it has been found to be a valuable brake on freight and passenger engines.

Student. I wish that you would please explain how it should be used on a freight engine.

Instructor. The principal benefit from its use on a freight engine is in preventing break-in-twos on long trains when releasing the brake at slow speed. It should be applied just before releasing the automatic brake and held on until ample time has been given for all the brakes on the cars to release, when it should be released