Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 106, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 May 1914 — MUCH WATER WASTED [ARTICLE]

MUCH WATER WASTED

CARELESSNESS OF RAILROADS INVOLVES LARGE SUMS. Not an Inconsiderable Part of the Amount Involved Is Made Necessary by Damage Pone to the Track. In their efforts to promote economy of operation, the railroads are turning attention to water —not in stocks but in their locomotive boilers. The general impression that water is of little value has resulted in a degree of carelessness in its use which has, through waste, built up an item of expense worthy of serious attention. “The causes of water waste on a railroad are many,” says C. R. Knowles in the Railway Age Gazette, “and it is within the power of almost every employe to effect a saving for the company in this respect. The waste in taking water at tanks and penstocks causes a heavy loss, as large quantities may be lost in this manner each time water is taken, especially in tenders with circular manholes, unless care is exercised to properly- spot the engine and prevent overflowing the tender. “The average amount of water taken'by the larger engines is about five thousand gallons. To show the large expense that might be incurred on account of such waste I have assumed that if but one-fourth of this amount be wasted, each day at each of the 460 principal tanks and penstocks on the system, the annual loss on this account would amount to about two hundred and ten million gallons, which at five'' cents per thousand gallons means a loss of $10,500 per annum for the value of water alone. In addition to this there is the cost of removing ice from tracks in the winter months, and the cost of track work due to soft track caused by the water waste. The cost of removing ice from tracks at 250 tanks and penstocks on northern and western lines is approximately six thousand dollars per annum, these figures being based upon two and a half hours of one man’s time clearing the track of ice at each tank or penstock for 60 days of each year. A conservative estimate of the work necessary to repair soft track caused by water waste from tanks would be one-half hour per working day, or 156 hours per annum at each tank or penstock, making a cost per annum on the system of nearly eleven thousand five hundred dollars. This means a total annual expense of $28,000, or an average annual cost of S6O for each point where water is taken by locomotives. The total amount wasted annually in this manner is equivalent to five per cent on $560,000, and would buy 22 locomotives or 230 standard water tanks of 100,000 gallons’ capacity.

"Another loss in connection with water tanks is due to overflowing the roadside tank and to leaking tank valves. Fortunately a leak of this kind is generally very conspicuous and should be remedied before any amount of water is wasted, but even here there is room for improvement. With tanks in southern latitudes it is necessary to occasionally overflow the tank in order to tighten the joints between the upper portion of the staves of the tub, and the pumper should not be charged with waste in such cases.”

Mr. Knowles says that great waste occurs at terminals through the use of the boiler washout hose and valve. The water has to be handled twice and a high pressure has to be exerted to obtain the desired results. Unless care is taken a one-inch hose with a pressure of 100 pounds to the square inch will easily waste 12,000 gallons of water an hour, costing $1.20.