Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1915 — SHOWS RAIL PROGRESS [ARTICLE]

SHOWS RAIL PROGRESS

Wonderful development of THE LOCOMOTIVE. Larged Now Built Are Sixty Times Heavier Than the One With Which Stephenson Hauled Hie Flrot Train of Care. The rails in use during the first days of the railroad were very light, weighing about twenty-three pounds to the yard. Today the rails must be 100 pounds to the yard to withstand the tremendous pressure of the gigantic modern locomotive. In 1849 the average speed of passenger trains was 23 miles an hour; today the average speed Is fifty to sixty miles an hour, and sudden spurts of 90 miles are attainable, or abouf twenty times as fast as the first locomotive could move. The first of the high-speed engines was put in use in 1872 on the Pennsylvania railroad; It weighed 37 tons. In 1892 a still larger type was designed, weighing 95 tons, and during recent years the weight of passenger engines has Increased to 400 tons—or 60 times heavier than Stephenson’s first locomotive. Today there are over 250,000 miles of trackage in the United States and more than 65/00 locomotives in use; 150,000,000 tons of coal are needed to keep them supplied with fuel, and over a billion passengers and nearly two billion tons of freight are transported on this enormous railroad system every year. . ' The locomotive has been carried to Its highest development in this country, and the United States now leads the world in its manufacture, not only supplying all that are needed In this country, but shipping many hundreds yearly to other parts of the world. The locomotive is being made larger and larger to meet the growing demands upon it. The largest engine in use today is a compound one, which measures 120 feet over all and weighs 850,000 pounds. It is an oil burner, carrying 4,000 gallons of oil and 12,000 gallons of water. It cost |43,380 to build. Modern locomotives, as they get bigger and bigger, must increase In the direction of their length only, and this makes It necessary to construct them with a series of joints so that they can turn a curve without upsetting.