Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 161, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 July 1917 — RAILROADS USING MORE OIL [ARTICLE]

RAILROADS USING MORE OIL

Gain of 5,477,951 Barrele In 1916 Over Previous Year—lnteresting Statistics Given. A decided Increase in the use of petroleum as locomotive fuel by the railroads of the United States in 1916 is shown by statistics compiled under the supervision of John D. Northrop and just published by the United States geological survey, department of the interior. Reports submitted by 53 railroad companies, comprising all that operate oil-burning locomotives in the United States, show that the quantity of oil fuel so consumed last year was 42,126,417 barrels, a gain of 5,477,951 barrels, or 15 per cent, over the consumption In 1915. This increase shows the steady expansion in the United States of the market for low r -grade petroleum from Mexico rather than any appreciable increase in the use as fuel of lowgravity crude oils from domestic sources, whose value for refining Is just beginning to be recognized. The total distance covered~i>y oilburning engines in 1916 was 140,434,566 miles, and the average distance covered per barrel of fuel consumed was 3.33 miles. Oil-burning locomotives were operated In 1916 over 81,* 980 miles of track in 21 states.