Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1897 — Oil to Lay Dust. [ARTICLE]

Oil to Lay Dust.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, It is stated, is about to make the experiment of sprinkling a specially prepared oil its line between Lanhams and Deanewood, on the Baltimore and Potomac Division, hear Washington, as a means of reducing the dust nuisance. The oil is distributed along the roadbed by means of a specially constructed car. The “spreader” is a comparatively simple contrivance r and, with gum hose and pipes, is connected to an ordinary oil tank ear tilled with the oil. The spreading of the oil over the roadbed is accomplished at the rate of about four miles an hour. The spreader is so constructed that not a particle of the oil falls on the rails. This, of course, is a necessary precaution, since it would be impossible for a locomotive to haul Its train were the rails covered with oil. Between 4,000 and 5,000 gallons of oil are required for each mile of double track, and it is said that one application will-allay the dust and dirt for a year. Should the experiment prove satisfactory, it is probable the entire line between AVashington and New York will be sprinkled.