Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1898 — How It Happened. [ARTICLE]

How It Happened.

“My dear,” said Mrs. Richleigh to her daughter the other evening after young Woodby had departed, “how in the world did your hair become so disarranged?” “Why, mamma,” replied the quickwitted miss, “I guess it must be from shaking my head so much tvhen Mr. Woodby was trying to coax me to say yes.” And the mother suddenly remembered that she had once been a girl herself. The Big Four recently received from the builders four 8-wheel passenger locomotives to haul their fast trains. These engines are, in every respect, models of their kind, and are probably the largest, fastest, most powerful and best looking passenger engines in this part of the country, and are a credit to the management and their designer, Mr. Wm. Garstang—superintendent of motive power of the Big Four, and the Schenectady Locomotive Works, their builders. The engines are now in service between St. Louis and Cleveland, on the fastest and heaviest trains, making the time and doing it easier than was ever accomplished before on this run. In designing these engines it was necessary to make a machine combining great power with high speed and easy running, avoiding all jerk to the train and unnecessary strain on the track. This has been accomplished to such an extent that both engine and tender, while at the highest speed, ride with the greatest steadiness and so soft and easy a motion that the engineers claim not to be at all tired at the end of tHeir run. These noble machines stand 15 feet high from top of rail to top of cab and 9 feet 9% inches to center of boiler, which, with driving wheels 78 inches, and truck aud tender wheels 36 inches in diameter, show trim and powerful, without an unnecessary pipe or rod to mar their symmetry. The material used in the construction of these machines is the finest of its kind, and the greatest care was exercised in both the tests and workmanship to insure every part being perfect. The driving wheel centers, steam chest and covers, cylinder heads, foot plates, auxiliary dome, driving boxes and spring seats are all of cast steel, while the dome castings, stack base, boiler front, cylinder castings and tender truck frames are pressed steel. The boiler is extended wagon top with taber back. 62-inch diameter at smallest ring and 78-inch diameter at the throat, built to carry a wagon pressure of 200 pounds per square inch. Among the special articles are Richardson’s balance valves, Jerome metallic packing, Coale muffler, Kunkle open pops, air operated bell ringer, French springs, Leath pneumatic sanding device. Gold steam heat, Monitor injector, Janney couplers and Fox pressed steel tender truck frames. Some of the principal dimensions are as follows: Weight, 130.000 pounds; cylinders, 20x 26 inches; boiler diameter, 62 inches; tubes, diameter, 2 inches; tubes, number of, 320; fire box, width, 41 inches; fire box, length, 108 inches; working pressure, 200 pounds; heating: tender, water capacity, 5,000 gallons; tender, coal capacity, 10 tons; tender trucks, pressed steel.