Railway Master Mechanic

January, 1899. RAILWAY MASTER MECHANIC. course of his paper he gives a partial enumeration rors in practice. There are, in fact, a great many of MECHANIC of the characteristics, traits, gifts, endowments, ca- lessons to be drawn from compilations of figures RAILWAY MASTER pacities and possessions which are useful in the this nature. They suggest themselves at every turn struggle of life to achieve success, and this enume- of the figures. We will not now attempt to dwell upon WALTER D. CROSriAN, Editor. ration we present elsewhere in this issue. It forms the various features that have been developed; but one of those little notes which fully merit clipping one thing stands out in bold relief in the little sum- EDWIN N. LEWIS, Manager. and pasting. If one could possess all these char- mary that we have made of the records of the Nash- acteristics one would certainly be reasonably sure ville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, viz.: the of success in the sense, as he puts it, of a wise and high percentage of slip pin failures shown therein PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY of beneficent life. We are sure that it would do any should serve to strongly intensify the feeling -THE RAILWAY LIST COMPANY. one good to occasionally reread this impressive list dislike for that form of fastening. of the personal essentials to success. This present active investigation into the causes power, Devoted to the interests of railway motive bearing on We are glad to be able to note the active interest of trains parting will have an important car equipment, shops, machinery and supplies. Com- situation. The Western Railway Club that the Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe Railway is the coupler any topics suitable to these columns vigorous on C. B. munications on taking in the way of providing Railway Y. M. C. A. has at work a committee M. is trying to if possible, some are solicited. rooms along its lines. We shall give, in our next is- couplers which make, recommendations looking toward the standardizing Subscription price $1.00 a year, to foreign coun- sue, illustrations of a beautiful structure which is of the principal dimensions of M. C. B. couplers, Advertising rates given going up at Argentine, Kansas, and to the cost of tries $1.50. free of postage. pointing wjiich the company has contributed very generously. securing greater uniformity of parts and on application to the office, by mail or in person. The company gives the land which forms the site of out the weak features of some types of couplers. Address the building and in addition very liberally donates This committee has no particular time set on which THE RAILWAY LIST COMPANY, toward the cost of the structure $3 for every $1 sub- to make a report, but it made a progress report at the last meeting of the club which was of a nature 315 Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. scribed by the railway men of Argentine. It is about to aid the men, on practically the same basis, indicating that the committee was getting at its The Official Railway List is published by this Company. to erect similar structures at Temple and Cleburne, work in a very systematic manner. It will be remembered that the appointment of this committee Vol. XXII. CHICAGO, JANUARY, 1899. No. 1. Texas. Such active and practical interest in ad- vancing the welfare of employees cannot be too came about through the presentation of a paper be- highly This not as fore the club by Mr. Peter H. Peck, in which the The subject of hot boxes was accorded interest- commended. work has been adoption of a standard knuckle, or at least a small common in the west as in the east; but it will be ing discussion at the last two sessions of the Chi- the number of standard knuckles, was urged. We do Association. There are various remembered that about two years ago Chicago cago Car Foremen's not consider this for & Northwestern aided in the erection of a building suggestion practicable, at least for hot boxes, but the trouble is that these causes the present, but Mr. Peck presented some very im- accurately determined. Mr. of about the same class as that at Argentine, also causes are not always figures contributing cash in the ratio of three to one. This pressive showing why a standard knuckle J. N. Barr, in addressing the association at the last latter building, which erected the North- is extremely desirable. For instance, he showed rec- meeting, made the excellent suggestion that the bet- was at western's West Fortieth street shops in Chicago, ords of 77 different bars and 83 different knuckles ter way to adopt in studying the cause of hot boxes having was illustrated in our issue of February. 1897. It —nine bars two and two bars having threa would be to systematically examine boxes that has proved of great value to the moral and spirit- knuckles each. As we have stated, we consider Mr. just little hot—and not wait until every- are a Peck's suggestion of a standard knuckle imprac- to conceal ual welfare of the North-western employees lo- thing was so hot and in such shape as his cated at that point. ticable, yet paper served the very excellent pur- the initial cause of the trouble. pose of starting the club into a work of investigation of the whole coupler situation that will, we The value of railway Y. M. C. A. work in general There has from time to time been occasional crit- confidently believe, result in much good. cannot be overestimated, and it is a fact that the icism of some of the pressed and rolled steel trucks, value of such buildings as those above referred to such criticism dwelling upon the difficulties which THE FRAMING OF CARS. becomes immediately apparent as soon as they are they present to the car inspector. In the columns ready for occupancy. In treating of this class of which we devote to the work of the Car Foremen's The necessity of taking advantage of every favor- work some two years ago we said in substance: Association of Chicago, in this issue, will be found able condition possible in the design of heavy ca- There are hundreds of saloons not very far from the a communication in which this criticism is made pacity cars is appreciated more today than ever terminals of railroads that are very attractive. They by a car inspector. The writer states that it is before, and whereas it was the general practice a are comfortably heated and beautifully lighted, and very hard to find defects in wheels in this kind of year ago to seek out the parts of the cars w-hich men gather there to discuss politics and isms of all truck, as the truck sides cover up so much of the seemed to be too light and make them heavier, it is kinds because there is no other place where they wheels. It is true that it is more difficult to inspect necessary now, with some parts in particular, to can go and spend an hour in the company of men trucks of this type, but it can be done—it is simply find a more favorable distribution of the material that are agreeable to them. It is a mistake, by the a question of convenience. The writer referred to used to carry the loads. This is particularly true way, to suppose that because a man is in a bar- admits as much himself and states that he is going with the bolsters, and more so with the body than room he is necessarily roistering. He may be, and to give a particularly close inspection to wheels in with the truck bolsters, because of the limited very frequently is. there because it is a pleasant these trucks. space available for the former. meeting place, possibly the only available one. And In a paper read at the November meeting of the he while there often spends most of his time in It has been a hobby for many years with Mr. Western Railway Club on the above subject it was seriously discussing the details of shop practice and J. N. Barr. of the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul shown that the distribution of the load on the body of locomotive running, and talks earnestly and Railway, to dwell upon the value of watching "the bolster can be so arranged as to favor the bolster profitably of literature, art and even of religion. little things" in i-ailway shops. In a recent lec- more than is the case at present. Such distribution But it would be much better, as he knows, if he ture before the Purdue University railway course can be secured through a rearrangement of the had a common meeting place where the incidental by Dr. Charles B. Dudley, chief chemist of the truss rods and needle-beams, or cross-tie timbers, drink did not come in. These Y. M. C. A. buildings, Pennsylvania Railroad, it is shown how the costs end sills and other co-related parts. with their gymnasiums, smoking rooms, libraries of the distinctively little things mount up in The M. C. B. dictionary, in defining the term and baths, provide just the place that is needed; and the offices of a large railway system. For in- "needle-beam," says: "A transverse timber bolted we hope to see many more of them go up. stance, he shows that it costs the Pennsylvania to the under side of the longitudinal sills and floor Railroad each year about $1000 for pins, $5000 for timbers of a car-body between the bolsters, and to We wish to direct particular attention to the rubber bands.

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