Vol. LXVII, No. 10.]

467

_——-——-"“"'-'-""

S'l‘EAl\‘[- BRAKE .

EA steam and hand-brake combined is to be ﬁxed on tender,’

as shown; the cylinder, 10 in. diameter, is to be provided
with means of lubrication; the brake-screw. which is to be
left-handed, is to work in a cast-iron column bolted to the
foot-plate at the front end of the tender, and the front pulling
rod is to be provided with ad justnient as shown. Each wheel
is to have one cast iron brake-block applied to it. The brake—
gear is to be made of the very best hammered scrap iron, all
the pins and working parts_ being of wrought iron case—hard-
ened, all pins to be to drawing and to have brass bushes when
shown. The steam is to be led from the engine to the cylinder
with a connection, as shown.

The brake material, which must be obtained from the
Vacuum Brake Company, 32 Queen Victoria Street, E. 0.,
for each tender, will consist of one main air-pipe with the
necessary T-pieces, elbows and clips, one of Clayton‘s hose
and couplings for the front of tender, one of Clayton’s hose
and couplings for back of tender, one end pipe with cast-iron
bend, one dummy, one dirt recipient. The brake cylinder,
piston and rod complete are to be supplied by the contractor.
The brake- gear generally to be as shown in drawing.

In the construction of these tenders it will be seen that there
is quite a radical difference, which is characteristic of the
practice here and in Europe, the American tender being
supported on two four-wheeled trucks, while the English
vehicle is carried on six wheels, which are rigidly connected to
The English vehicle is undoubtedly a simpler and

the frame.

  
 

TENDER OIL-BOX FOR ZENGLISH EXPRESS PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE.|

cheaper structure than the American tender. To the objection
that the weight must be carried on six wheels and journals
instead of eight, as in the American tender, it may be said
that the English wheels are 45% in. diameter and the journals
5% X 9 in. long, while the American wheels are only 36 in.
and the journals 44- X 8 in. The carrying capacity of the six
English wheels and journals is therefore probably quite as
great as that of the eight under the American tender. There are
fewer of them, and consequently their"ﬁrst cost and expense of
maintenance must be less, and besides there are no truck
frames, which add materiallyjto the complication and cost of the
American vehicle. -
_ It will, no doubt, be said that the rigid wheel-base, which
Is 13 ft. long, of the English tender will not adapt itself to
short curves as well as the ﬂexible American trucks’. To this
itmay be said that the relation of wlieel-base to curvature is
one of degree only. With the ordinary curves in use no
one new objects to the six-wheeled trucks, with 10 ft. of rigid
Wheelbase which are used under heavy cars. Wheel-bases of
over 13 ft. are in.constant use under 10-wheeled, mogul and
consolidation engines, and are not a. source of any trouble.
For the rigid wheel-base it may also be said that it is safer in
case a tender gets off the track than two trucks would be.
Almost anything is safe while on the track ; the danger begins
when it gets off,

It is, therefore, believed that very much can be said in favor

of the European frame of six-wheeled tender in preference‘ to ~

AND RAILROAD JOURNAL.

ours with two trucks and eight wheels. Wlien vehicles of
greater length than a tender are used, then the double~truck
system has very great advantages over a rigid wheel-base.
This is the case with long locomotives and cars, and in this
direction European practice is conforming more and more to
ours. With reference to tenders, however, the same reasons
do not apply, and it is believed that in this country we have
entertainedan unreasonable prejudice against a practice and
form of construction which is simpler and cheaper than ours,
and less costly to maintain and not so liable to get out of order.
Wlien we come to the tender frame, however, the English
practice does not commend itself so highly. The modern
shapes of angl and channel-bars, etc., or the Fox pressed
steel would seem to afford means of constructing a tender
frame for a rigid wlieel-base, which would in many ways be
preferable to the plate frames which Mr. Adams, in company
with nearly all other locomotive superintendents in England,
are using. It is said that the experience on the Pennsylvania
Railroad with the six-wheeled tender, which was sent over
with the Webb compound locomotive, has been inevery way
satisfactory. It is certainly good policy, when we ﬁnd that
any other practice than our own is better than what we have
been doing, to adopt it, and it is believed that if American
locomotive superintendents would adopt the European form
of running-gear for tenders, it would be an advantage to the
companies by whom they are employed.
In one respect, however, the English practice in tender con-
struction seems to be inferior to ours. We refer to the axle-
‘ ’ boxes. By referring to
_ ' .--, the engravings of these
CE ' parts-it will be seen that
the jllurnal-bearing B,
bears against a key A on
top of it. This key is
held in its place in the
box by lugs D, and in turn
the ﬂange 0' holds the
bearing Bin place. The
box has a cover or lid E’,
which gives access to the
journal-bearing: and key,
and also to the packing
. which is supplied below
the axle to lubricate it.
In order to remove or in-
sert a journal-bearing, all
that need be done is to
raise up the tender so that
the key A will clear the

-L.—-i65"—'~‘-—:»;~t£

 

drawn out through the
opening, which is closed
by the lid E. When it has
been taken out the bear-
ing B may be raised up
so as to clear the collar on
the axle, and can then also
be removed and a new
one putin its place. This
can all be done in less
time than’ it has taken to write the description of the proc~
ess, by merely putting a screw or hydraulic “jack,” similar
to one illustrated on another page, below the box, and raising
it up about half an inch. All the packing in the box used for
lubrication may be removed without raising up the box and
by merely opening the cover E. It will also be noticed that
the whole box is made in one piece, so that there can be no
leakage from it, excepting around the axle or where the dust-
guard is placed. V _

The English box and the oil-cellar are made in two parts,
and these it woulrl seem must be liable to leak and allow the
oil to escape. Besides, the journal-bearing cannot be removed
without taking the axle out of the box To do this the oil-
cellar must be taken out, which cannot be done without rais-
ing the tender, so that the jaws or “ liorn-plates” are clear of
the box. In other words, the box must be taken out of the
jaws and the axle removed from the box to get out a journal-
bearing. . a

That the American box is much the most convenient and
must save a great deal of time in renewing bearings seems
obvious. As everyone knows, the renewal of a worn-out bear-
ing and replacing it with a new one and repacking the box is
the work of only a few minutes, and is done daily and hourly
on all our roads. »

Of the other details of the tender nothing more -need be said.
The drawings will well repay study 1.39 any one interested in
the practice-in the twojcountries,

lugs D, and it can then be .