The fireman, with the co-operation of the engineer, is in a position to do more in the saving of coal than any one else connected with its use. A clean, even depth of fire, coal put in at the right time and in the right quantities to meet the demand, and not in excess of that, are things under his control and they are large factors in fuel economy.

The fire should be put in such condition before leaving a station that holes will not be torn in it in starting the train. If the train has been standing for a little time the fire should be put in, if possible, long enough before starting to allow it to ignite well. The kind and quality of coal has much to do, also, with the length of time required for it to ignite. After the train is under way, the fire should be fed at frequent intervals to maintain the pressure at the maximum without opening the pops. It is not to be expected that any fireman can fire without the pops opening now and then, but loading an engine up and riding the seat-box 'till she pops and then loading her again before the pops close, so she will not go back on steam, is neither economical or necessary from any point of view and should not be practiced by any fireman.`

The careful handling of the grates has much to do with the saving or wasting of coal, too frequent moving of the grates being as injurious to the fire and as wasteful of coal as is the moving of them too little. The latter allows the fire to become clogged up underneath with ash and clinker, retards the free admission of the air and the free combustion of the gases and the fixed carbon. The former makes holes in the fire, shakes unburned fuel into the ashpan, cools the firebox, and possibly causes leakage.

The large type of engines with wide, shallow fireboxes, do not need their grates moved as frequently as did the small engines with the deep, narrow firebox. The reason for this probably lies in the different manner in which the exhaust of the two types of engines works on the fire, coupled with the larger grate area of the shallow firebox.

A good time to move grates is after going up a hill and the lever is hooked up. The fire is then heavy and the grates can be moved and the fire settled down by shaking out the dead matter on the grates, and without danger of making holes in the fire. If the division is a level one, the grates should be moved

when necessary with the engine hooked up after leaving a station. Shaking grates when the engine is working hard only causes holes in the fire and mixes the good, live fire with the dead matter; the steam pressure goes back, cold air comes through the holes in large blasts, and if the firebox or flues are "tender," leaks follow.

If clinkers form, hook them out if there is an opportunity to do so, as the effort will be more than repaid. Most dump grates on large engines are at the rear of the firebox, and dropping the dump grate and cleaning off the dead ash will pay in a better steaming engine and a saving of fuel.

Keeping a good even fire, avoiding wasteful firing and popping, and holding an even temperature and pressure on the boiler, are things that the fireman can do to save fuel by getting the best results from what he uses.

The engineer has an important part to play in coal economy. Starting the train and getting under fair speed as easily as possible is one of the ways in which a saving or a loss can be made in coal. This applies more to freight than to passenger service. In passenger service, leaving the lever down longer than necessary results in a loss, both in time and fuel. In freight service, attempting to get from 800 to 3,000 tons moving like a passenger train in half a mile is useless, wasteful and hard on the machine and the fireman. The fireman must feed the coal to meet the heavy and sudden demand on the fire, the water in the boiler is set churning and foaming, the valves move harder, the fire is heavy, and when the lever is cut back, unless the steam pressure has been reduced by the sudden and fierce attack on it, the pops open and there is a waste of fuel. the train had been started as easily as possible, the lever cut back to conformi to the increased movement of the train, and as the reverse lever was hooked up the throttle opened, the train would be moving just as fast at the mile board, coal would have been saved, and the engine and fireman both given a fair show to do their work and do it right.

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The careful and proper handling of injectors and blow-off cocks are factors in coal saving. The injectors should be started at the proper time and the feed water supply regulated to the demand. The blow-off cock should be used to keep the sediment blown out of the boiler to

avoid foaming. The frequent and light use of the blow-off cock will do this better than if a large amount of water is blown out at one time and the boiler then let go until the water again becomes foul.

The trainmen, in a minor way, can help to save fuel by avoiding unnecessary moves when doing work at stations and seeing that hand brakes are not dragging.

The dispatcher can help a whole lot by avoiding long delays on sidings and overloading engines so that they lay out not only their own trains but every one elses.

The roundhouse force enters into the coal economy question very largely. The doing of the work on the engine as reported, and the keeping tight of piston and valve rod packing, cylinder packing and valve strips, all enter into the promotion of economy.

There is a good deal of it up to the fireman, but it is not all up to the fireman on the locomotive by any manner of means. He can save more largely than the rest, but he can not do his best in his

efforts to save coal unless he has the cooperation of the rest of the force.

From the time the coal leaves the mine until the ash of the burned products is dumped into the ash-pit there is a steady waste, some unavoidable and some avoidable, but the avoidable waste should be cut to the lowest possible per cent., and it can only be done by every one-from the men in charge of train operation to the man that builds the fire on the locomotive's grates-pulling together.

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Supposing that on a system operating 1.000 locomotives one shovelful of 20 pounds is saved daily for each locomotive; 1,000 x 20 20,000 pounds, or 10 tons daily saving, which, at $3 per ton, is equal to $30, or for the year, $10,950, a very neat sum of money. Not much, of course, when compared with the total fuel expense of the road, but still a very respectable item, sufficient to buy a pretty good locomotive, and this one shovelful saved might be increased by several on some engines, and the service given be unimpaired.

The nineteenth annual convention of the Air Brake Association was held in the Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, Va., May 7th to 10th, inclusive, W. P. Huntley, General Foreman, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, presiding. Welcoming and felicitous addresses were made by Governor Mann of Virginia, Mr. Caples, Fourth Vice-President C. & O. Ry.; Mr. W. H. Adams, President Board of Aldermen, for the Mayor of Richmond, and Mr. D. M. Carrington, President Chamber of Commerce.

In his address to the convention, President Huntley recommended more test plants as a help toward better freight brake maintenance; also, that methods of accounting to show the cost of car and locomotive air brake maintenance should be devised and used. The reports of Secretary Nellis and Treasurer Best showed

that the Association is prospering, the balance on May 1st being close to $3,000. Reading and discussion of papers then followed.

"The Job Behind the Cleaning Date."

The above entitled paper, prepared by Mr. C. P. McGinnis, formerly General A. B. I., M., St. P. & S. Ste. M. Ry., and who resigned a few months ago to accept a position with the Pyle National Headlight Co., was read by his successor, Mr. H. A. Clark. In an entertaining manner Mr. McGinnis called attention to the very large investment railways have in air brakes, mentioning that on 24.000 freight equipment cars alone it represented over one-half million dollars, and to the imperativeness of good maintenance to make the brakes an earning investment as well as safety devices,

rather than so much dead weight. Another excellent point made was that to whatever extent maintenance is improved will charges by foreign lines for cleaning and repairs be reduced; conversely, that such necessary charges can be offset and the use of foreign car brakes can be obtained to a greater extent by cleaning and repairing all such received with defective brakes.

As stated by Mr. Clark, the suggestions in the paper "are not based on imagination," but instead on methods followed and with which in about two years they have raised the condition of their freight car equipment from a quite unsatisfactory state to among the best, and this without installation of yard testing plants, interference with traffic or any large increase in force to do the work. The gratifying results came through a careful study of conditions, recognizing the need for and obtaining the cooperation not only of "department heads most directly affected by the betterment plans" but also of roadmen, and keeping foremost in mind that the business of a railway is selling transportation and that whatever renders transportation slower or more expensive, relatively speaking, than on competitive lines must ultimately fail.

He emphasized the need of educating repairmen, not only by personal instructions and demonstrations, but as well by having them meet and discuss their work with men on other roads. He finds no need to go outside of their organization for men to fill the more responsible positions in car brake maintenance nor any difficulty in holding good men, as such understand that study and good work will insure advancement to more responsible and better paying positions. He mentions that demonstrations, actually doing the work of inspectors, cleaners and repairmen for a few days at periodical times, will add greatly to the knowledge of the general air brake inspector and his assistants and demonstrate what they may reasonably expect from such

men.

Details of the work of brake maintenance, such as cleaning brake cylinder pistons and triple valves and testing the latter in a convenient room fitted up for the purpose and replacing piston packing leather expanders with others cleaned and reshaped in this room were explained, interior views of such rooms being included in the paper.

He very properly gives especial attention to the yard master and the train crews whose work is too often interfered with and increased by freight brake testing and repairs. While recognizing that this must occur to some extent, as compared with the hand brake days, he shows that by combining the stopping and brake testing of incoming trains and transfers, making light repairs promptly and at once marking out for either the emergency or the regular repair tracks the cars having brakes in need of heavy repairs, all unnecessary switching and delays will be avoided; also, that when trains are once made up they will require merely a formal test to let them go with assurance of over 90 per cent. efficient brakes and without any farther switching.

His incoming test consists of a reduction of twenty-five pounds, the engineer to add sufficient to that required for stopping to make this total. The inspectors must be present at this time and make the inspection promptly, as if there is any delay in completing it even some fairly good brakes will have leaked off, and existing brake pipe leakage will not be indicated. There must be no delay in the inspection beyond that necessary to observe existing defects and to indicate each found by an understood chalk mark.

The emergency or "hurry-up" repair track is a short, convenient spur in the yard, piped with air. It is used for perishable and other rush loads. It has enough cleaners, who are supplied with needed material, in shape to make the quickest possible repairs, to care for the average requirements, so that they will always have sufficient work. It follows that on occasions a few rush loads or empties have to be let go without brake cleaning, but this is becoming more rare, and whenever it is necessary they are carded so that their defects will be evident at other terminals, thus enabling inspectors to insure the requisite brake efficiency without extra switching and the making of prompt repairs as soon as practicable without delay to traffic.

Yet another feature treated is inefficient brake cleaning, due to lack of knowledge, too much haste, carelessness or willful deception, the latter including those cases where cleaners knowingly do poor work, even to the occasional extent of stenciling a brake as cleaned and lubricated where none of this work is done. Mr. McGinnis states that such bad re

pair track work on the home road is at once noted in the terminal tests and reported if excessive, while the repair tracks soon discover any prevalence of similar work on foreign lines, reports of which enable the proper officers to take the matter up with such roads.

He points out that the air brake official's interest in the details of the work must be continuous, that the interest of other officials must be kept up, that "the air brake men must have a clearer conception of the requirements necessary for obtaining better freight brake conditions, even at the sacrifice of neglecting some of the finer points of the art, if need be," and expresses the belief "that once a road finds out what can be done with rood freight brakes the old rut will never again be used."

In the discussion of the paper Mr. T. W. Dow (Erie R. R.) urged the importance of foremen taking a proper interest in the air brake work.

Mr. Burns (P. R. R.) called attention to the recommendation by the Air Brake Association that, following cleaning, no brake cylinder leakage exceeding five pounds per minute from a pressure of fifty pounds be passed, and stated that they are following this practice. The retaining valve pipe is disconnected at the union near the triple valve, the gauge attached, the brake applied and released until about fifty pounds pressure is shown and, with the triple valve in release and thereby connecting the gauge with the brake cylinder, the leakage is then noted. Where this is done and excessive leakage is repaired there can be no question as to the efficiency of the brake cylinder.

Mr. Von Bergen (N., C. & St. L. Ry.) endorsed this brake cylinder leakage test. Referring to the recommendation in the paper that brake cylinder pistons be cleaned in a room, he expressed the belief that they could do it well enough under the cars. The winter climate of the Northern States renders both efficient and quick work out of the question if Cone outside. Mr. Von Bergen also recommended the JM brake cylinder packing expander as a help in maintaining brake cylinder efficiency. He added that a cleaner and his helper averaged about fifteen brakes per day, with cleaned and tested triple valves supplied to them. He showed the importance of taking all possible precautions against an unintentionally closed angle cock by describing

a runaway down a steep grade, due to an angle cock being closed three cars back of the engine.

Mr. Martin (P. R. R.) expressed the belief that Mr. McGinnis is right in his recommendation that as much as practicable of the car brake cleaning be done inside, as compared with under the car. He added to his previous remarks that the limit of five pounds per minute for brake cylinder leakage is as severe as is now practicable.

Mr. Hatch (C. P. Ry.) endorsed the importance of interesting officials in the work of freight brake maintenance, and stated that the C. P. Ry. requires 90 per cent. brake efficiency with trains leaving originating terminals.

Mr. Woods (A., T. & S. F. Ry.) said that they use the five pounds per minute brake cylinder leakage test on the brakes of cars passing the repair tracks; that they replace all packing leather expander rings with others cleaned and trued up, their adoption of this practice following an examination of 200 brakes with which 30 per cent. of the leathers were found worn through on account of expanders bearing too hard at certain points; that he does not favor replacement of brake cylinder pistons; that in two years they have obtained a gratifying improvement in their freight brakes; that they endeavor to obtain 100 per cent. efficiency out of originating terminals and by this have no difficulty in maintaining 85 per cent. elsewhere; that his then recent request on the general manager to inaugurate the incoming brake test, requiring the addition of two inspectors at each terminal, and which test also applies to transfers, had been granted; and expressed the belief that the general manager will invariably authorize the necessary expenses if convinced that better brake maintenance pays.

Mr. Hatch (C. P. Ry.) said that they endeavor to avoid having to clean brakes in very cold weather, but that some of the private line cars, particularly meat cars, have frequently to be held to clean and lubricate their brakes even at such time.

Mr. Von Bergen (N., C. & St. L. Ry.) described a card system he uses for keeping a record of brakes cleaned, saying that the card for each car is good for ten years, two cleanings per year, and that with these he can keep a check on the amount and character of work done. He said that his instruction car has in

it two brakes that, when it is being moved, are kept cut in with the train brakes; that on these two brakes he keeps moderately defective triple valves, and that, as the car is located in various places with different trains, he is thus able to determine better how good work the engineers are doing. He complained of unsatisfactory triple valve repairs being made by some foreign lines, such as scoring the main cylinder where new rings are applied, and recommended sending to the manufacturer, as his road does, all triple valves requiring other than light repairs. He discouraged the use of a roller device for truing up worn triple valve cylinders.

Mr. Barry (N. Y., O. & W. Ry.) said he has been accorded the fullest co-operation by all of the officials. He commended the gauge test for brake cylinder leakage, saying it has aided them greatly in obtaining high efficiency; that on the start the yard master remarked on the large number of cars they were sending to the repair tracks, but that later this reduced as conditions improved. He told

of one train complained of by an engineer (it consisted of 90 per cent. foreign cars), who said it required reductions of 15 pounds to hold it down a grade where trains of their cars would require reductions of but seven to eight pounds. He added, though, that almost all of their cars have Westinghouse K triple valves.

Mr. Clark (M., St. P. & S. Ste. M. Ry.) closed the discussion. He finds that better work is done if all brake cylinder pistons are removed to an adjacent room and cleaned by one man and who also cares for the expander rings and sees that no small followers are returned to service. They get weekly reports from all terminals, these covering brakes cleaned, date and place and which afford an excellent check on the character and amount of work done. They also have monthly reports summarizing the work done by each cleaning station. He said that, like the C. P. Ry., they endeavor to do as much as possible of their brake cleaning in summer.

(To be continued.)