Plate II-Nine-and-One-half-Inch Pump (Side View).

(Westinghouse Air Brake Series.)

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LATE II of the Westinghouse
Series of the LOCOMOTIVE FIRE-

MEN'S MAGAZINE Educational
Charts is a sectional and per-

spective view of the intake side of a 91⁄2-inch air pump (upward stroke). The purpose of this drawing is to show the manner in which the steam and air enters the lower ends of the two cylinders. It will be noted that the steam from the boiler enters at X, thence upward, and to the back of the pump, through passage a1 and a2 into chamber A of the main valve. From chamber A the steam descends through port b and passage b', down the side of the pump, passing into the bottom end of the cylinder through the ports b2 at lower end of passage b1.

It will be noted that the reversing slide valve 72 remains in the position to which it was drawn by reversing rod 71, when the piston 65 had reached the end of its travel on the preceding downward stroke, notwithstanding the piston is now moving on its upward stroke.

The pressure in the top end of the air cylinder has reached approximately 25 pounds (gauge pressure), and in this drawing it is presumed that the reservoir pressure has just reached 25 pounds in the process of pumping up train line presFor this reason the color that appears above piston 66 indicates "main reservoir pressure." It is understood that the higher the pressure in the main reservoir the longer will be the travel of piston 66 before main reservoir pressure is

sure.

reached in the air cylinder. If the main reservoir pressure be 90 pounds, piston 66 will have moved approximately threefourths of its entire stroke before reaching reservoir pressure.

the air cylinder presses upper left hand The pressure of air in the top end of valve 86 down on its seat, and the partial vacuum created by the upward motion of piston 66 causes lower left hand valve 86 to rise from its seat, and draws the air through intake W and passage F, down through a passage on the outside of the bushing of the valve, through the small round ports in the bushing and into the chamber below the valve, thence upward and out under the seat of the valve, thence downward and into the lower end

of the air cylinder through the ports o.

The Interstate Commerce Com

mission.

In its last report to Congress the Interstate Commerce Commission recommends interstate commerce laws be amended and that additional powers be granted to the Commission. The report says:

"It is now nearly sixteen years since the passage of the act to regulate commerce, and more than thirteen years since it has been amended in any material respect. At the time of its adoption it was understood to be more or less tentative and experimental, and changes were anticipated as experience in its operation might show needful. The growth of railway systems in the last decade has been remarkable. The form and direction of this growth present questions of regulation which were not taken into account when the existing law was framed, and

From Scientine American

AN OIL WELL FIRE IN THE TEXAS OIL FIELDS

it is not surprising that its provisions have proved unequal, in some respects unsuited, to existing conditions. Obviously, the main purpose of the law was to prevent unreasonable charges and undue discriminations. The prevalence of these evils and their resulting injustice led to its enactment.

"The offenses which excited public indignation were prohibited and standards of conduct were prescribed which are founded on natural justice. In the principles declared there is no unsoundness or want of adequate statement. The defect is not in the rules formulated but in the machinery provided for the enforcement of those rules. All the details of regulation incorporated in the act, its requirements as to publishing and filing tariffs and making annual reports, its methods for presenting complaints and conducting their investigation, its criminal remedies, the authority of the Commission to make orders founded on ascertained wrong-doing, and various other administrative features, were designed solely to give effect to its substantive provisions, and thereby secure to the public reasonable charges and impartial treatment.

"If the actual operation of this law and the efforts of the Commission to make it effective had disclosed only minor and incidental defects, if its leading purposes had been fairly attained and its expected usefulness realized, the Commission might be excused from repeating its recommendations for amendment. This is not saying that the law is of little value, or has failed to bring about important reforms. On the contrary, it has furnished a considerable restraint upon the carriers subject to its provisions and promoted in a substantial degree the ends which it was designed to secure. Nevertheless, its inadequacy as a remedial measure was long ago discovered and further trial has illustrated the various respects in which it is insufficient. While its purposes are clearly beneficent, and while the principles which it embodies are more and more seen to be correct and salutary, the means devised for giving practical effect to its mandates are concededly imperfect. That this imperfection is curable is equally conceded. The fullest power of correction is vested in the Congress and the exercise of that power is demanded by the highest considerations of public welfare.

"Were it deemed posssible to add weight to previous recommendations, or to emphasize the need for their prompt adoption, this portion of our report might be greatly extended. It is not believed, how

ever, that this subject can be more forcibly presented or the situation more clearly explained than has been done in former reports. If the representations already made do not induce favorable action it is certainly not the fault of the Commission. A sense of the wrongs and injustice which can not be prevented in the present state of the law, as well as the duty enjoined by the act itself, impels the Commission to reaffirm its recommendations, for the reasons so often and so fully set forth in previous reports and before the Congressional committees. Moreover, in view of the rapid disappearance of railway competition and the maintenance of rates established by combination, attended as they are by substantial advances in the charges on many articles of household necessity, the Commission regards this matter as increasingly grave, and desires to emphasize its conviction that the safeguards required for the protection of the public will not be provided until the regulating statute is thoroughly revised."

An Asiatic Railway Trip.

An English correspondent thus describes the railway trip from London to Shanghai in the Kobe Herald, of Japan :

"Rail connection is now complete to Port Arthur, except for the steamboat trip of five hours across Lake Baikal; and the trains run close to the wharves on both sides of the lake. From Irkutsk eastward, the old line is followed to a point somewhat east of China. The new line, branching to the south, enters Manchuria territory and brings up at a station called Manchuria. Here the Russian railway proper ends and the Chinese Eastern Railway begins. The main line of the Chinese Eastern Railway strikes eastward, directly across Manchuria, to reach Vladivostock. At Harbin, however, the South Manchurian line diverges to the south through the rich valley of the Sungari and so to Port Arthur.

"Coming eastward it requires, by the daily train, nine days from Irkutsk to Port Arthur. This period is divided into three fairly equal sections by the division points, Manchuria and Harbin, where change of cars must be made and new tickets bought. There is a 'train avec restaurant' which runs at present once a week, making better connections; but, as yet, it is only scheduled to run between Irkutsk and Manchuria. Between Irkutsk and Moscow, the through trains run only twice a week. It is therefore

necessary to plan the connection or to allow for delay. My schedule of time was as follows: Berlin to Moscow, two days; Moscow to Irkutsk, eight days; Irkutsk to Port Arthur, nine days; add for connection, one day; total necessary, twenty days; add, for through trip, London to Berlin, two days, and Port Arthur to Shanghai, three days; total, London to Shanghai, twenty-five days.

"The service is an all-the-year service, and the ice-breaking steamers on Lake Baikal are supposed to keep up constant commnuication; but, of course, delays would be more serious in winter travel.

"Between the Irkutsk and Manchuria stations, one can travel 'first class,' although this means here about the same as second class in European Russia. Crossing the desert between Manchuria and Harbin, one finds the worst accommodation of the line. A third-class coach is labeled second class and reserved for firstclass passengers. The 'differential' in the price of tickets does not soften the seats, but it improves the society. The coaches are of medium size and have only one pair of wheels at each end; this fact, with the paucity of springs, aggravates the roughness of the road. The seats, as in all transcontinental trains, run crosswise of the coach, leaving a passage way at one side, running the length of the coach. The two seats facing each other in each compartment, together with the two upper bunks which can be put in place, are amply broad and long for single beds. Of course, the traveler must provide his own bedding.

"From Harbin to Port Arthur there are, although no first-class, genuine second-class coaches of the omnibus typethat is, the compartments are not closed in, but the partitions extend above the upper bunks; and a party holding four tickets (usually three, or even two will suffice) can secure privacy by tacking up steamer rug, or something lighter, across the open end. From Harbin south, for a day's journey, the track is the newest and roughest of the whole line, so some jolting must be expected. The entire Chinese Eastern Railway is so recently built-being, in fact, not yet formally open to traffic-that the ordinary traveler must be prepared to 'rough it.'

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"Long stops and plenty to eat, of fair quality but poor variety, may be predicted of the whole route east of Irkutsk, excepting one or two stretches of desert. How ever, everybody will find comfort in carrying a basket, with an auxiliary supply. Fruit and butter are almost unknown

terms in Siberia and western Manchuria. The one characteristic and indispensable requisite of the trip remains to be mentioned a teakettle. Everybody has need of it, whether he go himself to draw boiling water from the vat which is found at every station or whether he send his servant to do it for him. A small lamp or candies will also be found serviceable; the train in these eastern parts is illuminated only with candles, and these are distant and dim. Wash basins will be found convenient, besides the usual toilet outfit.

"These observations do not apply for the most part, to the road west of Irkutsk, especially if one travels first class. The through trains there are provided with dining cars. Even there, however, it is quite possible to make use of a lunch basket ad interim. Going west, it would be safer to provide the staples at Shanghai; but if there be time at Port Arthur, a first-class stock of European and American supplies can be found there.

"West of Irkutsk, and in northern Europe generally, second class is good enough for anybody. In the rougher regions of the East, one will naturally choose the best accommodations to be had. In the following summary, the figures for rates west of Irkutsk include the extra charges for sittings or sleeper; east of Irkutsk, there are none such :

published reproductions of the painting in engravings, 14x341⁄2 inches for the following prices: Artist's proofs, $15; colored prints, $15; india prints, $10. The following press notice from Illustrated American of Mr. Henry's painting will convey information to those interested:

"Mr. E. L. Henry's picture, "The First Railway Train'-that is, the first railway train in the northern part of the United States-is as likely to become as popular as 'Frith's Railway Station' was many years ago. In No. 61 of the Illustrated American was published a silhouette of this 'first railway train,' by William H. Brown, a traveling silhouette artist who happened to be in Albany the day it started. This was studied by Mr. Henry, who also made scale drawings of the engine

memorable trip of the 'first railway train' was taken. The Hudson and Mohawk Railroad had completed a track from the head of Lydius street, Albany, to the brow of the hill, Schenectady, and since August 13th had been running its cars by horsepower. From the West Point Foundry it had obtained one of the wonderful new steam engines, known as the DeWitt Clinton-the third ever built in the United States. Curiosity was, of course, on tiptoe when it started, at about 10 o'clock in the morning, from Lydius street. Mr. Henry's picture represents the start from the 'Old Hickory Inn,' two miles from Albany. The engineer, who can be seen in the picture attending to the machinery of the engine, was a man named David Matthew. The name of the conductor, who

and cars now in the possession of the Society of Engineers of New York City. Information on the subject he gathered at the National Museum, Washington, from 'Mensel's Annals' at the State Library at Albany; from the newspaper accounts of the day, and from several persons-now well advanced in years-who witnessed the event. Among these was the late Doctor Paine, the noted homopathist, who took the initial trip and wrote an account of it at the time. From him Mr.

Henry was able to obtain the color of the cars or coaches-and other general information which the accounts of the day did not give. This was a fortunate opportunity for the artist, whose picture would not have been as historically accurate as it is.

can be seen running with a brand new horn in his right hand, was John J. Clark.

"In the first car were seated ex-Governor Yates and Thurlow Weed, the latter on the middle seat. In the second car were Joseph Alexander and 'Old' Hays, the famous High Constable of New York. History relates that the start was very jerky and a most uncomfortable experience for the passengers; but they reached Schenectady safely."

Railway Construction During 1902.