n of train line pressure, no leaks in in line, bringing the independent valve running position? Some valves I have handled have done this. Some would not do it.

I understand that this E. T. brake equipment, or distributing valve, should take care of all brake cylinder leakage on engine. I believe there is a choke in brake pipe on the engine, provided so as distributing valve will feed air faster than it can get from brake cylinder on engine if hose should burst. I would like some information through the JOURNAL by R. H. Blackall on this question.

Second-I was in conversation lately with several engineers on disconnecting engines by examination. The question arose: Is it always necessary to block crosshead when you have to take down main rod? A great many of the JOURNAL'S readers will think this a matter for Several each one himself to decide. examination forms or codes in books by able and efficient men claim no. Answer by one: "Where possible the piston should be placed at one end of the cylinder and the valve placed at same end of the chest so that the pressure will securely hold it in place."

I was laughed at in not taking this answer. I claim that there is nothing to hold piston at one end of cylinder when throttle is shut, and in making a hot stop or striking cars on side track a little too hard with throttle shut, cylinder heads would be liable to get knocked out. I would like to hear what some other Brothers think of this question, not to show whether I am right or wrong, but for the benefit of all the JOURNAL'S readers. Fraternally yours,

T. COOPER, Div. 32.

Greatest Boiler Pressure.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND., Feb. 5. 1907. EDITOR JOURNAL: In reply to Bro. A. J. Rich, Div. 210, in the February JOURNAL, will say water legs are part of the water space of the boilers and, consequently, are subjected to a pressure equal to that of the steam plus that due to the head water in the boiler. The legs,

therefore, are subjected to a slightly greater internal pressure than any other part of the boiler. This pressure tends to force the sides and end sheets of the firebox inward, and those of the outer shell outward; while the tendency of the pressure above the crown-sheet is to bulge it downward. Sudden expansion and contraction of the fire-box sheets also subjects them to severe strain and for this reason the temperature of the fire-box should never be allowed to vary suddenly. Fraternally yours,

J. S. MCKIBBIN, Div. 492.

Reply to Brothers Reed and Rich.

BAINBRIDGE, GA., Feb. 9, 1907. EDITOR JOURNAL: In reply to Bro. Chas. Reed, Div. 182, I beg to say that No. 2 being a first-class passenger train, No. 15 a second-class freight train, and B a scheduled meeting point, No. 15 has no right to go until the arrival of No. 2. Should a second-class freight train pass on No. 2's time, it would, according to Standard Rules, be run as first No. 2, displaying signals for second No. 2. Therefore, No. 15 would have no right to go until arrival of second No. 2. I would like to hear from some other Brother in regard to this question.

In reply to Bro. A. J. Rich, Div. 210, will say that a boiler has more pressure. at the bottom of boiler leg than at the top of steam dome, because it has the weight of the water carried; besides, the steam pressure registered by the steam gauge. Fraternally yours,

B. B. FUNDERBURK, Div. 210.

Question-Standard Rules.

STOCKTON, CAL., Feb. 5, 1907. EDITOR JOURNAL: We have had a considerable discussion here in regard to the following train order and would like to have some of the Brothers' opinions on the subject through the columns of the JOURNAL.

A, terminal-B, blind siding-C, junction-D, station beyond junction on one of the branches.

No. 22 eastbound freight-No. 21 two

sections westbound freight and superior by direction.

This is the order:

"No. 22 has right over first No. 21 A to C, and over second No. 21 to D."

No. 22 cannot get farther than B, for No. 3 a passenger train. No. 3 comes along and on it is a flag for first No. 21. After first No. 21 arrives can No. 33 proceed against second No. 21 to D?

Fraternally yours,

D. O. MCKELLIPS, Div. 161.

Surprise Tests of Obedience to Train Rules

"Surprise checking of enginemen," says the Railroad Gazette, "to be of the highest value, must show how well and faithfully they watch out for dangers and guard against them. To test the men's obedience to a rule where disobedience very likely will not result in damage, as is reported to have been done on the Lake Shore last week, is what might be called discipline in the second degree. It is useful in its place, but it is not the most important thing, as regards the men, while as regards the public (when reported to the newspapers), it is distinctly harmful, for it leads people to think that the discipline is worse than it is. This same criticism applied in the case of the Chicago & Northwestern surprise checking at Mayfair, some months ago, which was heralded abroad by the Chicago reporters. On most roads an extinguished light is not specifically defined in the rules as a condition requiring a full stop, and in case the engineman is able by moonlight or his headlight to see the blade and to know that it is in the "proceed" position he has an excuse for not stopping; and, under some rules, a fair defense. We are not trying to excuse enginemen for disregard of any rule, howsoever slight may be the danger involved, but merely to show that there are different kinds of misconduct as regards observance of signals, and that if a superintendent is going to make shining examples of disobedient enginemen he had better take cases concerning which there can be no well founded differences of opinion. It

is more useful, as an example, to show up one man in a million, who disregards a stop signal, than to expose a hundred who merely take a questionable way of reporting an irregularity in which no vital issue can be made clear. It does indeed take much more time, care and expense to find the one in a million; but, on the other hand, the certificate of merit thus given to the 999,999 who did not fail is correspondingly more valuable. If a superintendent is really forced to make much noise in administering "second degree" discipline he ought to find some way to elude the reporters. The most rational way to avoid unpleasant publicity in this matter is to make surpise checking of all kinds so common that the reporters will not look upon it as a sensation to be heralded. Moreover, this must appeal to the wise superintendent as the real need in the case, regardless of the newspapers. How is it that at any time on any road, a score or a dozen or a half dozen men commit the same error at the same place on the same day? Such a condition would seem to indicate a marked need of surprising somebody out of a rut, what ever the nature of the rule violated, whether of the first, second or third degree of importance.'

[The above criticism from the Railroad Gazette is unusually fair to the employees. The average writer not conncted with railroad service undertakes to make these matters as sensational as possible, as they did in the Lake Shore case alluded to, making it appear many times as bad as the facts warranted, very much to the detriment of the reputation of engineers and the Lake Shore Railroad, a feature the officials evidently did not look for. Surprise tests are evidently intended to be secret affairs and not for such publication as followed in the case alluded to. There is, evidently, a general movement to catch engineers violating some rule and, whatever may have been the practice within or without the knowledge of the officials, every engineer should realize that self-defense demands that every rule be strictly adhered to; then there will be no surprise on the engi

neers in these tests. The officials who apply these tests should be surprised that there is no violation of the rules and that they must lay most of the wrecks to other causes.-EDITOR.]

Eye Tests.

The matter of oculistic tests of engine crews is becoming a bone of contention between managements and men. The most sensible medical point of view we have seen was expressed by Dr. C. W. Hawley, of Chicago, recently before the Iowa State Association of Railway Surgeons. Among other things he said: "Often the failure of the engineer to read or see a signal is due, it is claimed, to his mental condition and not to defective vision. As a matter of fact the case may be that the eye of the engineer saw the signal, but the visual brain did not perceive it, and consequently the accident. We are all familiar with the fact that we may look directly at an object visually but not mentally. Therefore, before rendering a verdict against the eyes, the physical and mental condition of those responsible for the accident should be carefully looked into, and any outside disturbing elements must not be forgotten in making the investigation." Dr. Hawley insists upon a conservative examination for railway men's eyes, but he also insists that "the minimum which an engineer shall be required to see shall be established by field tests, plus common sense. He suggests that this minimum should be somewhere between 20/40 and 20/60, a normal vision being represented by 20/20." "It would be criminal if an engineer with a vision of 20/60 failed to see a signal at the required distance. Many of the accidents which are held to be due to defective vision are not due to that cause. By reason of his training and experience an engineer is able to distinguish and to read a signal so much better and quicker than an ordinary individual that with a vision of 20/50 he would excel the novice with a vision of 20/20. Examinations under working conditions should be made even before

insisting upon correcting an engineer's sight by glasses. The office tests are unnatural, and are made under unfamiliar surroundings, and the men are therefore frequently advised to wear glasses when they do not need them in actual work. The men have been accustomed to watching along a right of way for years and have become thoroughly familiar with every bit of track and with every signal along the road. Their mental capacity to see objects has been developed to a high degree and they know thoroughly every changed position and its meaning. Even their eyes are developed to recognize these objects quickly and without effort, the same as the eye of the oculist will recognize a foreign body in the cornea the instant he examines it, when an eye fully as good, or even better, in visual acuity would hesitate and perhaps would not see it at all." In thus developing an authoritative medical opinion for the contention of locomotive engineers for field tests in case office tests develop doubt, Dr. Hawley seems to have done these men a considerable service.-Railway and Engineering Review.

Burlington's Instructions to Engineers.

BY DANIEL WILLARD, SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT C., B. & Q. RY. CO.

The Burlington Railroad has long enjoyed a high reputation as a passenger line because of the general condition of its roadbed, the character of its equipment and the usual punctuality of its trains, and in order to maintain this standard it has spent in recent years large sums of money for-heavier rail; more and better ballast; realignment of track for the purpose of obtaining easier curves and better grades; and the purchase of high class equipment provided with all desirable features which might tend to make the cars attractive to the passenger or better fitted for safe operation. Recently, new and more powerful locomotives have also been supplied for this branch of the service.

A very important fact in this connec

tion, however, is frequently overlooked by those responsible for the proper operation of the trains. After the company has done all the things above enumerated in order to provide safe and comfortable passage for its patrons, it remains with the engineer pulling the individual train to so handle it as to make the passenger's trip agreeable, or to render it altogether uncomfortable.

Much more is required of an engineer hauling a passenger train than simply the ability to start it, maintain speed, and stop it at regular places. The management believes that the engineers in charge of its passenger trains are in all respects the equal of any similar number of engineers in the employ of any company, and it believes also that they are interested in the success and reputation of the Burlington Company, and anxious to so perform their work as to give the very best results; and the purpose of this letter is to call attention to the importance of this branch of the service, and to point out certain ways in which they can assist materially in its improvement.

An engineer in charge of a passenger engine is usually a man of long experience, and ought also to be a man of good judgment and well qualified to do the work assigned him, otherwise he should not be put in charge of a train carrying passengers. Assuming that he is such a man, his first duty is to see that the engine which he has to take out is as near as can be in proper condition to perform the work assigned it, and he should give his personal attention to this matter. He should know personally that the bearings are properly oiled; that the engine is in every way as fit as possible for the work to be performed, and provided with the necessary equipment. He should also know personally that the tender is filled with suitable coal and the tank filled with water before starting the run. His engine should be at the station in ample time to make the train coupling, test the brakes, and give him sufficient opportunity to see that everything is in good shape before starting, and he should, moreover, be ready to start the train on the very

second of the scheduled departing time.

KEEP EYE ON CONDUCTOR.

Not infrequently I have observed that when the conductor gives the starting signal the engineer is not looking for it and a fraction of a minute, or perhaps more, is lost on that account. This is wrong, and it should be a matter of special pride with an engineer to be always ready to start not only the moment the signal is given, but before the signal is given, as a reminder to the conductor that the starting of the train waits upon him.

A great deal also depends upon the manner in which the train is started. There is only one proper way, but an innumerable number of improper ways of starting a train. A passenger train, if provided with an engine sufficiently strong to handle it, can ordinarily be started and should be started so easily that a passenger in the train would discover it was moving by sight rather than by feeling. That is to say, it should start so easily that a passenger would feel no perceptible shock and his first knowledge that the train is under way should be by noticing that he is moving over the ground. This is a perfect standard and is the one which an engineer should seek to accomplish. It is understood, of course, that at times and in places it will not be possible to start a train as above described, but it is possible to start it in that way probably ninety or more times out of a hundred, and it should be the aim of every engineer to come as near to that standard as possible at all times.

AT UNIFORM SPEED.

After the train is started the engineer should know how fast it is necessary to run it in order to make the required time, and he should endeavor to attain that speed as soon as possible and proper, and then run his train at a uniform speed (conditions permitting) until it is time to begin reducing speed in order to make the proper stop.

The practice of favoring the engine on up grades, to the extent of losing time, and regaining time so lost by running train at high speed on descending grades,

is wrong and is the cause of frequent criticism by passengers.

The rule given for starting a train should also be observed when stopping it -that is to say, a perfect stop would be one so made that the passenger should not know by feeling that the train has stopped, but he should discover the fact rather by sight as he looks out of the window. This would, of course, be a perfect stop, and while it is not always possible to make a perfect stop, it is possible to do so a very large percentage of the time, and it should be the aim of engineers to make the best stop possible at all times.

LOOK TO SAFETY FIRST.

Another feature of great importance should be kept constantly in mind by the engineer handling a passenger train, and that is this: While we are anxious, of course, to have all trains run as nearly as possible on time, still this further thought should be kept in mind, that first consideration should at all times be given to the safety and comfort of passengers.

There is hardly any piece of main track on the Burlington line that will not ride smoothly at some certain rate of speed, and it may probably also be said that there is hardly any piece of track on the Burlington or any other railroad which would not ride improperly if run over at too high a rate of speed. Engineers who are constantly running over the same piece of road soon learn its characteristics and they should regulate the speed to suit the conditions.

The engineer who can make the required time at the lowest maximum rate of speed is the man who excels as a runner, and to accomplish this it is necessary to get the train quickly in motion after stops, maintain required speed to reach the next stop at the proper time, and do all that rests with him to do to reduce delay at stations to the lowest limit.

While, as above stated, it is desired that trains be run at a uniform speed as far as practicable, it is of course understood that there are times and places where speed should properly be reduced. For instance, during and after severe storms and in foggy weather, speed should properly be

reduced in places; and there are curves on some divisions around which a train would ride more smoothly if a slight application of the brakes were made. There are also obscure places which ought to be approached at reduced speed.

AVOID BLACK SMOKE.

The engineer should understand just what ought to be done with reference to such cases as those above mentioned, keeping in mind all the time the fact that safety of operation is the thing first desired and above all others; next the comfort of the passenger, and next in order, but always subordinate-punctuality.

While not so important as the matters above mentioned, there are other things which can be done by the engineer, which if done will add to the comfort not only of the passengers but of the general public, and result in economy as well.

First, there is the question of black smoke, and its proper prevention. I feel confident in saying, with the average engine as it is ordinarily operated, with ordinary bituminous coal for fuel, that reasonable effort on the part of the men in charge (providing the engine is properly equipped and maintained) would result in preventing fully three-fourths of the black smoke which is usually made.

This would not only result in a very considerable saving to the company but would add greatly to the comfort of the passengers and the general public. In order to accomplish this it is of course necessary that the engine should be properly arranged in the first instance and maintained in good condition. It should be furnished with suitable coal properly prepared; it should be fired in a uniform and proper manner, and in order that the fireman may do his part of the work in an intelligent way, it is equally important that the engine be handled properly by the engineer. In other words, the fireman and engineer must cooperate to bring about the best results in this direction.

ESCAPING STEAM MEANS WASTE.

One thing more: Passenger engines are frequently heard blowing off steam about terminals. Whenever steam escapes through a safety valve it indicates a