156 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



gurated a special campaign of education among its engineers and fire- 

 men. A general order has been issued to the effect that " smoke 

 means waste and must be avoided." 



Five assistant road foremen of engines are now at work instructing 

 firemen how to reduce the quantity of smoke emitted by engines. It 

 is estimated that ten pounds of coal were required last year to generate 

 steam necessary to haul one freight car one mile. The safety valve of 

 an engine, if left open one minute, will lose an equal amount of steam. 

 The Pennsylvania Eailroad last year hauled 1,248,300 freight cars one 

 mile and its coal bill was $10,000,000. Therefore, the savings of one 

 per cent, by more efficient handling of coal will result in a saving to 

 the company of $100,000 annually. 



Under eighteen separate heads, thorough and minute instructions 

 in the general order issued, the company has gone into the elementals 

 of locomotive firing. Coal no larger than three inches tliick may be 

 used; tenders must not be overloaded so that coal is dropped along the 

 track ; grates and ash pans must be watched closely, in order to decrease 

 the number of repairs on engines. 



The example thus set by the Pennsylvania Eailroad is bound to be 



of far reaching influence. As the Chicago Record Herald puts the case 



The argument should appeal to every smoke producer, for it would seem 

 now that it had time to penetrate the smokiest kind of a brain. At any rate, 

 its soundness has been demonstrated beyond question many times, and examples 

 such as that of this great railroad corporation should add greatly to its force. 

 But it is curious how long it has taken to convince smokers that the smoke 

 actually meant waste, and how stubborn some of them are still in spite of all 

 the teaching by precept and example. Conditions prove that they would never 

 learn excejjt under compulsion, under the determined attempts of the public 

 authorities to abate a nuisance and to protect the thousands against the stupid 

 selfishness and indifference of the law. 



Another view of the attitude of the corporation was taken at the 

 Providence meeting of the American Civic Association by the superin- 

 tendent of motive power on the New York, New Haven and Hartford 

 Eailroad, Mr. George W. Welden, declaring that 



As a general proposition, railroad companies are assumed, by the rank and 

 file, to take only such interest in the question of smoke elimination on loco- 

 motives as they are actually compelled to through the clamor of the public and 

 the penalties imposed or prescribed by ordinances and enforced by the courts. 

 If the above assumption were really true, then railroad operation in general 

 could be properly classed as the most miserably managed business in the world. 

 The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, while constituting but a 

 small percentage of the railroad mileage of the United States, and necessarily 

 consuming but a small proportion of the total fuel bui'ned on all railroads, 

 could save annually for its treasury approximately $600,000 if some good 

 Samaritan would suggest a method or device by means of which the black 

 smoke and unconsumed gases which now escape from the smoke stacks of our 

 locomotives could be completely burned and used as effective fuel. Second to 



