MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 43 



apparently, a far more unfavorable state of things for the use of coal, than 

 on a road where the grades are more uniform, and in consequence, the 

 fire acted upon by a more uniform draft. 



" I am aware that it has been said, that coal might do for short roads, 

 but that on long roads, the continuous intense action of the heat would 

 destroy the fire-box and flues. 



" Now it strikes me as absurd, to suppose that on a road of any length, 

 a fire need be made more intensely hot, or that any part of the boiler 

 could be more heated, than is necessary to drive an engine and full train 

 up ten miles of such grades as are specified above, or that a continuous 

 equable heat, for eight or ten hours, can be worse than continuing the 

 same heat for an hour, then a moderate fire for an hour, and so on alter- 

 nately, with the consequent expansion and contraction, and this continued 

 day after day, for eight months, annually, during fifteen years. 



" I have entered on this subject, perhaps, to a somewhat tedious length, 

 my object being, to satisfy yourself and others, that anthracite coal has 

 been used, successfully, for a series of years, in this region, as fuel for 

 locomotive engines not differing materially from the ordinary mode of 

 construction." 



The Xew Bedford Mercury gives an interesting account of an experiment, 

 which has recently been made, under the direction of Wm. A. Crocker, 

 President of the Taunton Branch Railroad, and S. M. Felton, President 

 of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Railroad, for the purpose of thoroughly 

 testing the feasibility of using anthracite coal in locomotives. For this 

 purpose, they had an engine built at Taunton, in the most thorough man- 

 ner, and it has been run, for about two months, on the Taunton and New 

 Bedford Railroad, without losing a minute in time. It was then taken to 

 the Worcester and Western roads, for further experiment. On the first 

 trial on the Worcester road, towards the conclusion of the trip, owing to 

 the want of skill in the fireman, the engine was behind time at Worcester, 

 but then rallied, and went over the Western road to Springfield, losing 

 only nine minutes. The engine then ran, for several days, between Spring- 

 field and Worcester, taking the usual heavy freight trains. On the 13th 

 of October, it ran from Springfield to Worcester, taking the accommoda- 

 tion train, and arrived in good time, making an average of 28. G miles per 

 hour. On the same day, returning, it took the Albany express train to 

 Springfield in 1 hour and 18 3-4 minutes, averaging 42 miles per hour. 

 As a further specimen of its performances, the Mercury states, that it ran 

 over a heavy, continuous grade of 11 miles, on the Western Railroad, 

 taking it in 17 minutes, and having 100 ibs. of steam upon the summit. 

 Of the peculiarity in the construction of this engine, and the economy in 

 its use, the Mercury says : 



" The peculiarity of this locomotive consists in the construction of the 

 boiler. To state this plainly, we may say that the water comes to the 

 fire, instead of the fire going to the water. This passes through the tubes, 

 instead of the fire, as in locomotives of the old construction, and is con- 



