170 Book of Engineering 



ordinary type of locomotive found on our 

 railways, is, while a most efficient machine, 

 also a very expensive one, not only in its 

 first cost, but in running. We have only 

 to consider the boiler, for instance, to 

 realise that it is far from an economical 

 steam producer; in addition there is a great 

 deal of its area exposed to the air, and at 

 speed, the air takes a very heavy toll of its 

 heat. 



Then consider, for a moment, the 

 reciprocating operations of the locomotive, 

 apart from the wear and tear, which is 

 naturally very heavy, there is a very certain 

 deterioration caused by the dust and cinders 

 which pass to the most delicate parts of 

 the locomotive's anatomy. For the rail 

 tractor, such as the Atkinson- Walker, many 

 claims are made, and careful analysis of 

 them shows that they are well based. Not 

 only is the first cost of such a machine very 

 much less than a locomotive performing 

 similar work, but it is more especially true 

 that the maintenance charges are much 

 lower. The builders guarantee that the fuel 



