THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 



There is a limit to the amount of work that the fire- 

 man can do, and the great engines in use at present 

 tax even the strongest fireman to the utmost. If the 

 size or speed of locomotives is increased very mate- 

 rially in the future it will be necessary to have two 

 men, instead of one, as firemen, or to use mechanical 

 stokers, or to find some other kind of fuel. In point 

 of fact the mechanical stoker has been recently tried 

 with success, and this will probably help in solving 

 the problem. But there is also the strong probability 

 that the use of liquid fuel will become more and more 

 popular. At the present time many locomotives in the 

 West and Southwest, as well as in Europe and in Asia, 

 have been equipped with burners for the consumption 

 of crude petroleum. No modification in the construc- 

 tion of the locomotive is required for this change of 

 fuel except some slight alteration in the arrangement 

 of the brickwork of the fire-box, and the introduction 

 of the burners. These, however, are simple arrange- 

 ments that throw into the fire-box, a spray of steam 

 and vaporized oil, which bums freely and generates 

 an intense and steady heat. With this kind of fuel the 

 fireman need not be considered, as the largest engine 

 thus equipped may be "fired" with far less labor than 

 is required on the smallest coal-burning, narrow-gauge 

 locomotive. 



THE WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE 



The application of steam as a motive power for run- 

 ning trains of cars solved one great problem; but it 



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