716 



Popular Science Monthly 





y 



Giant Cars to Help in 

 Solving the Coal Problem 



ONE of the reasons given 

 for the coal shortage dur- 

 ing the past winter was the lack 

 of transportation facilities. 

 The coal-carrying railroads 

 of the country have tried 

 for some time to solve this 

 serious problem by substi- 

 tuting larger cars for the 

 old style coal cars of limited 

 capacity. One of the south- 

 ern railroads is now trying 

 out several gigantic coal 

 cars, which hold the record 

 as the largest of their kind 

 in the world. The average 

 coal car in use on the differ- 

 ent railroad lines has a 

 capacity of sixty tons, while 

 the new cars, one of which 

 is shown in the illustration, 

 has a capacity of 120 tons. 

 The new cars, which dififer 

 materially in their construc- 

 tion from the old style cars, 

 are only fifty feet long, that 

 is fifteen feet longer than the 

 average coal car of steel 

 construction. The greater 

 capacity has been attained 

 by increasing the length of 

 the car and also its depth. 

 The center sill running 

 lengthwise through the car 

 acts only as the medium for 

 transmitting the pulling and 

 buffing stresses, while the 

 side framework resting upon 

 the trucks carries the load. 

 To obtain a better distribu- 

 tion of the weight, six-wheel 

 trucks are used in- 

 stead of the usual 

 2.0ir?HfGn four-wheel trucks. 



If You Own a Walnut Tree These 

 Days You're in Luck 



WALNUT, walnut, walnut. That is 

 what your Uncle Sam is looking for 

 just at present. What does he want it 

 for? Why gunstocks. Walnut is and 

 always has been the wood par excellence 

 for the manufacture of stocks. It is easy 

 to work, will not easily crack, and will not 

 splinter. 



In spite of the enormous demand which 

 has always existed, and exists now more 

 than ever, there is any amount of the 

 wood to be got, so long as you are 

 willing to pay the price. The reason for 

 this is that in the timber countries, as 

 they have become more and more settled, 

 the inhabitants have sought to beautify 

 their land and homes, and consequently, 

 lacking the urging of necessity, have abso- 

 lutely refused to sell their trees at any 

 price. Now, under the spirit of patriot- 

 ism, people are sacrificing these grand old 

 landmarks to the service of 

 their country, and consequently 

 the Government is getting all 

 the walnut it needs. 



The boys are getting first- 

 class stuff too. Uncle Sam lays 

 down standards and when he's 

 laid them down he sticks to 

 them like glue. The conse- 

 quence is that in this case the 

 stocks are all cut from good 

 wood, properly selected and 

 seasoned, and with the grain 

 running the proper way to 

 guarantee therequisitestrength. 



The next best wood for gun 

 stocks is oak. Oak, however, 

 does not yield so readily to 

 the turning of the lathe. 

 Furthermore, walnut will not 

 crack so readily as 

 oak. Other woods 

 are not desirable. ?J2 p^^f^,^^^ 



r 



This new car is only fifteen feet lonRcr than the average coal-car but has a capacity of one 

 hundred and twenty tons. It should help solve the serious transportation problem 



