Popular Science Monthly 



423 



ject through the sides by the same meth- 

 od of packing that is ordinarily used at 

 the propeller shaft. The hull, or body, 

 is hung on large steel springs, similar to 

 those used on stock automobile bodies. 

 These springs, as may be 

 seen in the illustrations, are 

 not exposed, but are con- 

 tained within the hull with 

 the rest of the mechanism, 

 and are protected from all 

 dust, grit and water. The 

 sides of the boat-automobile 

 are high enough to prevent 

 the shipping of water, but 

 the machine is not designed 

 to be operated in rough 

 weather. 



The hydro-motor car rides 

 well in the water, and is able 

 to attain a speed of about 

 ten miles an hour. 



This h y d r o-m o t o r has 

 proved so successful that its 

 inventor. Michael de Cosmo, 

 of San Francisco, is design- 

 ing a new model which he 

 expects to exhibit in the 

 near future. Several im- 

 provements suggested dur- 

 ing the experiments with 

 Delia,*' will be made soon. 



not been satisfactory, as they proved less 

 durable than those requiring two days or 

 more to dry. 



This led to experiments in baking the 

 slow-drying paints, and for that purpose 



Baking a Railroad Car to Dry 

 the Paint 



THE repainting of thousands of 

 passenger and freight cars presents 

 a big problem for the average railroad. 

 It also represents a large expense, which 

 the roads are trying to cut down by in- 

 creasing the durability of the paints and 

 shortening the time that cars must be 

 kept out of service during the process. 

 It is the aim of practically every road 

 to keep its cars in continual use, where- 

 ever possible. 



Very recently the Pennsylvania Rail- 

 road established a test department, for 

 the purpose of speeding up the work of 

 inspection and repairs and thereby re- 

 ducing the loss due to idle cars. One 

 j)roblem that had engaged the attention 

 of the railroad officials was that of re- 

 ducing the time required for drying a 

 car after painting. Their experience, 

 however, with quick-drying paints had 



It formerly took 

 weeks to paint and 

 dry a railway car. 

 With this oven it 

 can be done in as 

 many days 



the railroad recently constructed a mam- 

 moth baking oven at Altoona, Pa. It 

 is large enough to accommodate cars of 

 almost any length. With the car well 

 inside, the doors are closed and the tem- 

 perature is raised above the boiling point 

 of water. The paint is completely dry 

 and hard and the car ready for service 

 in about three hours. 



The saving of time by this process has 

 been very marked. It has reduced by 

 ninety-five per cent, the time usually re- 

 quired for drying cars by the old method 

 and has cut in half the time a car is 

 held out of service during repainting. 

 Besides, the artitically dried paint is 

 claimed to be much more durable than 

 that dried in the open air. 



