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1942 Quiz Book on Railroads and Railroading

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Page 3 of 1942 Quiz Book on Railroads and Railroading

LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS

95. What is a mail bag catcher?

Railway mail cars in which mail is sorted en route are equipped with movable iron arms, called mail bag catchers, which are swung outward to grab mail pouches suspended on mail cranes when the train is in motion. They are operated by railway mail clerks responsible for collecting mail en route.

96. Can water be taken into a locomotive tender while the train is in motion?

Water can be taken on without stopping the train by means of a narrow trough, or "track pan," several thousand feet long, midway between the rails of a railroad track. As a locomotive passes over the "pan" the fireman lowers a scoop under the tender, and the water is forced up into the tender by the speed of the locomotive. In sub-freezing temperatures the trough must be heated to prevent formation of ice. Such a device is practical only on lines of unusually heavy traffic.

97. How many locomotives are there on the railroads of the United States?

At the beginning of 1941 there were 44,333 locomotives in the United States, of which 42,410 were operated by steam; 900 were operated by electricity; 967 by oil, 'and 56 were operated by gasoline.

98. What is the weight of a steam locomotive?

Weights of steam locomotives vary greatly. The average weight of a freight locomotive is 146 tons; that of a passenger locomotive, 134 tons; that of a switching locomotive 91 tons; that of all steam locomotives in service on the Class I railroads of the United Siaces, ? 35 tons. The above weights are exclusive of tenders and are as of December 31, 1940.

99. What is the weight of an electric locomotive?

In 1940, the average electric locomotive on Class I railroads weighed 156 tons.

100. To what extent has the power of the average steam locomotive increased in the last quarter-century?

The tractive effort of the average steam locomotive on the Class I railroads of the United States was 29,956 pounds in 1913, and 50,905 pounds in 1940 - an increase of 70 per cent.

101. How many parts are there in a locomotive?

The number of parts varies with the type of locomotive and certain construction details. A recent actual count of the parts, in a modern Pacific type steam locomotive showed about 25,000 parts, excluding the tender.

102. What is the cost of a steam locomotive?

In the period 1936-1940, average costs of new steam freight locomotives ranged from $103,028 to $201,534; passenger locomotives, from $49,850 to $168,164; freight or passenger locomotives, from $115,801 to $183,362; switching locomotives, from $21,909 to $55,355 each.

103. What is the cost of electric and Diesel-electric locomotives?

Average costs of new electric and Diesel-electric locomotives purchased during the period 1936-1940 were as follows: Electric passenger locomotives, $247,894 each; electric freight locomotives, $446,374 each; electric switching locomotives, $68,185 each. Average costs of Diesel-electric locomotives during the same period were as follows: Passenger locomotives, $204,988; freight locomotives, $60,268; switching locomotives, $70,948 each.

104. Are there any wood-burning locomotives in operation today?

The South Georgia Railway Company, operating between Adel, Georgia, and Perry, Florida, and the Live Oak, Perry & Gulf Railroad, operating between Live Oak and Scanlon, Florida, operate wood-burning locomotives.

105. How can the different types of steam locomotives be identified?

By the wheel arrangements, as shown in the following table. For instance, a Pacific type locomotive has two pairs (4) of small wheels in front, three pairs (6) of drivers followed by a single pair (2) of small wheels in the rear (not counting the tender). Thus, the engine is known as a 4-6-2, or Pacific type.

The following table will enable one to identify nearly every locomotive operating on the American railroads. Always start at the front of the engine and read back:

Wheel Arrangement Front to Back Type

4-4-0 ooOO American

4-4-2 ooOOo Atlantic

4-6-0 ooOOO Ten-Wheel

4-6-2 ooOOOo Pacific

4-6-4 ooOOOoo Hudson

4-8-0 ooOOOO Twelve-Wheel

4-8-2 ooOOOOo Mountain

4-8-4 ooOOOOoo Northern

4-10-0 ooOOOOO Mastodon

4-10-2 ooOOOOOo Southern Pacific

4-12-2 ooOOOOOOo Union Pacific

2-4-2 oOOo Columbia

2-6-0 oOOO Mogul

2-6-2 oOOOo Prairie

2-8-0 oOOOO Consolidation

2-8-2 oOOOOo Mikado

2-8-4 oOOOOoo Berkshire

2-10-0 oOOOOO Decapod

2-10-2 oOOOOOo Santa Fe

2-10-4 oOOOOOoo Texas

o-4-0 00 4-Wheel Switcher

0-6-0 000 6-Wheel Switcher

0-8-0 OOOO 8-Wheel Switcher

0-10-0 OOOOOO 1O-Wheel Switcher

4-8-8-2 ooOOOO OOOOo Mallet (articulated)

0-6-6-0 OOOOOO "

2-6-6-0 oOOOOOO "

2-6-6-2 oOOOOOOo "

2-6-6-4 oOOO OOOoo "

4-6-6-4 ooOOO OOOoo "

0-8-8-0 OOOOOOOO "

2-8-8-0 oOOOOOOOO "

2-8-8-2 oOOOO OOOOo "

2-10-10-2 oOOOOO OOOOOo "

2-8-8-4 oOOOO OOOOoo Yellowstone

4-4-4-4 ooOO OOoo Baltimore & Ohio

6-4-4-6 oooOO OOooo Pennsylvania

106. What is the size of a locomotive firebox?

Sizes of fireboxes vary from less than 100 cubic feet in small passenger and switching locomotives to as much as 866 cubic feet in the larger freight locomotives. The firebox of the passenger locomotive "American Railroads" (6-4-4-6) at the New York World's Fair, measured 660 cubic feet. The Yellowstone type locomotive of the Northern Pacific Railroad, measuring 201/2 feet in length and 61/2 feet in width, is large enough to hold an automobile with room to spare.

107. What is the water-carrying capacity of a locomotive tender?

The capacity of passenger locomotive tenders ranges from 4,500 to 24,500 gallons, with the average between 15,000 and 18,000 gallons. The capacity of tenders employed in freight service ranges from 7,000 to 30,000 gallons, the most common being from 16,000 to 22,000 gallons. The tender capacity for switching engines ranges from 7,000 to 19,000 gallons, with 9,000 to 10,000 gallons capacity the most commonly used.

108. How much boiler tubing is there in a steam locomotive?

The average road locomotive in service on the railroads of the United States has approximately one mile of boiler tubing. The aggregate length of boiler tubing in a Mikado type of locomotive is 1.207 miles; in a Yellowstone type, 1.442 miles; in a Santa Fe type, 1.281 miles.

109. How much labor goes into the construction of a steam locomotive?

The construction of a large steam locomotive provides employment equivalent to the work of 50 men for one year.

110. How many manufacturing plants contribute to the construction of a locomotive?

Materials from approximately 120 manufacturing plants go into the construction of a standard steam locomotive.

111. In what cities of the United States have steam locomotives been built?

Among the cities of the United States in which steam locomotives have been constructed are: Albany, N. Y„ Alexandria, Va„ Allegheny, Pa., Altoona, Pa., Baltimore, Md„ Boston, Mass., Burlington, La., Charleston, S. C., Chester, Pa., Chicago, III., Cincinnati, Ohio, Davenport, Ia„ Dunkirk, N. Y., Hillyard, Wash., Hoboken, N. J., Jersey City, N. J., Lancaster, Pa., Lima, Ohio, Lowell, Mass., Manchester, N. H., Newark, N. J., Newcastle, Del., New York City, Paterson, N. J., Philadelphia, Pa., Pine Bluff, Ark., Pittsburgh, Pa., Portland, Me., Providence, R. 1., Reading, Pa., Richmond, Va., Roanoke, Va., Sacramento, Cal„ Sayre, Pa., Schenectady, N. Y., Scranton, Pa., South Easton, Pa., Taunton, Mass., Vicksburg, Miss., Water Valley, Miss., Weatherly, Pa., White River Junction, Vt., Wilkes Barre, Pa., and York, Pa.

112. How much contact is there between the wheel of a locomotive or car and the rail?

Theoretically, the contact of an absolutely perfect wheel with an absolutely flat surface, if the materials of which the wheel and surface are made are incompressible, would be a thin line not much wider than the edge of a knife. However, all structural materials deform under load. Loaded wheels resting on a rail tend to flatten at the point of contact, and the tread of the rail tends to adjust itself to the curve of the wheel. Hence, the actual contact of wheel and rail is approximately the width of a chalk line.

113. What is the flange on a locomotive wheel or a car wheel and what is its purpose?

The flange is a projecting edge on the inside rim of a wheel. With the mate-wheel fitted in the same manner, the flanges keep the wheels on the rails.

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