RECENT DEVELOPMENTS. Between 1890 and 1900 the American locomotive experienced a won derful development. In 1890 in America an eight wheeled locomotive. with 18 X 2-I-inch cylinders and a boiler having about 2200 square feet. of heating surface. was in quite general use for first class passenger service; the weight on the drivers seldom exceeded 65.000 pounds, and the total weight of the engine was usually within 100.000 pounds in working order. In freight service engines weighing between 100,000 and 120,000 pounds on the drivers were considered powerful locomotives. Today passenger locomotives, if provided with two pairs of drivers, often have from 85,000 to 105,000 pounds upon them, and if of the ten-wheel type they have from 100,000 to ]35.000 pounds upon drivers; the cylinders are 19 or 20 inches in diameter; the heating surface is from 2200 to 3000 square feet, and the grate area is from 30 to 36 square feet, unless wide grates are provided for burning some special grade of coal.
Perhaps the most important developments in passenger locomotives have been in the direction of high speed; and in this the American locomo tives now maintain the best records, although they have been eclipsed on several occasions by those of European railways, which usually do not main tain their record speeds or keep to their adver tised schedules. The type of engine shown on the ne(senpanying plate has attained a speed of 7.05 miles at the rate of 105.73 miles per hour, and 7.29 miles at the rate of 103.35 miles per hour while drawing the Empire State Express on the New York Central and Hudson River Rail road. These speeds were made on a total run of SO miles, during which the average speed was 67.60 miles per hour with a train consisting of six ears weighing 261 tons. A similar engine with a train which with the engine and tender aggregated 731.19 tons developed an average
speed of 55.8 miles per hour for two hours and seven minutes. The horse-power developed by this engine was estimated at over 1900, and is, as far as knout, the highest ho•se-power ever de veloped in passenger service.
The dimensions and other data for this engine arc as follows: A freight locomotive with 150.000 pounds on the drivers is not considered a large locomotive for ordinary road work. and for mountain ser vice and for pushing on heavy grades, engines have been built with as much as 232,000 pounds, as is the ease with the decanod engine shown on the accompanying plate, which can move on a level at slow speed over 10,000 tons of load, ex clusive of weight of engine and tender. The fol lowing table contains its dimensions and other In general, the tendency everywhere is toward larger locomotives. The accompanying tables give the main dimensions of a number of the heaviest freight and passenger locomotives which have been built in the United States during recent years. European locomotives differ from those used in America chiefly in the following particu lars: The American locomotive has a bar frame and carries its outside of the frame, while English and ninny European locomotives have a plate frame and usually carry the cylin ders inside of the frame. The frame of the American engine usually rests on the wheels through the medium of equalizing springs, while equalizing springs are but seldom used on Euro pean engines. Eight-wheel tenders are universal in America, while four-wheel and six-wheel ten ders are used in Europe. The roomy enbs with seats for the driver and fireman were for many years peculiar to American engines, but are grad ually being adopted on the Continent of Europe.