Practical Rules for the Management of a Locomotive Engine, by Charles Hutton Gregory

Transcribed from the 1841 edition by David Price, [email protected]

PRACTICAL RULES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE:
IN THE STATION, ON THE ROAD, AND IN CASES OF ACCIDENT.

by
CHARLES HUTTON GREGORY,
civil engineer.

PREFACE.

The substance of the following pages was written several months since, and subsequently sent to the Institution of Civil Engineers, where it was read in abstract on the 16th of February in the present session.

While our Engineering Literature contains several valuable Treatises on the Theory and Construction of the Locomotive Engine, it has, as yet, produced no work illustrating its Use.  This circumstance, added to the recommendation of several competent authorities, has induced the writer to apply to the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers for permission to lay before the public these Practical

Rules for the Management of a Locomotive Engine, drawn up from individual experience, in the hope that they may be acceptable, at a period when any subject connected with the efficiency and safety of Railway travelling is deservedly engaging attention.

At the end of the Paper will be found some Regulations for the first appointment of Engine-men, adopted by the Directors of the London and Croydon Railway, and framed by the writer in his official capacity as their Resident Engineer.  Also, a Table of Railway Velocities, indicated by the time occupied in passing over given distances, which he has frequently found to save him the trouble of calculation, and which he hopes may be similarly useful to others.

Charles Hutton Gregory.

London, March, 1841.

PRACTICAL RULES, &c.

THE MANAGEMENT OF A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE IN THE STATION.

The careful examination of a Locomotive Engine when in the Station, and its judicious management while running, are essential to the full performance of its duty, and to ensure the safety of the passengers by the train.

While an Engine is stopping at the Station before a trip, the fire should be properly kept up,—the tubes clear at both ends,—and the fire-bars picked free from clinkers: the regulator should be closed and locked,—the tender-break screwed down tight,—the reversing-lever fixed in the middle position, so that the slides may be out of gear,—the

cocks of the oil-vessels and feed-pipes turned off,—and the steam blowing off from the safety-valve at a pressure of 35 lbs. per square inch; if blowing off in any excess, the waste steam may be turned into the Tender-cistern to heat the water, and the door of the smoke-box may be opened to check the fire, but it should be fastened up again 10 or 15 minutes before the time of starting.

Before an Engine starts with a train, the attention of the Engine-man should first be directed to its being in complete working order; with this view he should go beneath the Engine, and carefully examine the working gear in detail.

The connecting-rod is a very important part, and more liable perhaps than any other to fail for want of proper examination.  The cotters must be secure, and in case the brasses have too much play they must be tightened up;

observing, however, that brasses should never be set so hard as to cause friction.  If there are set-screws at the side of the cotters, they should be tight, and all cotters should have a split-pin at the bottom for greater security.  The cotters which fasten the piston-rods to the cross-heads should be firm in their place, as well as the set-screws, keys, or other connections, by which the feed-pump pistons are secured to the piston-rod.

The brasses of the inner framing which carry the inside bearings of the cranked axle must be examined, and any considerable play prevented by screwing them up if necessary.  The wheels ought to be accurately square and firm on their axles, and the keys driven up tight.  All the pins, bolts, &c., by which the slide-valve gear is connected, the lifting-links, and the slings of the slide-spindles, must be secure in their proper places; the spanners ought to be fast

on the lifting and weigh-bars, and the studs on the spanners of the weigh-bars should be particularly noticed, as, if loose, they may be shaken off on the road and cause the stoppage of the Engine.  A similar examination must be extended to the hand-gear, if there be any; and the bolts which fasten the plummer-blocks of the weigh-bars, &c., must be screwed up if they are loose.

The straps of the eccentrics should work with sufficient freedom, and the eccentrics must be firm in their right position on the axle, or the Engine will beat unevenly: if any escape of steam has been observed in the stuffing-boxes of the piston-rod and slide-valve spindle, or of water from the joints of the feed-pumps and suction-pipes, they must be screwed up; and any dirt that may have collected near any of the bearings or connections must be carefully wiped off with cotton waste.

The inspection beneath the Engine being complete, the Engine-man should examine the ends of the tubes of the boiler, and if there should be leakage to any serious extent, it would be prudent to drive in a plug at each end of the defective tube.  A small quantity of Russian tallow should occasionally be introduced into the steam-chests and cylinders, to grease the slides and pistons.  This is done, either by cocks on the outside of the smoke-box or in the cylinder covers, or through holes secured by plugs, in the steam-chest covers.  The ashes should be emptied out of the smoke-box, and the small ash-door carefully secured.

Occasionally the gauge should be applied to the wheels, and the Engine should never be allowed to run when they are found to be at all incorrect or out of the square.

If there are oil-vessels at the side of

the Engine with pipes to the pistons, bearings, &c., the Engine-man must see that they are filled, and the cotton wicks in the top of the pipes, and hanging over into the oil; that the grease-boxes of the axle-bearings are filled; and the pins, links, &c., of the springs right and sound.  The draw-bar connecting the Engine and Tender must be secure, and the safety-chains attached.

The Tender must be replenished with coke and water.  An Engine-man should never run with an Engine without knowing what stock of both the Tender will carry.  It is impossible to lay down any general rule for the quantity of water evaporated and the coke consumed per mile with the same Engine, as the amount depends entirely on the extent of duty performed.  The stock of coke is usually nearly twice as much as that of water,—the water which most Tenders contain is ordinarily sufficient for

running 30 miles with certainty; but when the gradients are steep,