BROKEN TUMBLING-SHAFT.
This accident is very serious; but it need not disable the engine, although it will lessen the engineer’s power to manage it freely. To get the engine going, calculate the position the links must stand in to pull the train, and cut pieces of wood to fit between the block and the top and bottom of the links, so that the latter may be kept in the required position. For forward motion, there will be short pieces in the top, and long pieces in the bottom. When back motion is needed, reverse the pieces of wood. A common plan is to use one piece of wood, working the engine in full gear.
The same treatment will keep an engine going when the tumbling-shaft arms, the reach-rod, the link-hanger, or the saddle-pin breaks. The failure of a link-hanger or saddle-pin will only necessitate the blocking of one side.