CAREFUL FEEDING AND FIRING PRESERVE BOILERS.
A case where the conservative effect of careful firing and feeding was strikingly illustrated, came under the author’s notice a year or two ago. During the busiest part of the season, the fire-box of a freight engine belonging to a Western road became so leaky that the engine was really unfit for service. Engines, like individuals, soon lose their reputation if they fail to perform their required duties for any length of time. This engine, “29,” soon became the aversion of train-men. The loquacious brakeman, who can instruct every railroad-man how to conduct his business, but is lame respecting his own work, got presently to making big stories out of the amazing quantity of water and coal that “29” could get away with, and how many trains she would hold in the course of a trip. The road was suffering from a plethora of freight, and extreme scarcity of engines; and on this account the management was reluctant to take this weakling into the shop. So the master mechanic turned “29” over to Engineer Macleay, who was running on a branch where delays were not likely to hold many trains. Mac deliberated about taking his “time” in preference to the engine, which others had rejected, but finally concluded to give the bad one a fair trial. The first trip convinced the somewhat observant engineer that the tender fire-box was peculiarly susceptible to the free use of the pump, and to sudden changes of the fire’s intensity of heat. So he directed the fireman to fire as evenly as possible, never to let the grates get bare enough to let cold air pass through, to keep the door closed except when firing, to avoid violent shaking of the grates, and never to throw more than three or four shovelfuls of coal into the fire-box at one time. His own method was, to feed with persistent regularity, to go twice over heavy parts of the division in preference to distressing the engine by letting the water get low, and then filling up rapidly. This system soon began to tell on the improved condition of the fire-box. The result was, that, within a month after taking the engine, Mac was pulling full trains on time; and this he continued to do for five months, till it was found convenient to take the engine in for rebuilding.