Locomotive Engine Running and Management

by Angus Sinclair

IMPORTANCE OF LOCOMOTIVES STEAMING FREELY.

As the purpose of a locomotive engine attached to a train is to take that train along on time, and as engines are generally rated to pull cars according to their size, it is of the utmost importance that they should make steam freely enough to keep up an even pressure on the boiler while the cylinders are drawing the supply necessary to maintain speed. A locomotive that does not generate steam as fast as the cylinders use it, is like a lame horse on the road, a torture to itself, and to every one connected with it.