Handbook of Railroad Construction; For the use of American engineers. / Containing the necessary rules, tables, and formulæ for the location, construction, equipment, and management of railroads, as built in the United States.

by George L. Vose

AMOUNT OF SERVICE OF ENGINES.

404. This is much less than is generally supposed. The number of engines required to perform any amount of work is considerably greater than the number actually in motion, because of liability to accident, time required for cleaning and repair. The New York State Engineer’s Report for 1854 gives, as the number of engines on 2,500 miles, 668, or one engine per 3¾ miles. Also, 668 engines run per annum 11,393,000 miles, or 17,055 miles per annum per engine; thus requiring .00005863 of an engine per mile run per annum.

This is very nearly fifty-five miles per day, (313 days per annum). Also, 968
2500 gives 27
100 of an engine per mile of road, and the same report gives the following:—

One locomotive for 3¾ miles of road.

One passenger car for 2½ miles of road.

One freight car for 32
100 miles of road.

Or each mile needs

27
100 of a locomotive.

40
100 of a passenger car.

3 freight cars.

Or to one engine 781
100 passenger cars, and 1072
100 freight cars. From Lardner’s Railway Economy it appears that the average daily run of an engine is forty-two miles, or seventy-five miles per day, working four days in the week. That the daily service is two hours working, and three and three quarters hours standing with steam up. The maximum annual mileage mentioned by Lardner is that upon the Belgium lines, and was 21,737. The maximum in America has been, as far as we have been able to ascertain, 22,000, and this for eighteen years.

Note 1.—Two little eight ton, four wheeled, Stephenson engines, cylinders 10 × 16, four and a half feet drivers, inside connection, copper fire-boxes, have averaged 22,000 miles per annum, with trains weighing forty tons exclusive of engine and tender, for eighteen years, costing about $700 per annum each for repairs, or $3.18 cents per mile run, upon the Bangor and Oldtown Railroad (Maine).

Note 2.—In the Report of the Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York for the year ending September 30, 1855, is the following:—

One engine is required for each three and a half miles; or one engine in constant use for five and a quarter miles. The average run per annum by each engine in actual use is 22,823 miles; or 16,302 to all of the engines. Also, as regards the work done by cars.

	Effective in constant use.	Miles per car.	Distance run per annum per car.
Passenger,	650	4	45.126
Baggage,	246	11
Freight,	7500	0.35	11.970

the number of miles being 2,615.