MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS.
Be careful not to open the throttle valve too quickly, or you may throw off the driving belt. You may also stir up the water and cause it to pass over with the steam, starting what is called “priming.”
Always open your cylinder cocks when you stop, to make sure all water has been drained out of the cylinder; and see that they are open when you start, of course closing them as soon as the steam is let in.
When you pull out the ashes always have a pail of water ready, for you may start a fire that will do no end of damage.
If the water in your boiler gets low and you are waiting for the tank to come up, don’t think you “can keep on a little longer,” but stop your engine at once. It is better to lose a little time than run the risk of an explosion that will ruin your reputation as an engineer and cause your employer a heavy expense.
Never start the pump when the water in the boiler is low.
Be sure the exhaust nozzle does not get limed up, and be sure the pipe where the water enters the boiler from the heater is not limed up, or you may split a heater pipe or knock out a check valve.
Never leave your engine in cold weather without draining off all the water; and always cover up your engine when you leave it.
Never disconnect the engine with a leaky throttle.
Keep the steam pressure steady, not varying more than 10 to 15 lbs.
If called on to run an old boiler, have it thoroughly tested before you touch it.
Always close your damper before pulling through a stack yard.
Examine every bridge before you pull on to it.
Do not stop going down a steep grade.
5 J. H. Maggard. [return]
6 J. H. Maggard. [return]
[CHAPTER VI.]
HANDLING A TRACTION ENGINE ON THE ROAD.
It is something of a trick to handle a traction engine on the road. The novice is almost certain to run it into a ditch the first thing, or get stuck on a hill, or in a sand patch or a mudhole. Some attention must therefore be paid to handling a traction engine on the road.
In the first place, never pull the throttle open with a jerk, nor put down the reverse lever with a snap. Handle your engine deliberately and thoughtfully, knowing beforehand just what you wish to do and how you will do it. A traction engine is much like an ox; try to goad it on too fast and it will stop and turn around on you. It does its best work when moving slowly and steadily, and seldom is anything gained by rushing.
The first thing for an engineer to learn is to handle his throttle. When an engine is doing work the throttle should be wide open; but on the road, or in turning, backing, etc., the engineer’s hand must be on the throttle all the time and he must exercise a nice judgment as to just how much steam the engine will need to do a certain amount of work. This the novice will find out best by opening the throttle slowly, taking all the time he needs, and never allowing any one to hurry him.
As an engineer learns the throttle, he gradually comes to have confidence in it. As it were, he feels the pulse of the animal and never makes a mistake. Such an engineer always has power to spare, and never wastes any power. He finds that a little is often much better than too much.
The next thing to learn is the steering wheel. It has tricks of its own, which one must learn by practice. Most young engineers turn the wheel altogether too much. If you let your engine run slowly you will have time to turn the wheel slowly, and accomplish just what you want to do. If you hurry you will probably have to do your work all over again, and so lose much more time in the end than if you didn’t hurry.
Always keep your eyes on the front wheels of the engine, and do not turn around to see how your load is coming on. Your load will take care of itself if you manage the front wheels all right, for they determine where you are to go.
In making a hard turn, especially, go slow. Then you will run no chance of losing control of your engine, and you can see that neither you nor your load gets into a ditch.