Advance Traction Engine.
Q. How should you guide a traction engine?
A. There is no fixed rule for guiding a traction engine upon the road. It must be learned by experience. Good judgment is required to make a success of it. One man should always handle both reverse lever and steering wheel when guiding an engine.
Q. How should the steering chains be put on a traction engine?
A. The chains should be so put on, that when the steering wheel is turned to the right, the engine turns to the right; when wheel is turned to the left, the engine turns to the left.
REVERSING AN ENGINE.
To reverse the motion of a plain Slide Valve engine, remove the cover of steam chest and place the engine on the dead center. Observe the amount of lead or opening that the valve has on the steam end, then loosen the eccentric and turn it around on the shaft, in the direction the engine is wanted to run, until the valve has exactly the same amount of lead at the other end; then turn the engine to the opposite center, to determine whether the lead at this end is the same as at the other; then place the crank at half stroke top and bottom, and see that the port openings are equal in both positions, and replace cover.
Q. What is dead center?
A. The dead center of an engine is the point where crank and piston rod are in an exact line.