We have been furnished by Mr. H.L. Martine, Superintendent of the Machine Shop at Scranton, with the result of an experiment made on the 18th ult., upon the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad, which seems to challenge the world for its equal in the capacity and draught of locomotive engines:
“The Ontario is a ten wheel engine, six drivers, four feet six inches in diameter, connected; cylinders 17 inches in diameter, 24 in. stroke; manufactured by Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor, Paterson, N.J.
Weight on drivers, 50,500 lbs.
Weight on trucks 17,700 lbs.
Total weight of engine 68.200 lbs
Weight of tender with wood and water 40,400 lbs.
Weight of engine and tender 108,600 lbs.
The Wyalusing is a 10 wheel engine, six drivers 4 feet 6 inches in diameter, connected; cylinders 17 inches diameter, 24 inch stroke; manufactured by Danforth, Cooke & Co., Paterson, N.J.
Weight on drivers 48,200 lbs.
Weight on trucks 17,600 lbs.
Total weight of engine 65,800 lbs.
Weight of tender, wood and water 40,400 lbs.
Weight of engine and tender 106,200 lbs.
First experiment was made with train composed of 100 four wheel cars of coal, whose gross weight was 790 tons 1100
Deduct weight cars 300 tons 100
Total weight of coal 490 tons, 1000
The Ontario, T. Duncan, engineer, L.T. Puterbaugh, conductor, attached to the above train at Tunkhannock station and started up a grade of 21 feet in the mile, at the rate of 5 miles an hour for one mile, and came to a stand on a reverse curve; cut off 9 cars, leaving 91 cars, weight 725 tons, with which she went to Hopbottom Station at the rate of 7 miles per hour, the grade continuing the same.
The Wyalusing, John Warren, engineer, A. Hunt, conductor, was then attached to the whole train of 100 cars, at 10 o’clock 28 minutes, and arrived at Oakley’s Station at 10:55, making the run up a grade of 21 feet, through continuous curves of about one thousand feet radius, at four miles per hour.
The Ontario again attached to the same train of one hundred cars at Oakley’s, and drew the train at the rate of six miles an hour, under circumstances similar to the Wyalusing, grade and curves continuing the same.
At New Milford, another 100 cars of coal were added to the train, making a train of 200 cars, 2,652 feet long. or over half a mile.
Total weight of train, including engine, tender,&c., 1,653 tons, 400
Deduct weight of engine, tender and cars 655 tons, 1300
Total weight of coal 997 tons, 1100
The Ontario, attached to above train, started the whole train on a level, out of a switch, both ends of the train being on a curve at the same time. The trip was made from New Milford to Great Bend, a distance of six miles, in 30 minutes, being at the rate of 12 miles an hour, overcoming in the distance a grade of 15 feet to the mile, for about three quarters of a mile.”
We also have the result of a similar trial of engines, made in May last, on the New York and Erie and Cayuga and Susquehanna railroads:
Engine No. 25, on the New York and Erie railroad, hauled from Great Bend to Binghampton(sic), a distance of fifteen miles, in one hour, one hundred coal cars, containing each five tons gross of anthracite coal, and ninety-two of the same laden cars, with four other cars heavily freighted with bridge timber, were taken to Owego, a distance of twenty-two miles.
It must be borne in mind that each coal car weighs three tons, making each loaded car to weigh 8 tons, gross weight.
At Owego the ten-wheel engine “Tunkhannock,” built by the firm of Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor, took one hundred cars of anthracite coal, containing five hundred and two tons gross of coal, weighed and hauled over the Cayuga and Susquehanna railroad to Ithaca, thirty-five miles, at a speed of nine miles per hour, and without a single accident or slipping of wheels upon the whole trip. Ten miles of the distance are over an ascending grade of 21 feet to the mile, and two thousand feet on an ascending grade of 30 feet per mile.
Source: American Railroad Journal. July 2, 1853. Provided by Richard Palmer.