In order to reduce
the wear of the leading flanges, a jet of steam from the exhaust is
directed against the outer side of each wheel. The center line of the
boiler is 7 ft. 5 in. above the rails, and the tubes, of which there are
as many as 331, are bent upward 11/2 in., which permits expansion and
contraction to take place without starting the tubes, and they are stated
never to leak or give trouble. The feed-water is heated by a portion of
the exhaust steam and the exhaust from the Westinghouse brake, and the
boiler is consequently fed by pumps, is kept cleaner, and makes steam
better. The reversing gear is automatic and exceedingly ingenious, the
compressed air from the Westinghouse brake reservoir being employed to do
the heavy work. A cylinder 41/2 in. diameter is fitted with a piston and
rod attached to the nut of the reversing screw, and a three-way cock
supplies the compressed air behind the piston; this forces the engine into
back gear, and by allowing the air to escape, the weight of the valve
motion puts the engine in forward gear. There are no balance weights, and
the screw regulates the movement. There is also a very ingenious speed
indicator, which consists of a small brass case filled with water, in
which is a small fan driven by a cord from the driving wheel; a copper
pipe leads from the fan case to a glass gauge tube; the faster the fan
runs the higher the water will stand in the tube, thus indicating the
speed.
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