GEARED RAILCARS FOR CANADA.
Page 17
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
There has hardly been that amount of development in this country which one would have expected in regard to the construction of self-propelled railcars fitted with internal-combustion engines, although we have recorded from time to time the individual efforts in this respect of certain railway undertakings.
We have now received from David Brown and Sons (Huddersfield), Ltd., the well-known gearing specialists, several interesting photographs of the latest types of such machines to be put into service by the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. Two of our illustrations show the different models of railcars which are being used: one is a baggage wagon, whilst the other is really a railway embodiment of the char-abanes or cross-bench-tramcar.
The final drive on these machines is the well-known worm gear made by David Brown and Sons, Ltd., of Huddersfield. This is perhaps one of the most interesting applications of the worm gear in this respect that lots so far been achieved. Two of tliese cars are fitted with 60 h.p. Alec) engines, but the others are provided with 66 h.p. Pierce-Arrow engines. The change-speed gearboxes on all the wagons are those which are fitted as standard to the PierceArrow five-ton trucks, for the design of which Mr. H. Kerr-Thomas, it may he remembered, is responsible.
In the opinion of the latter gentleman, the motors are too heavy for the service, as the maximum tractive effort of each car is only about 3000 lb. A 48 h.p. engine should be sufficient. It is understood, however, that the Canadian Pacific Railway rolling-stock engineers prefer the employment of large motors, so that they can secure, under certain circumstances, big tractive effort at low speed.