ADAPTING ROAD VEHICLES TO RAIL USE.
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What Has Been Done in America. The Suitability of the F.W.D. Vehicle. Ousting the Steam Locomotive in Tunnel Repair and Reconstruction.
AFEW weeks ago we published an article dealing with the adaptability of the ordinary petrol vehicle as used for road transportation to passenger rail us; and particularly on branch lines which cannot be remuneratively operated by high-powered steam locomotives. As we pointed out at that time, there is not a wide scope for the employment of vehiclee of this type in this country; due to the fact that populated areas are not widely separated and that the face of the country is covered by a vast network of interconnecting rail services, many of which tap rural and isolated districts and provide ready cots• unction with main line traffic.
It is not always possible, however, to maintain frequent services to urban areas 'without the risk of a dead loss.being incurred, and it is for this reason•that we suggest that a more frequent service might be operated by employing road vehicles fitted with flanged wheels, the running costs of which are considerably lower than those for the steam locomotive. It is not a potential field of unlimited scope, although it is worthy of consideration by 'railway officials and motor vehicle manufacturers.
It is to America, Australia, Canada and like countries that we mustlook for evidence of the value, of the petrol rail car, for in these countries populated areas are widely separated by expansive tracts of open country.. It has been found possible to provide these areas with regular services by the internalcombustion-engined rail bus between those which are maintained by the steam locomotive perhaps only three or four times a week.
America has perhaps developed the use of the petrol rail car to the greatest extent, both in the matter of passenger and goods transportation, and, as a matter of fact, it is claimed that the first petrol-driven road vehicle to operate on rails was an F.W.D. machine, which was equipped and put into rail service by the North-Western Pacific Railroad at San Rafael, California, in 1fl18. This lorry was originally used in the reconstruction of a 1,400 ft. tunnel, upon the completion of which the lorry was considered so valuable that it has been used ever since as a locomotive for light yard switching. In working on the tunnel it was found that a steam locomotive filled it with smoke and gases and that it was impossible' for workmen to stay in the tunnel, to 'say nothing of the fact that. it was impossible for them to see while they were inside. These difficulties made it necessary to use a locomotive which did not produce black smoke and stifling gases. Upon investigation, the railroad officials found that the F.W.D. motor lorry had a 56 in. tread on both its front and rear wheels, and as this was the distance between the rails of a standard gauge railroad, they made plans to equip the lorry as a locomotive, having previously realized that the exhaust gases from the petrol vehicle would be a small matter as compared with the dense smoke from 'a steam locomotive.
The necessary modifications were accordingly made, and when completed the vehicle had a platform body, standard railway couplers—front and rear— flanged rims slipped on in place of the rubber tyres, and a cab which had formerly been used on a steam locomo tive. This is claimed to be the first attempt at " petrolizing" 'motive power on railroads, and the high degree of success with which it met is undoubtedly due to the ease with which the F.W.D. lorry can be adapted to this service.
One of the big features which makes the F.W.D. more readily adaptable to railroad service than the average lorry, is its application of power to all four wheels, which gives it much greater traction and a greater pulling power. In this respect the F.W.D. rail car compares somewhat with the rear-driven rail car as the modern high-powered locomotives with many driving wheels compare with the earlier types with one or two driving wheels. Traction is one of the biggest requirements of any rail car. Especially is this so in countries where the snowfall in the winter months is quite heavy. The rails become slippery and the deep snow impedes the progress of the car to a considerable extent.
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Co., at Clintonville, Wisconsin, now produce and are making a speciality of rail cars for passenger service and for goodscarrying. The two models merely differ in the types of bodies and the length of the wheelbase used, which, of course, is more likely to be longer in the case of a passenger vehicleThe chassis is a standard E.W.D. three-tonner, and in order to enable it to be used on railroads it has flanged rims in place of rubber tyres, a sanding device, which sands the rails when necessary and provides traction; a high-speed reverse, which enables it to travel as fast in reverse as it travels forward; a rigid front axle; a locomotive-type guard for the front of the lorry, and standard railroad couplers on the front and rear, which make it possible to trail or push any railway coach or freight car.
The pony truck, or bogey, as it is sometimes called, has proved to be undesirable in the case of the F.W.D. This 'type • of vehicle is being operated over many lines, where the sharpest curves are negotiated at the desired rate of speed without difficulty, and to sacrifice the application of power to the front wheels for a bogey or pony truck is objectionable. The vehicle will travel over switches and take any curve without trouble of any kind.
The New Orleans and Lower Coast Railroad, which operate an F.W.D. passenger bus over a branch line from New Orleans to Butes, Louisiana, in keeping a cost record over a period of five months, found that their petrol -rail bus was operating at a cost of 16 cents per mile and returning a profit, as compared to 56 cents per mile with a steam train which had been operating at a loss. Neither of these costs included the cost of rail maintenance, but it is reasonable to assume that the rail bus would wear the rails much less than the heavy steam train.
The manufacturers of the F.W.D. lorry have gone even farther than to produce a rail car. They are making special sets of equipment with which any of their lorries being used for highway transportation purposes may be converted into a rail freight car at a small expense and with very little loss of time. This equipment consists of flanged rims, standard railway couplers and a sanding device, and where desired other equipment can be furnished.
As evidence of the popularity of this petrol rail car in America we might men. don' that the United States Government has installed several and is contemplating using quite a number of vehicles of this type at army posts and arsenals throughout the country. It is already using petrol rail lorries for light yard switching so as to reduce expenses.
Many other makes, of road vehicles have been converted to rail use in the 'States, although, perhaps, ni o r c F.W.D.s have been adapted to this work than any other type. For instance, on the San Joaquin and Eastern .Railway there are' two White petrol lorries maintaining a regular service between the San Joaquin Valley and several of the great hydro• electric power stations in the mountain s.
The entire railway is less than 100 miles long, but On one portion—a stretch of line 18 miles in length—the vehicles start at about 400 ft. above sea-level and climb to an elevation of close upon 7.000 It. Obviously, this was a long, hard pull for trains drawn by steam locomotives, and it sometimes re* quired as many as three engines under a full head of steam to haul a very light train. As this involved the operating company in a considerable financial loss, they recently decided to experiment with petrol-driven vehicles, and, accordingly, two White chassis were fitted with flanged wheels and 16-seater rail bus bodies. The vehicles have proved most successful, and, apart from giving a better service, have returned a profit.