The Locomotive - Lighthouse Survival Blog

42 THE LOCOMOTIVE. [March,
Ml
^^^'3
HARTFORD, MARCH 15, 1893.
Itt.
J. M. Allen, Editor. A. D. Risteex, Associate Editor.
The Locomotive can he obtained free by calling at any of tlie company^s agencies.
Svbseription price 50 cents per year ichen mailed from this office.
Bound volumes one dollar each. (Any volume can he supplied.)
Papers thai borrow cuts from us will do us a favor if they will mark them plainly in returning,
so that we may give proper credit on our books.
The report for 1892 of the chief engineer of tlie Sachsischer Danipfkessel-Revis-
ions-Vcrein of Chemnitz is at hand.
DrRixG the past month there have been several changes in the addresses of our
general agents. Our patrons will note that Mr. H. M. Lemon has been appointed gen-
eral agent in the northw^ern department. ^Messrs. Zollars & ]\IcGrew of Denver have
removed to Rooms 433 to 426 in the Mining Exchange building ; Mr. R. F. Manly of
Birmingham, Ala., has removed to the Morris building in that city, and our Boston
manager, Mr. C. E. Roberts, has removed to the new Telephone building. No. 125 ]Milk st.
On page 38 of the present issue a brief account is given of an explosion near Kansas
City, 3Io. It appears that the engineer (who was killed) had reason to think an ex-
plosion was imminent, and started promptly to haul his fire. One of the papers from
Avhich we obtained our information says that "Hunt, instead of making his escape,
recklessly endeavored to draw the fire from under the boiler, and while he was thus
engaged the explosion took place. It blew out the front of the boiler and shot Hunt's
body high into the air." Xow we should think that Mr. Hunt ought to be regarded as
a sort of hero, rather than as a reckless fellow. He anticipated an explosion, and his
plain duty was to haul his fire as quickly as he could. He did not shrink frort. his duty
and unhappily he was killed. He knew he was taking his life in his hands, and it
would be a graceful act for our esteemed contemporary to give him credit for his
bravery.
On the Strains Caused by Cold Feed Water.
In a recent issue of The Locomotive some reference was made to the strains
produced in boiler shells by the chilling action of cold feed-water, when this feed
w ater is discharged directly against the hot plates. These strains are often more severe
than even experienced engineers might think, and many of the so-called " mysterious "
accidents are doubtless due to this cause, either directly or indirectly. We have seen
abundant evidence of the destructive action of feed-water when discharged against the
shell directly, and in the present article we propose to show by calculation how great
these strains from temperature changes may be.
The general principle upon which the calculation is based is as follows : If a bar
of metal be cooled by a given amount, it contracts and becomes shorter. Now after it
has shortened, suppose we put it in a testing machine and stretch it back to its original