OIL AS FUEL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 24, 11 January 1912, Page 3

OIL AS FUEL.

The advent of fuel oil has become an important factor in railway locomotion. It is estimated by the United States Geological Survey that from 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 tons of coal per annum are replaced by oil, and a large part of that is used by locomotives. The author of a recent report computes the total length of railway lines operated during 1910 with petroleum as a fuel to be 21,075 miles, a trackage practically equivalent to that of live transcontinental lines stretching across the United States from ocean to ocean. The 1 number of barrels of fuel oil used by the railroads (42 gallons per barrel) was 24,526,883. This includes 768,762 barrels used by the railroads as fuel other than in locomotives. Tho total number of miles run by oil burning engines during the year was 88,31§j947. This would have carried one engine or train around the world approximately 3530 tiiiies. The advantages of oil as locomotive fuel over coal have been stated by Eugene M'Auliffe as many. They include decrease cost of handling oil from cars to engines, with practically no loss by depreciation duo to such handling; evaporation losses suffered by coal as not applying to oil; heavy storage at great expense; greater cleanliness and providing increased mileage per engine, the oil capacity of tho tender being about 150 per cent, of that of coal; freedom from physical failure of firemen in extreme hot weather; delivery of oil being unaffected by labour conditions, the coal situation necessitating in some instances heavy storage at great expense; fireator cleanliness in handling all passenger trains, lack of smoke and immunity from right of way forest fires. The expense of equipping the average locomotive to burn oil is about 800 dollars, and tho cost of large steel storage tanks is about 25 cents per barrel, but tho necessary- terminal facilities for handlin goil-enst 50 per jeent. less than tho amount required to handle coal.