THE LIFE OF A LOCOMOTIVE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 273, 25 September 1879, Page 3

THE LIFE OF A LOCOMOTIVE.

/Some curious figures have been cornpuled from the experience of American railways, illustrative of tho length of service, or the life of some of the materials and machines used. Tho Illini ds Railroad Commissioners seem to havo obtained returns from twenty-six railway companies, which show that tho 'life' cf a locomotive engine varied on these railways, from 8 years to 24, and that the general average duration was 15]- years. Passenger cars endured from 8 years to 20 years, the average being 15| years; tha average life of stock cars being 10 years, and that of freight cars, llj years: and the railway bridges, built so largely of wood in the United States, endure from 5 to 2G years. As to the life of rails, the statistics seem to indicate that those of iron last from threo to twelve years—tho mean being seven ; while steel rails are credited with from nine to twenty years's service—and an average of fourteen years is obtained from the returns. No general statistics of this nature are obtainable in regard to the working results of British railways as a whole, but there is a belief that the limits of effective work here are longer: but it would be well, if similar statistics could be obtained, to test by comparison the truth of this opinion.