A LILLIPUTIAN LOCOMOTIVE
AND TRAIN.
Scientific AmericanOctober 1,
1898
The diminutive train which forms the subject of this illustration
was constructed by Thomas E. McGarigle, of Niagara Falls, who
claims that it is the smallest train ever built for the conveyance
of passengers in seated cars. It was built for use in the grounds
of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition at Omaha,
the space devoted to the miniature railroad being located in the
main thoroughfare, where it extends for over 1,000 feet.
The greatest interest naturally centers in the locomotive,
which is in every respect a faithful reproduction of the parts
and working of a full-sized passenger locomotive. It is of the
standard eight-wheeled American type, with a leading truck, four
coupled drivers, and a tender carried on two trucks. The gage
of the track is 12½ inches, the top of the smokestack is
25 inches above the rails, and the total length from the point
of the pilot to the end of the tender is 7 feet 3 inches.
Steam to drive the little fellow is raised in a wagon-top boiler
10 inches in diameter, in which are 11 one-inch tubes 24 inches
in length. The grate-surface is 54 square inches and the steam
pressure is 125 pounds. The boiler is built of steel and was tested
to 300 pounds pressure to the square inch. It is equipped with
two injectors and holds 12 gallons of water.
The driving wheels are 10 inches and the wheels of the truck
5 inches in diameter. The cylinders are 2 inches in diameter,
with a stroke of 4 inches. The weight of the engine is 600 pounds.
The fire-box is 10 inches in depth and 10 inches in width, and
hard coal is used as fuel. The fittings of the locomotive are
all complete, and include sand box, bell, whistle, and even a
steam brake between the drivers. The engineer has to utilize the
whole tender as a foot plate, and he must, perforce, remain at
all times seated in order to get at the throttle, reversing lever,
etc. The tender is of the two-truck type. Its wheels are 5 inches
in diameter and its capacity is 15 gallons of water.
Passengers are carried in two-seated cars of the design shown
in the illustration, and the hauling capacity of the locomotive
is ton such cars, conveying twenty passengers, a total load of
about 4,000 pounds. The scale on which the locomotive is built
is about one-seventh of the size of one of the largest engines
of the New York Central Railroad.
Oddities
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