| Show THIRST BILL HIGH FOR IRON HORSE water used in trains costs yearly washington D C the fab ulous Paul bunyan carrying water on both shoulders would find it a days work to quench the thirst of the iron horse railroads spend annually for approximately gallons of water required by locomotives and the nations s transportation por tation system the association of american railroads reports that the water used would fill a channel yards wide and nine feet deep extending from new york to san francisco also if paul bunyan should drop the ahe buckets on a cold day the water would freeze to a thickness of one foot over an area fifty four miles square the inhabitants of new york city could survive for two years and those of a city the size of washington could survive for seventeen years on the water consumed in one year by railroad locomotives railroads have saved millions of dollars annually and increased safety and efficiency in operation by chemically treating water consumed by the iron horse to prevent rust and scale from forming on the inside of boilers the association reported additional scientific studies now are under way to determine what further improvements can be made in in the water supply it was said the bureau of mines at new brunswick N J ohio state university and the university of michigan are among the more important centers of such research one large railroad operating under typical conditions reported only one engine failure caused by water quality in miles in the last four years it is estimated that a passenger lo 10 locomotive cO motive uses from seventy to gallons st df water per mile while a freight locomotive uses from to 50 gallons per mile the tenders of present day trains hold ae as much as gallons |
