New Switch Engine

One of the greatest practical wastes in railroading arises from burning fuel in switching yard engines to keep steam up continually, although the engines are only occasionally used. This loss may now become obsolete through the perfection of a wholly new type of switching engine, built by the General Electric and the Ingersoll-Rand Co., and recently tried out by the New York Central.

The new locomotive burns oil fuel in a large oil engine which is directly connected with a powerful electric generator ; the latter in turn drives four electric motors. Thus, although the locomotive uses electric power to pull its loads, it needs no third rail or overhead wire, but contains its own powerhouse. There is no smoke raised by its operations, and a muffler renders them relatively quiet. Like an automobile, it is necessary to operate the engine only when the locomotive is in use; at other times fuel is saved.