N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

[NW Mailing List]

Guys:  Yes, removing dissolved sulfur would require chemical treatment- ion
grabbers would be necessary.  Gary R 

 

 

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From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 11:08 AM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

 

Sam,

 

I suspect that you are right about the loose use of the word "filter."  This
points up how newspaper articles sometimes have to be taken with a grain of
salt.  Small town reporters had to be versatile.  Back in 1903 a reporter
might be writing one hour on features of a new hospital, the next hour on
the results of a police investigation, the next hour on the latest
locomotives and the next hour on the problem of cows roaming the streets. 

 

Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 

From: NW <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>  Mailing List 

To: NW <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>  Mailing List 

Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 9:20 PM

Subject: Re: N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

 

Thinking back to my high school chemistry, I'm not sure any "filter" would
remove dissolved sulfur from water.  I know the railroad did resort to
chemical treatment of the water, which may be what the writer is referring
to.  There's a bit of irony here in that the reason sulfur became such a
problem is because it leached out of coal mines that provided the railroad
with its economic life blood and from the attendant slag heaps.

 

Sam Putney

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: NW <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>  Mailing List 

To: N <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> &W Mailing 1List 

Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 9:23 PM

Subject: N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

 

PREPARING TO SPEND $200,000 FOR FILTERS

------

BAD WATER RUINS MANY ENGINES

------

New Reason Assigned for Shortage of Motive Power

-----

Norfolk and Western Will Erect Filter Plants at Tanks Where Water is Taken

>From Mountain Streams


------

    The Norfolk and Western Railroad Company is preparing to expend $200,000
in the erection of filters along its line through the coal fields as a
result of an experience it has just passed through.  The Norfolk and Western
is one of the best equipped coal roads in the country, and for more than a
month the men who get coal over it could not understand the delay in the
shipment of coal.

    It was owing to a lack of motive power, but what has caused the shortage
of engines puzzled the officers of the road for a time.

        The motive power had been increased, and to their surprise engines
that had been in service for but sixty and ninety days were turned into the
repair shops with their boilers completely wrecked.  The investigation
started showed a state of affairs never before encountered in railroading.

    The water supply for the engines in the coal district of the Norfolk and
Western is secured from the mountain streams and is pumped into water tanks.
The water contains sulphur [sic] and mineral substances which sink to the
bottom of the streams.

    When the streams are high none of these substances are gathered up when
the water is pumped into the tanks, but recently the country has experienced
a drought and the streams became very low.  The result was that the sulphur
and mineral substances were pumped into the tanks.  The sulphur had a
terrible effect on the boilers of the engines, and within a short time many
were in the shops for repairs.  It is said that in many cases the boilers
were nearly eaten out by the water.  It is this that has caused the shortage
of motive power on the Norfolk and Western recently, and has brought up a
most interesting question among railroad men.

    The work of putting up the filters is now in progress, and the engineers
say that the water can be filtered so that it will not in any way injure an
engine boiler.

    Within the past week there has been a time in the streams from which the
Norfolk and Western draws its supply of water, and no difficulty is being
experienced, but it is feared that the same difficulty will occur if they
fall, and for that reason the work of erecting the filters is being pushed
energetically [Apparently something was omitted about the streams being full
within the past week.]

 

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

December 13, 1903

 

Gordon Hamilton


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