N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

[NW Mailing List]

I thought about precipitate too, Kurt, since that is the orange stuff you 
see in stream beds, metallic sulfides, I believe.  But it would seem that if 
it were stirred up it would still be too fine to filter.

Sam Putney

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 10:45 PM
Subject: Re: RE: N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water



> Reading the article, I noticed that this only occured when the water level 

> dropped.  It is possible that the sulfur and other minerals that are 

> dissolved in the water, became concentrated enough to participate out as 

> solids, which could be solved by filtering.  It is probably not pure 

> sulfur but a salt of it that is causing the problem. This is speculation 

> and since I can not run a current analysis of the water it will have to 

> do.

>

> Kurt S. Kramke

>

>

>

>

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

>>Date: 2008/02/23 Sat PM 01:32:14 CST

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

>>Subject: RE: N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

>

>>

>>Guys: Yes, removing dissolved sulfurwould require chemical treatment- ion 

>>grabbers would be necessary. Gary R

>>

>>

>>From: 

>>nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] 

>>OnBehalf Of NW Mailing List

>>Sent: Saturday, February 23, 200811:08 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 haveto be taken with a grain of 

>>salt. Small town reporters had to beversatile. Back in 1903 a reporter 

>>might be writing one hour onfeatures of a new hospital, the next hour on 

>>the results of a policeinvestigation, the next hour on the latest 

>>locomotives and the next hour on theproblem of cows roaming the streets.

>>

>>Gordon Hamilton

>>----- Original Message ----- 

>>From: NWMailing List

>>To: NWMailing List

>>Sent: Friday, February22, 2008 9:20 PM

>>Subject: Re: N&W in1903 -- Bad Water

>>

>>Thinking back to my high school chemistry, I'm not sure any"filter" would 

>>remove dissolved sulfur from water. I knowthe railroad did resort to 

>>chemical treatment of the water, which may be whatthe writer is referring 

>>to. There's a bit of irony here in that thereason sulfur became such a 

>>problem is because it leached out of coal minesthat provided the railroad 

>>with its economic life blood and from theattendant slag heaps.

>>

>>Sam Putney

>>

>>----- Original Message ----- 

>>From: NWMailing List

>>To: N&WMailing 1List

>>Sent: Thursday, February21, 2008 9:23 PM

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

>>

>>PREPARING TOSPEND $200,000 FOR FILTERS

>>------

>>BAD WATERRUINS MANY ENGINES

>>------

>>New ReasonAssigned for Shortage of Motive Power

>>-----

>>Norfolk andWestern Will Erect Filter Plants at Tanks Where Water is Taken 

>>From MountainStreams

>>------

>> The Norfolkand Western Railroad Company is preparing to expend $200,000 

>> in the erection offilters along its line through the coal fields as a 

>> result of an experience ithas just passed through. The Norfolkand Western 

>> is one of the best equipped coal roads in the country, and for morethan a 

>> month the men who get coal over it could not understand the delay in 

>> theshipment of coal.

>> It was owing to a lack of motive power,but what has caused the shortage 

>> of engines puzzled the officers of the roadfor a time.

>> The motive power hadbeen increased, and to their surprise engines that 

>> had been in service for butsixty and ninety days were turned into the 

>> repair shops with their boilerscompletely wrecked. The investigation 

>> started showed a state of affairsnever before encountered in railroading.

>> The water supply for the engines in thecoal district of the Norfolkand 

>> Western is secured from the mountain streams and is pumped into 

>> watertanks. The water contains sulphur [sic] and mineralsubstances which 

>> sink to the bottom of the streams.

>> When the streams are high none of thesesubstances are gathered up when 

>> the water is pumped into the tanks, butrecently the country has 

>> experienced a drought and the streams became very low. The result was 

>> that the sulphur and mineral substances were pumped into thetanks. 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 saidthat in many 

>> cases the boilers were nearly eaten out by the water. It isthis that has 

>> caused the shortage of motive power on the Norfolk and Western recently, 

>> and has broughtup a most interesting question among railroad men.

>> The work of putting up the filters is nowin progress, and the engineers 

>> say that the water can be filtered so that itwill not in any way injure 

>> an engine boiler.

>> Within the past week there has been atime in the streams from which the 

>> Norfolk and Western draws its supply ofwater, and no difficulty is being 

>> experienced, but it is feared that the samedifficulty will occur if they 

>> fall, and for that reason the work of erectingthe filters is being pushed 

>> energetically [Apparently something was omitted about the streamsbeing 

>> full within the past week.]

>>

>>Bluefield Daily Telegraph

>>December 13, 1903

>>

>>Gordon Hamilton

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