Eliminating Coal Wastage.

On long express runs immense quantities of locomotive coal are consumed, and great efforts are now being made by the Home lines to cut out fuel wastage. On the London & North Eastern system, a special leaflet has just been distributed among the foot-plate staff emphasising the importance of avoiding coal wastage. Coal, it is pointed out, is burnt in the fireboxes of the locomotives at the average rate of 50½ lbs. for every mile travelled with a train, this quantity of fuel costing 4¾d. On the North Eastern area of the L. & N.E.R. alone, the distance travelled by locomotives in one week is nearly 900,000 miles, and the cost of the coal burnt in one week nearly £18,000, or approximately £1,000,000 per annum. If one lb. of coal could be saved for every mile run, the saving to the company would be £18,387 in one year. There are, it is stated, many ways of saving coal better known to enginemen than to anyone else, and valuable economies can be effected if each engineman will do his best to help by reducing the amount of coal burnt.