Читать книгу Locomotive Engine Running and Management - Angus Sinclair - Страница 46

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The oil-cups should be carefully examined, to see that they are in good feeding-order. A great many feeders have been invented, which guarantee to supply oil automatically; but I have never yet seen the cup which could long dispense with personal attention. And this does not apply to locomotives alone, but to all kinds of machinery. The worst sort of oil-cup will perform its functions fairly in the hands of a capable man, and the most pretentious cup will soon cease to lubricate regularly if the engineer neglects it. The oil-cups should be cleaned out at regular intervals: for mud, cinders, and dust work in; and they sometimes retain glutinous matter from the oil, which forms a sticky mixture that prevents the oil from running. The eccentric-strap cups and the tops of the driving-boxes should receive similar attention.

In looking round an engine, it is a good plan to watch the different oil-cups to see that they are not working loose. Many cups that are strewed over the country could be saved by a little more attention. A cup flying off a rod when an engine is running fast becomes a dangerous projectile. I have known several cases where cups went back through the cab-window. I have also seen several cases where cups worked off the guides or cross-head, and got between the guides, doing serious damage. One instance was that of an engine out on the trial-trip. It smashed the cross-head to pieces, and let the piston through the cylinder-head.