N&W in 1903 -- Bad Water

[NW Mailing List]

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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