Some fuel determinations made on locomotives operated by the Southern Pacific system

WHENEVER electrification of steam railways on a large scale is advocated, one of the principal arguments advanced is the large saving in fuel sure to result therefrom; in fact, this was the initial point of attack in the early days of the art — the early 1890´s, for example — long before overtime of train and engine crews had become the very real expense in train operation it is today. Many attempts to get accurate information on locomotive fuel consumption have been made during the intervening years, for comparison with known electric locomotive performance.