751. Q.—­What measures should the locomotive engineer take, to check the velocity of the train, on approaching a station where he has to stop?

A.—­On approaching a station the regulator should be gradually closed, and it should be completely shut about half a mile from the station if the train be a very heavy one:  the train may then be brought to rest by means of the breaks.  Too much reliance, however, must not be put upon the breaks, as they sometimes give way, and in frosty weather are nearly inoperative.  In cases of urgency the steam may be thrown upon the reverse side of the piston, but it is desirable to obviate this necessity as far as possible.  At terminal stations the steam should be shut off earlier than at roadside stations, as a collision will take place at terminal stations if the train overshoots the place where it ought to stop.  There should always be a good supply of water when the engine stops, but the fire may be suffered gradually to burn low toward the conclusion of the journey.

752. Q.—­What is the duty of an engine man on arriving at the end of his journey?

A.—­So soon as the engine stops it should be wiped down, and be then carefully examined:  the brasses should be tried, to see whether they are slack or have been heating; and, by the application of a gauge, it should be ascertained occasionally whether the wheels are square on their axles, and whether the axles have end play, which should be prevented.  The stuffing boxes must be tightened, and the valve gear examined, and the eccentrics be occasionally looked at to see that they have not shifted on their axles, though this defect will be generally intimated by the irregular beating of the engines.  The tubes should also be examined and cleaned out, and the ashes emptied out of the smoke box through the small ash door at the end.  If the engine be a six-wheeled one, with the driving wheels in the middle, it will be liable to pitch, and oscillate if too much weight be thrown upon the driving wheels; and where such faults are found to exist, the weight upon the drivings wheels should be diminished.  The practice of blowing off the boiler by the steam, as is always done in marine boilers, should not be permitted as a general rule in locomotive boilers, when the tubes are of brass and the fire box of copper; but when the tubes and fire boxes are of iron, there will not be an equal risk of injury.  Before starting on a journey, the engine man should take a summary glance beneath the engine—­but before doing so he ought to assure himself that no other engine is coming up at the time.  The regulator, when the engine is standing, should be closed and locked, and the eccentric rod be fixed out of gear, and the tender break screwed down; the cocks of the oil vessels should at the same time be shut, but should all be opened a short time before the train starts.

753. Q.—­What should be done if a tube bursts in the boiler?