Page:Locomotive mechanism and engineering (1896, John Wiley & Sons).djvu/22

 PREFA CE. vil scribed ; and to the Railroad Gazette for part of the description of the Brooks Two Cylinder and Schenec¬ tady Compounds. If the book fulfils the mission for which it was written, the author will consider that his labor has been rewarded. H. C. Reagan, Jr. Locomotive Engineer. Philadelphia, January, 1894. PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. As electricity is developing very rapidly in all direc¬ tions, and especially in the method of transportation, the Electric Locomotive as a motive power is naturally attracting the attention of the officials of the larger rail¬ road. The development in the street-railroad service has also been phenomenal. There are very large elec¬ tric locomotives at work daily on some of the trunk lines, and they are doing the work successfully; hence it appears as if they had come to stay, and that more may be expected in the future. The author, having this thought in his mind, believes now is the time for those who are to-day handling our steam locomotives to investigate the working and construction of the elec¬ trical locomotive, although he does not believe it is going to displace the steam locomotive immediately. Such a change will be gradual rather than instan¬ taneous. He has tried to make the description and operation of an electric motor as simple as possible,