P.
322
MINERAL RESOURCES of the UNITED STATES 1910
TEXAS.
Use of natural gas for
locomotives.
In the year 1910 natural gas was used in Texas for fuel, on a
short railroad about 71 miles long, running from Bloomberg, on the
Kansas
City Southern Railroad, to Atlanta there being a natural gas line at
each
end of the road. It was demonstrated that steam could be raised
quicker
with the gas than with coal and would haul the same load, but the
results
were not entirely satisfactory on account of the increased danger to
the
trainmen and because the pressure of the gas was not high enough
in
the pipe line to give the pressure that was required in the drum.
A gas drum, or tank, 6 feet in diameter and 36 feet long, was loaded on
a flat car, which was coupled to the rear of the locomotive, and
connected
by pipes with the fire box. A burner having 36 openings through
which
the gas escaped as it was used, was placed on the grate bars with about
6 inches space between the burner and the walls of the box. Gas
was
charged into the tank with natural gas pressure, which was about 100
pounds,
and was then connected to the gas burner in the fire box and regulated
by a valve in the cab, which was handled by the fireman. 
The gas was used successfully for about 5 months, but at the
end of
that time an inexperienced fireman was put on, and while stopping at
one
of the stations, instead of cutting, the gas down, which was what he
should
have done, he made a mistake and turned the gas on. The fire door
was kept in, the second notch, which permitted the fireman to see
inside
and know how the combustion was, and the gas, also seemed to burn
better
when the door this much. When the fireman turned the gas on
instead
of turning it off, the blaze came out of this space at the door and
filled
the cab with flames. Both the fireman and the engineer jumped off
and the latter shut off the gas at the tank. Neither of the men
were
seriously burned. After this, the gas was used successfully for
at
least 3O days. In the meantime, the company decided that it would
not like to run the risk of this happening again and would discontinue
the use of gas and return to coal.
Texas is beginning to assume importance as a gas
producer. The
principal gas-producing sections of the State are located in Clay and
Navarro
counties. During 1910, gas was discovered in Webb County and
preparations
have been made to supply the town of Laredo from this field. It
is
also reported that gas has been discovered in Coleman County, but
whether
of commercial value has not been ascertained. Considerable gas is
produced from oil wells in this State and consumed for development and
operating purposes in the field.
The principal gas companies of tile State in 1910 were the
Lone Star
Gas Co., operating in Clay County, and the North Texas Gas Co.,
operating
in Navarro County. The gas from these fields is supplied to the
following-named
places: Fort Worth, Dallas, Wichita Falls, Henrietta, Petrolia, Byers,
Bellevue, Bowie, Sunset, Decatur, Alvord Rhome Bridgeport Irving, and
Corsicana,
all in Texas. As already stated in this report, some of the gas
consumed
in Texas is pipe(I from wells in the Caddo field, the cities of
Marshall,
Texarkana, Atlanta, and Queen City being thus supplied. The total
number
of gas wells in Texas at the close of 1910 was 59, of which 22 were
completed
in 1910. The statistics of the consumption of gas in Texas are included
with those of the States of Louisiana and Alabama
