ON THE COVER
The object held here by S. E. Butler, foreman of the Southern's Alexandria shop, represents a successful end to the railway's long search for an easier method of detecting fuel line leaks in diesel engines.
Under the beam of this device known as a "black light" lamp, fuel oil is a different color from the lubricating oil with which the engine parts are usually coated. Thus, leaking fuel oil can be easily spotted and traced to its leakage source.
"Black light" lamps have long been used for other purposes in the railway's shops but it was only recently that the Southern discovered this valuable new use for them.