The Morning herald., 1876-08-23
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The following win prove Of Interest Il
onf readers because 0f the great advantaGs
Of greater safety intrAyelling, ard ~ invsn
sof, Col. Wharton was the gentleman who
built the railway In our city. M
Doubtless that rather indefinite parsonage
the intelligent foreigner, whe Is now observ'
ing 10 with sn attentive curiosity worthy ol
Macauly's New ZeAlander, finds more tc
record IN his note book concerning our rail
way system than concerning any other sin
!. gle feature Of our fast moving land; and
yet, no matter how intelligent he may be,
this note-taking foreigner viii only skim
along the surface Of the subject If he con-
tlnes his note-taking to what he sees a. he
skins along the rails in palace car.
be really wants to learn how thoroughly
we'll equipped are our railroads, he must
either put himself In charge Of Col. Scott,
and take thirty mile run In Q hand-cAr
over the p. B. r., or else 60 down on his
own individual legs to the western end Of
Machinery Hall and there study out the
manifold appliances envolved by the quick,
inventive American mind for increasing the
comfort and adding to the safety of travel
by rail. Whichever course he elects to pur-
sue, that which will most engrOes his atten-
tion will be the Wharton Safety Switch-an
invention 10 simple as to suggest Colum-
bus's egg-and- d-saucer trick, and 80 excellent
and far reaching in It's effects rs to warrant
comparison with that studry old navigator's
subsequent performances In the discovery
line.
As most people know, an ordinary suAch
iu railroad track 10 q piece OF mechanism
intended to shunt train from one line OF
metals to another /; and, as Is fnrther gen.
orally known, this process temporarily
breaks the main track and 80 opens up q
possibility of accidents. The essential fea- |
Jure ofthe Wharton switch Is that 1t does |
not-either when open or closed-break the
main track at all. This result Is attained |
by bringing the switch rails, in the act of
shunting, the one under the inner edge Of one !
rail, the other close against the outer edge |
Of the other rail of the main track. One |
wheel is necessarily drawn away from the |
main track, and this action forces the other |
wheel up against the opposite rail Of the
main track. So forced, all of the outside
projecting portion ofits tread Is caused to
run upon the outlying switch rail, which at
Its end is of the same height as the rail of
the main track, but which gradually inclines |
upward, so that as the wheel advances 1t is |
quietly raised above and becomes free from |
the control of the rail of the main track and |
is supported only by the outside switch rail,
which, In the course of few feet, has suf- |
6cient elevation to enable the fange of the |
wheel to pass over and above the main rail |
without touching it, passage which com |
pletes the transfer from the main line to the |
siding. By q simple arrangement, the switch,
If accidentally left open, is closed by the |
first wheel of any train coming down the |
line, while on single track roads it can be |
30 arranged that unless the sWitch-tender is |
In attendance upon 1t It win of itself close !
and leave the main line clear. It is, in |
short, an absolute protection against aeci-
dents, Its great merit being this faculty |
Which 1t possesses of itself rectifying the /
mistake Of those appointed to watch over it.
Another advantage which 1t possesses over |
all other similar contrivances is that 1t may |
be attached to the main track at any point |
without interrupting travel: for as the line |
is not to be broken 1t can be adjusted in the |
intervals between the passing trains; this |
feature Is one which only practical railroad |
how great was the difficulty of
getting in siding under the old system,
and how essential the free granting OF
siding facilities are to the success of even
the smallest lines. AS to the saving effected
In the lessened wear and tear upon rails
consequent upon the use of the Wharton
switch, 1t is too obvious to need more than
the merest reference; from this source
alone the revenue is sufficient in very
brief period to pay for the change from the
old to the new. Look at either on the |
score of safety, economy, or comfort, the
switch is brilliant success, and If the
Intelligent Foreigner begins and ends his
inspection of the American railway system
with an investigation of its merits, he will
be tolerably certain to carry away with
him sincere respect for American inven-
tive and adaptive skill.