The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-03-06
RAILROADS.
SOME ITEMS IN REGARD TO THE
ROADS LEADING INTO AUS
TIN AND WHAT THEY
ARE DOING.
A Novel Invention to Be Applied to
the Gould System-And Other
Matters of Interest.

Yesterday a STATESMAN represen-
tatlve paid visit to the various rail-
road men OF the city and noted few
things of interest. The sales of tick
cts from the union depot has been
much larger during the past
year than they ever were before
and have averaged not far from
$1,000 week. Tickets are sold to
nearly all the principal railroad points
in the United States, and indeed the
entire American continent. The ship
ping of freight to and from this city
has been very large; the officers seen
yesterday did not have the time
to give the exact figures in re-
gard to this, but it is stated they have
averaged large the entire season. The
Gould system is one of the best man.
aged in the whole range of railroad
enterprise, and it is stated that great
improvements will be made the COM
ing year. One of the improvements
much needed, AID which will be graf
flying to the citizens of Austin, is
that large commodlouS
DEPOT
will be built here this summer some
time. 1t is said that arrange
ments have been partially made
already, and that this necessary struc-
ture is one of the fixed facts of the
future. Another Improvement is the
establishment of an electric light sys-
TEN. 1t was stated by a railroad Off
cial not long ago in this city that an
electric headlight would be used in a
short time for the engines. Probably
before the year has passed this marked
improvement will be made. 1t is
noticed in the Railway Review that
the Gould system is about to adopt a
late invention to tell just how fast a
train of cars has been run. The
Review says that in Texas the law
| prohibits train from running faster
than a certain rate of speed, and that
this will be used in Texas for this
reason. 1t is a
| MECHANICAL CONTINUANCE
and has been used for some time
on the Scranton, Pennsylvania, rail-
road for the purpose of checking The
manner in which freight trains are
run by the employees and has recently
attracted good deal of attention and
been vigorously denounced by the rail-
road men. The claim was made by
the employers that some such thing
was necessary to prevent the decep.
tons practiced upon the companies by
the crews running the freight and
coal trains faster than schedule time
to make up for the unnecessary delays
at the various stations. The officials
allege that no matter how faithfully q
conductor and engineer might prom.
Use not to run faster than fifteen miles
an hour, there are times when they
will disregard all obligations and run
as fast as thirty miles an hour tC
make up for time squandered with
their cronies at some of the stations
along the line. The invention already
alluded to makes
IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DECEIVE
and is described as a simple piece Of
mechanism constructed much on the
principle of the "tape" that checks off
the condition of the stock market. II
| is wound up like a clock, locked with.
in a box and placed in the caboose,
where it is geared to the axle of the
car. On large sheet of stiff paper
marked into small squares pencil or
tracer Keeps moving with the train
and records the revolutions of the
axle, the delay made at any given
point, the number of jolts and jars
sustained on the trip, and where they
occurred, together with other facts
going to make up an accurate record
of the journey. The record is laid be-
fore the superintendent, who sees at a
glance how any particular train was
run, and acts accordingly. 1t is
claimed on the part of the companies
that the irregularity of running coal
and freight trains and the soldering
Of the men at the stations, as well as
their
MAKING UP LOST TIME
have been prolific of many serious ac-
cidents, resulting in much loss to rail
road property in wreckage, as well as
in wear and tear. With the "tattling''
machine at work in the caboose re-
cording every throb Of the locomotive
with the precision of thorough
shorthand reporter this will be i'm
possible. But "the tattler" is not
liked by railroad men. They consider
it not only a nuisance, but a blunt
warning on the part of the compa-
MES that their men are untrustWor-
thy end cannot be relied on.
THE CAPITOL ROAD
began hauling stone from Oatman-
vile yesterday and six car loads were
hauled into the capitol grounds and
unloaded. The work will continue
from this on without interruption.
AS the train passed over the high tres
tie work crossing Red River street, it
looked as if it were flying in mid air
this is said to be the highest railroad
trestle work in the state.