The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-09-21
NEW YORK.
One of the Wonders of the
Great City.
THE GRAND CENTRAL DEPOT.
How the Trains are Operated = The
Observatory The Perfection of
Mechanical Science An
Interesting Visit.

lUGU llI1 dPpiOdCl W NCW IOIA WHICH,
avoids the ferries is that by the railways
which, reaching the island by the bridge
over the Harlem River, land their passen-
gers at the Grand Central Depot. These
include the Hudson River Railroad
which leaves the banks of the river at
the entrance to Spuyten Duyvil Creek,
where Though branch still borders the
river down to Sixty-eighth street, the
main line DIVORCES, and passes under
High Bridge, that splendid piece of
masonry by which the Croton Aqueduct
is carried over the Harlem River; the
Harlem, which comes from the north !
over the hills of Westchester; and the
New Haven, which passing the pretty
suburban towns of Connecticut, con-
meets Boston and the rest of New Eng
land with New York. The Hudson
River, the New Haven, and tile Harlem
meet ut point some five miles above
FOrty-second street, and enter the city
on the same tracks. From the Harlem
River to One Hundred and Sixteenth
street the tracks, four in number, are
carried through a sunken cut, thence to
Ninety-eight street they are on a via
duct; thence to Fifty-third Street they
are in a tunnel, and thence they are
again in a sunken cut until they emerge
into the station yard. The viaduct,
tunnel, and the walls of the cuts are
substantially built of masonry, and
this approach i by far the most con-
yeuient of all. All trains are operated by
Che block system, which in its perfection
not only precludes the possibility of
collisions. except through the failure of
the signaling machinery or the careless
ness of those in charge, but also, it
seems 10 US, embOdies, with force that
can not fail to excite wonder,
THE HIGHEST RESULTS
attained in mechanical science. Elec-
tricity, captive and subject to an ivor.iJ
disk not larger than the tip of lady Il
finger, conveys by semaphore the invisi-
bic, inaudibIe, and unmistakable mes
sages that need no transcription. and |
that control the movements of hundreds |
Of trains rushing to and from the city !
in 4 chain which with a few connections |
would be endless-cOntrol them not |
merely by Indicating to the engineers to |
do otherwise, except in the face of !
extreme peril
emainspring of the system is in an
octagonal observatory, not much larger
than clock at the other end, project
ing from the northern wall of the Grand
Central Depot at a dizzy height from the
dOor-a position which commands q view
of the interior and the tracks outside,
and at a glance seems inaccessible,
though in fact it is easily reached from
tba r4f IN g ~
building
Come with "a up here. reader, or II the
narrow gallery which we have TO trace
is at an elevation greater than your
nerves are equal to, picture the place
from these details. A box inconven-
iently small for three persons. with a
glass Enclosure, revealing on one side
the depot partly filled with cars, and on
the otherside the tracks converging into
the deep cutting that leads northward;
the depot Is very quiet, and few knots
of manikins are discussing Lilliputian
affairs on the platforms, while others.
quite unconscious that we are watching
them, are gathering up their skirts and
packages and hurrying into the cars.
The furniture of our lookout consists of
chair, . desk, a table, clock, and
what an organistwould call "bank" of
ivory keys about the size of the chips
used in games of cards, besides which
there are few wires secured to the walls
and bells. You now have an account OF
all the visible apparatus with which the
electrician
NTHE sIGNAL-BoX
is provided, and by which he regulates
the arrival and departure of over one
hundred and fifty trains daily.
The train in the depot which the peo-
pie are entering is the 2:20p.m. to New
haven. AT two o'clock the electrician
expresses one of the keys, which are
divided into three sets, one set, CLASH
ned \, for Harlem trains, another, CLASH
ned Y, for New Haven trains, and the
tMrd' classified u, for Hudson River
trains. Each key has engraved upon it
WORD indicating its purpose, and that
IuSg touched IN the 7 set opens the door
leading from the New Haven waiting
rooms to the New Haven platform. The
corresponding key to the X set would
open the doors OF the Harlem waiting
rooms, and that in the z set the Hudson
River waiting-roomS.
ONLY PASSENGERS HOLDING TICKETS
and the officials are admitted to the
platforms, and even the former are
excluded until twenty minutes before
t9e departure of the train. From two
O'Clock, when the doors are opened,
until "two-fifteen" the 'two-tWenty''
traIn gradually fills without confusion.
and the electrician then depresses
another key in the Y set. which warns
tardy passengers that they have only
nVe minutes TO spare before the DEPART
ure OF the train, and also intimateS To
me baggage man that they are to sion
checklng baggage. Precisely at 1.-TWO
VWenty," the advertised time of DEPART
ure, another key is touched, which closes
me door leading from the waiting-room.
1 an thirty seconds are allowed to enable
nose who have Just entered upon the
pia51orm to board the train. At the end
VI VI these moments of grace, during which
Ile Knots of takers break up and the
o oa1 enter the cars, the dispatcher,
90! me electrician is technically called,
puts ms finger on the fourth kew, that
oG gu a bell attached to a pillar by
s when the locomotive is standing out
f I1ae the depot; and at this signal the
cOoUlhotlve backs in, and when it is
coupled to the foremost car,
GLIDEs OFF WITH THE TRAIN
with the most extreme smoothness.
observe that during the five or six
seconds spent in coupling, the locomo-
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