The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-05
TELEGRApHING FROM TRAINS.
Sending Messages While Running Twenty.
Five Miles an Hour.

1 Sendlng messages While Running Twenty
Five Miles an Hour.
| New York World.
The enchanted hand of Thomas A. Edison yes
| terday gave to the world, round and perfect an
otaer OF MS wonderful electrical inventions, and
from this time forward telegraphng to and from
moving trains will be one OF the regular convent
ences Of the public. The Edison system was APP
| piled to a train on the Staten Island railroad,
and for an hour message after message leaped
through the air from the roof of car moving at
the rate of twenty-five miles an hour to the regu-
| lar telegraph wires over hundred feet away.
The answers leaped from the wires down to the
roof, and were licked out on an instrument in
| the presence of distinguished company of rail
| road men and electricians Messages were sent
| home stock quotations We're received and orders
| to arrest imaginary fleeing criminals. In short
| the exhibition was big success.
/ 1t was 1:30 O'Clock in the afternoon when the
| guests of the Railway telegraph and Telephone
| Company arrived at Clifton and were shown into
the second passenger car of an ordinary train on
| the Staten Island railroad In the middle of the
car was little table two feet square, to which
| was attached a small battery of only five cups
A black-whskered, swarthy operator sat at the
| table with tiny telephone receiver attached to
| each ear, looking like man with ear-muffs on.
| From each receiver wire led to the battery
| wire. Ordinary telegraph wires ran up from the
| table to the tin roof of the car, to which they
| were connected.
| Before the train started number of messages
| were put il sealed envelopes, addressed to pas
| sengers in the experimenting car. These were
given, still sealed, to operator in the regular
| telegraph office at Clifton. Then the train
moved out. When it was half mile away the
| operator at the table began to write the sealed
messages which he received by telegraph from
| Clifton The car went rafting and roaring
along. and the little black whiskered operator
| kept Writing out message after message. The
| artist of the World received his own words:
| Come home, and all will be forgiven.
| Henry Seligman, who stood in the train, tee
| graphed to his banking house to know how
| stocks were Here is the answer he got from
his cousin while the train was still going at full
| speed:
New YORK, Feb. 1. 1886.
Pacific Mail, SO; Lake Shore, Sc. DAVID
| Mr.. Edison leaned down and seized the oper-
ator's key, which he worked vigorously as he
| sent this message. which was received at this
| office twelve minutes later:
| To the Editor of the World:
send you this from moving train on Slater.
Island by wire direct EDISON.
| He also telegraphed message to his pretty
little daughter Marion, at the Hotel Normandie
| General Cothrane telegraphed to friend in
| New York that electricity was big thing, and
that the railway telegraph was the biggest thing
| in electricity. The managers of the railway tel
| egraphed instructions to the engineer and con-
| ductor of the train, and the engineer and con-
| ductor telegraphed back that everything was
| his hands and the invited electricians said that
| the system was simply perfection
This system was brought into it's present
| shape by MIR. Edison, but the first patent was
| taken out by William Wiley Smith, of Tennes
| see. who, with e. T. Giililand the noted New
York electrician. co operated with Mr.. Edison in
| the matter. Mr.. Smith conceived the idea of
| having messages pass from train to an ordi-
nary wire along the route by simple induction.
| He told Mr.. Gilliland Mr. Gilliland told Mr..
| Edison
II found" said Mr. Edison, shat current of
electricity could pass through the air between
lasted longer than 25o, OoOth of second
the air became polarized. or otherwise
| changed by the electricity, and It resisted any
further communication. In other words, the
air offered practically no resistance to
electric current for the $50 000th part of Sec
ond. If could get wave short ana sharp
that it would pass through the air between the
| given points in that small space of time, the
| there is little battery When the operator at
| that table sends a message the waves go at the
rate of about 600 to the second. The waves on
an ordinary Morse current go about thirteen to
| second. These waves are sent into the air from
the tin roof of the car with such suddenness and
! sharpness, by means of simple electro magnet,
that each Geographic letter. consisting OF dot
| or a dash, passes to the wires strung on the
| regular telegraph poles all along the railway
| inside of the '25oOOOth part Of second.
| There is a pause Of about q thousandth
| of second to let the air regain its
ordinary condition. Then another letter is
| pumped through the air to the wires Then
another pause and another letter. and so on. If
| you try to push candle through pine board
you will break the candle If you shoot the can
die out of gun it will made hole in the board.
These letters are darted through the air so
quickly that the air molecules don't have time
to think about resisting as it were. This sys-
tenn will work in all weathers The electrical
sympathy. or induction, between the roof of the
car and the wires Is SO great that messages will
leap through the air to from the regular wires
as far as $50 feet We don't use any new wires,
but work on the regular telegraph system. Our
signals come to the ear Of the operator in mu-
steal notes, such as prolonged 5000 90 for
dash and short 90 for a dot. We work just
as quickly and as easily as the ordinary sys
tenn"
Mr.. Edison said that by this principle he dis
covered that ships can telegraph to each other
through the air at distance of twenty-five miles.
A small balloon coated with gold foil could carry
thin wire into the air 3, 100 feet from each ship
The wire charges the balloon with electricity.
At height of 8. 100 feet the air is light that
the electric current will pass by induction from
one Of these balloons to another twenty five miles
away. The moment a ship is within electrical
communication of another the telegraph instru-
rnent on board begins to sing. So does the in
strument on the other ship. The operators on
the ships then talk to each other II have al
ready experimental across great fields with this
system and have met with great success"
Mr.. Edison said that teiegraphing from trains
did not disturb the ordinary Morse messages
passing over the same wires. In fact, the wires
used yesterday were the Baltimore & Ohio
quadruplex wires, and the operators at all the
stations said that their messages were not tier
fered with.
Every railway man and electrician OH the train
pronounced the system to be perfect. They said
that it would be used in train dspatching so as
to avoid collisions and delays involving the loss
of life and many thousands of dollars to railway
companies The main advantage is that no ex-
ira wire is needed and the cabinet containing
the instrument is small, and can be changed
from car to car. A stock ticker can be
put in parlor cars DIR. Crowell,
president of the Railway Telegraph and
Telephone Company said that even if there was
a smash-up the break could be provided for by
stations superior to the block system, and the
operator failing TO hear from the train would