Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1889-09-10
SAFETY ON THE RAIL.
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~ coPyRIour 1859.
''Can railroad travel ever be made en-.
tirely safet" asked Of the Hon. Chauncey
NJ. Depew. "And IL SO, In what line OF
development will the improvements GOMEZ
For instance, will there ever be car made
that won't roll down an embankment"
''No," said the great man, pleasantly,
'to.apswer the last question first. there
can be no such thing. As TO the others
the system Of passenger transportation Is
not OF course perfect, for 1t Is OF human
deyising, and human handiwork, and no
human work can ever be perfect. We can
approach perfection, however, by continual
improvements, and we are, to say the
least, very much nearer perfection now
than we used to be.
1.-THE dangers to be guarded against In
operating railroads." he continued. ARE OF
three kinds. They are collisions, derail'
ment aud fire. In regard TO fire, we be-
lieye that we arc doing away with that
peril entirely, or practically SO, by aboi'
ishinq the car stove. or course the trav-
Cling public must be kept warm NOT only
In winter, but also In that more trying
transitional period between the cold ana
hot seasons. As to the final successor OF
the car stove, have no opinion to oher'
+ Our ablest inventors and scientists are
and for twenty years have been busy ma
ing substitutes for 1t, but thus far their
! results, though satisfactory to an extreme
degree, have not met the want. The ten
dency at present Is TO employ steam heat
| ing. But besides this system are others
which promise even better things
Electric storage batteries, electric stoves,
chemical stoves, and compression engines
are among these novelties.
Zone scientist has plan whereby cleo
tricity is used rs fuel, SO to speak, and Is
gathered up by the moving train just as
the New York Central engines take up
water when at full speed. The electricity
Is taken from wire or other conductor
alongside OF she rails. Is stored In accumu-
lators on the train and Is converted Into
heat by mysterious apparatus on board
Of each car. r
"As to the peril OF collision that is In q
great measure done away with, BY the
use OF our newest cars which are heavy and
strong enough TO Withstand any shock
that In ordinary practice they are liable
to receive; by the Miller platform. the
latest improved couplings. and butera.
the telescoping OF cars which was form
erly usual incident Of collisions In al
most unknown now, and the horrors OF
such accidents are practically things OF
the past. 1t Is not unknown now that
when train smashes into another one,
the passengers In the rear car
will get out TO see what the
matter Is, aud why the train has stopped,
aud when tnsy 20 forward, find out that
the locomotive is shattered to fragments
"It has even been suggested TO provide
the engine with buffer attachment OF
steel Rad iron, so constructed a. to convert
the locomotive into what might be called
a mechanical ram. The buffer principle
Is still In the infancy OF its development
aud will eventually do away with any
possible danger from collision.
''sAs to derailment, It comes from one Of
two causes. In default OF the Occurrences
Of one OF these, there Is little danger OF
derailment. 1t Is always possible that u
switchn,an may by an error. or by neglecs
| Of his drty, throw the train OF the track
| at switch. This Is a danger that can
never be entirely done away with. You
must In any operation run up against
| human Judgment, and you must rely on
| It. It is manifestly impossible TO have
everything automatic. This danger grows
smaller every day with the extension Of
the automatic system. This calls the
attention OF engineer and bystandsr To
| fact, which before was noticed only
by switchman. While an average man
is Just ms careless rs any other, the prob
abilities of twoor more average men being
careless upon the same point, at the same
time, In the same way aud under the same
circumstances IL minute fraction OF that
in regard to one man. The sver.increasing
use Of electrical appliances enables =
company to keep a dozen watches upon
every danger point and so to still further
diminish the chances Of carelessness and
consequent loss.
"The second cause OF derailment Is a
broken rail. The improvement by which
we seek to obviate this Is the use OF steel
rails, and these steel rails are being made
heavier from time TO time. and conse-
quently stronger. When we began using
them, the standard weight was forty-tss
pounds. Il was not long before this
standard was raised to sixty.five pcHhds.
and the Last we are using are eighty
pounds. Resides this great increase In
weight and ooncomitant strength and
durability, Tiers Is an Improvement In the
manufacture Of beth the rail and the raw
steel from which It is made. The use OF
| Iulb NlutttlAi IA hhe PhhNo ~ '"
In the consequence OF the Inventions and
discoveries OF Bessemer, lIemens and
Thom,.s. But the output made under
their processes was very crude and poor at
the outset. Composition has changed
, this to 40 great an extent that the FORCES
of to-day produce metal that Ia as diff
ferent from what they did twenty years
ago Is day from darkness. Much ofthe new
made steel is IA fine rs that produced BY
the slow and expensive processes OF the
past. This IL the chief reason why you
never hear any more OF rails cracking like
Rlasc In frosty nights, breaking up intt
splInters like worn out broons or wearing
away ut points into hills and hollows liks
J the patent payements OF New York city.
"Ot course, derailment may occur, when
. their IL neither n broken rail nor an open
switch. There may be, for instance. 4
brckon axle, or n defective wheel. Against
such accidents as these there seems TO be
no possibility Of establishing any perfect
: safeguard. It IL always possible that q
, flaw may exist In iron. or that some do
feet OF workmanship may be overlooked
and the only way TO fight against such
; dangers Is by the constant exercise Of
judgment and vigilance. le ~
improvements In any human systen
. are always possible, and probably improve
ments will continue 10 BE- made. from
time TO time In railway service, but dc
not know that there Is any line Of Inn
provement possible excepting those 10
which we are continually striving 10 pro
. gress, and those have indicated. at leas,
In outline. FALEs.CURTB.
II Was n Finished Address