Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-16
DEPEW ON RAILROADS
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE WAY OF
PERTEcTING THEM.
Chauncey N. Depsw's Views az TO what
viii Be Done IN the Future TO Insure
Safety on the Rail
tcorrn.ponaonce Of tho Rlchmoud pispstch.l
NV YORK. June Is. 1889.

New York, June 10, 1889.
"Can railroad travel ever be made en-
tirely aafe !" ! asked OF the Hon.
Chaunccy NJ. Depew. "And If so, IN
what line OF development will the I'M
provements come For instance, Will
there ever be n car made that won't roll
down an embankment ?"
"No," said the great man, pleasantly
"to answer the last question first, there
can he no such thing, AS to the others
the system OF passenger transportation
is not of course perfect, for it is OF hui
man devising 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 per-
lection now than we used to be.
RAILROAD DANGERS.
"The dangers to be guarded against in
operating railroads, he continued, "are
OF three kinds. They are collisions, de-
railmcnt, and fire. In regard to ire we
believe that we are doing away with that
peril entirely or practically so, by abol-
ishing the car-stove. or course tho
travelling public must be kept warm not
only in winter but also in that more try
ing transitional period between the cold
aud hot seasons. As to the final success
cessor of the carstove ! have DO opinion
to offer. Our ablest inventors and scIen-
fists are and for twenty years have been
busy finding substitutes for 1t, but thus
far their results, though satisfactory to
an extreme degree, have not met the
want.
HEATING CARS.
1.-The tendency Mt present. is to employ
steam heating. But besides this system
are others which promise even better
things Electric storage batteries, cleo
tric stoves, chemical stoves. and com
preston engines are among these novel
ties.
Zone scientist has n plan whereby
electricity is used as q fuel, so to speak,
and is gathered up by the moving train
lust as the New York Central engines
take up water when ut fill speed. The
electricity is taken from wire or other
conductor alongside Of the rails, is stored
IN accumuiators on the train, and IL CON
yerted into heat by mysterious appa-
ratus on board Of each car.
TO AVOID COLLISIONS.
"As to the peril Of collision, flat 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 plat
form, the attest improved couplings and
buffers. The telescopng of cars, which
was formerly a usual incident ot COLI
sious, is almost unknown now, auI tue
horrors OF such accidents are practically
things Oh the past II is not unknown
now that when n tram s,uashes INTO an
other one the passengers III the rear car
Kill get ont to see whGt the matter j.
AMI why the train has stopped, and
and when they go joTward iind out that
the locomotive is shattered 60 fragments.
'@.t hes even been su rCestei 70 pro-
vide the engine with buier attachment
Of ste0i and lion, so constructed rs To
convert the locomotive into what might
he called mechanical ram. he hul-
fer uliucipie is still IN the infancy OF It's
Development and VIII eventually do away
with any possible danger from collision.
as TO DgRNLMENT,
it comes from one OF two causes. in
default of the occurrence of one of these
there is little danger of derallment 1t
is always possible that a swltchman may
bv an error or by neglect Of hls duty
throw the train of the tack al u switch.
This is danger that can never he en-
tirelv done away With. lou must m any
operation run up against human lujg-
ment and you must rely Oh IT. It
is mnnifestly impossible to have every
thing automatic. This danger grcte
smaller every day with the extension OF
The automatic system. Tins calls tho
attention OF engineer aud bystandcr TO
fact winch before was noticed only by
sw;tchman. While an average man is
lust rs careless as any other, the proha-
bIities Of two or more average men I've
Ing careless upon the same point, at the
same time, IN the same way, and under
the same circumstances Is minute irac-
ton Of that in regard 10 one man. The
eyer-iucreasing use Of electrical oppl-
ances enables company to keep dozen
watches upon every danger point, and so
to still further diminish the chances Of
carelessness and consequent loss.
STEEL RAILS.
"The second cause Of derailment is o
broken rail. The improvement by
which we seek to Obyiate this Is the use
OF steel rails, and these steel rails are
being made heavier from time g. time,
and consequently stronger When We
began using them the standard weight
was forty-6ye pounds. IL was not long
before this standard was raised to sixty
five pounds, and the last we are using are
eighty pounds. Besides this great in
crease in weight and concOmltant
strength and durability, there Is an I'M
provement in the manufacture OF both
| the rail and the raw steel from which
| it is made. The use # this mate
rial in the place OF wrought iron IS
| tie consequence Of the inventions and
discoveries OF Bessemer, Liemens, and
Thomas. But the output made under
| their processes was very crude and poor
al the outset. Competition has changed
this to 50 great an extent that the FORCES
of to-day produce metal that is as diff
terent from what they did twenty years
ago rs day from darkness. Much of the
new-made steel is as fine as that produced
10y the slow and expensive processes Of
the past. This is the chief reason why
you never hear any more Of rails crack
ing like glass on frosty nights, breaking
up into sphnters like WORKOUT brooms,
or wearing away at points in hills and
hollows like the patent pavements Of
Broadway.
JUDGMENT AND VIGILANCE.
"Of course, derailment may occur
when there is neither broken rail nor
all open switch. There may be, for in
stance, broken axle or "A Defective