Evening journal., 1890-08-14
no secuRe AccuRATe TIMe.

How the Synehronizing Clocks on the
Union Pacific Railroad Are Set.
There is nothing about a railroad of more
importance shan correct time In tho move
ment nf trains il Is absolutely necessary.
True, thero IS a five minute proyiso for varia-
ton Of watches at csrtain times, sDut there
ean hardly loo found a man convcrsant with
the train order systams as used on American
railroads who would care 10 vouch for the
safety Of a train running under the rules OF
one Of these systems whose conductors or
9nginee's watch was not reliable.
An first class roads receive time daily By
wire from Some reliable source. The WASH
inston university at st, Louis No, is at
present supplying time for more roads in the
west than amy othor ono institution; but the
Western Union Telegraph company. having
lately completed arrangements for supplying
tine signals from the naval observatory at
Washington, j. 81. is fast securing a monop-
oily of Ibis business. Nearly all the wires "
the railroads iii the United States are either
| owned OF under Joint lease ard operated as
Western Union wires by that company.
Thus, by refusing to allow the obseryat3ries
| tho use OF wires for transmitting Of signals,
| they are gradually securing the whole bust
ness Tho Western Union system is reliable
probably moro 80 than others, on account
| Of its being conducted on a moro extensive
scale
| ST. Louis tino is sent OF 10 o'clock a. IN
| and Washington tina at II noon. Toreceivo
| these time signals it is necessary first 90 have
i q completel, uninterrupted circuit Of tells
| graph line from the observatory % the main
! office of the road for which the time is heing
| sent This is done by the connection Of com
| mercial wires between tile two points few
seconds before Tao signals begin
At tho main Office generally the headquar-
ters of the roaib tho signals pass through
what is called "time repeater which is
simply machine similar to a telegraph in
strument, being So constructed That the neces
sary number OF wires over which time is tt
pass may be connected to ID, thus obtaining
simultaneous action For St. Louis time, al
. O'Clock, II minutes, precisely, the master
clock at the observatory is attached 70 thu
wire and boats, automatically, commencing
at 8 O'clock, s. minutes, double beats eael
second until o'elocs - minutes, 30 seconds
when tho circuit opens At o'clock, 70 min
utcs the clock sends single beats cach sccon,
until 9o'cock, 59mnutes 50soconds, when til
circuit again opens. IL remains so for te
seconds, when tho clock gives one beat whcl
denotes that it is 10 o'clock a. m, centra
standard time
AT the last opening Of the circuit tho MAJ
, at tho time repeater at the railroad mali
oi,ico pushes a button which throws into con
necticn a circuit TO the magnets in the regu
lating clocks, and the last beat from ia
muster clock throws the hour, minute AN
second hands of these clocks 60 the correc
place 70 show 10 o'clock, no minutes, no sex
| ends
: This setting dayice is very simple, Al
Z tached. inside tho clock, TO the bars on whie
? tho hands are fastened, are small bits (
! steel, which are attracted TO the magne'
when the latter nro charged by the batter
4 thus carrying the hands to the necessar
place No matter how fast or how slow the
= clocls may b., they are set precisely by th
current Of electricity at 10 o'clock. oman
WorM-Herald.