The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-10

lantern to indicate the movements re-
CURED Owing to darkness and indistinct
signals the engineer IS TOO often compelled
70 depend more ON luck than otherwise to
guide him in handling his engine and
{" kicking" the cars to their designated
positions The result of this switching
hazardous enough in daylight, but
thousand times more dangerous at night
has been the sacrifice of many lives and the
manning of thousands of brakeman. In
summing up the consequences of this lam
1ern-signal system the loss to the companies
must not be forgotten. 1t is an every-night
occurrence in a yard where switching is
done to any extent by misunderstanding
for engineers to miscalculate their distance
in backing up for couplings to be made,
thereby striking the standing cars with
such force as to drive in draw-heads and
otherwise render the rolling-stock fit only
for the "dry-dock,"
The introduction of the electric light in
large yards where great deal of switching
and making up Of trains is performed at
night has worked q complete revolution in
this branch Of the railroad service, and its
use is SO widely extend ed that there is
scarcely a railroad yard of any Importance
from the Atlantic TO the Pacific in which
this appliance has not been adopted. Re
ports from practical railroad men using
those lights prove concusively that they
pay for themselves several times over in
the single item of repairs saved to rolling
stock, enabling engineers to perform their
work with greater accuracy, and cOnse-
euently with less damage to cars. These
and many other arguments which might be
brought forward in support of the electric
1fnI4F Of ri- 60 Grl0n m
warrant the use of electricity for this
service wherever there IS business enough
TO necesSitate night work. Not the least
important feature in the use of the electric
are lamp is the facility which it affords IN
loading ana unloading freight-caTs and the
consequent reduction of car-TObberieS and
shortages in freight packages.
An EXCELLENT ILLUSTRATION
OF the subject of this article is afforded by
the recent experience Of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railway Company at its Newport
News VA, terminus. At this place the
Chesapeake makes connection with the Old
Dominion steamship line from New DIRK,
from which line large quantities Of freight
are transferred to the cars at Newport
News The time schedule is so arranged
that the New York steamers arrive at this
point at night, and it is usually necessary
that the freight be loaded, billed and for
warGed with great dispatch. Under the oil
lamp system it usually required from ten to
sixteen hours to make the transfer and
start the freight toward its destination.
But the time consumed in loading and bill
ing was of little consequence when COM
pared with the numerous complaints OF
shippers on account of shortage and DAM
age and claims against the company for
freight astray. The claims against the COM
pany Tor shortages in freight transferred at
this point alone amounted ID one year TO
$1,000. In the hope that this condition OF
- III l.nT
of freight at this point expedited the officials
of the road decided to put in Scare light
plant and illuminate the piers with cleo
tricity. a marked change in the order OF
things was at once apparent. The freight
was billed and loaded correctly. The
claims were at once diminished, the trains
W ere loaded and sent out in about One-half
the time formerly required, and the lnsur-
auCe companies made substantial rebate
from the premium paid hitherto, thereby
uffSetting to a great extent the cost OF the
plant.
Satisfied with this first venture in electric
lighting the Chesapeake management eX-
tended the method to the coal-bunkers OF
the company, and the coaling Of steam
ships, which. up to that time, could only be
done slowly and at great hazard at night
was rendered as easy as in daylight. The
Pennsylvania Railroad Company uses
EIGHTY ARC LIGHTS
On its wharves, yards, engine-houses and
depOts IN Philadelphia
The transportation departments OF our
railroads are abOut-ln fact, are already
utilizing the electric arc light in another
direction, l. e., in locomotive headlights. At
first the experiment was not a success, the
principal difficulty lying in the fact that the
constant vibration OF an engine seriously
affected the feeding mechanism Of the lamp
and thus effecting tile brillianey of the arc.
This difficulty was soon eliminated, how
ever, by improving the feeding apparatus
OF the lamp, using instead OF CARBON cop
per negative pencil, the current being gen.
Grated by a small combination dynamo-en-
CINE carried ON the locomotive.
A trial of one of these lights last NoVem-
Der in Ohio showed that on dark and rainy
nights cattle guard fences could be seen
three quarters OF mile away. A car OF
light color would show as an obstruction on
the track at about the same distance, while
one of dark color could not be plainly seen
more shan half mile away. At 800 teet
tie placed across the rails woald be dis
1inctly visible Horses and cattle could be
seen 1000 feet ahead. while the colorS on
switch target would show distinctly at
quarter of a mile. These facts go to prove
that any serious obstruction on the tract
Except in case Of heavy fog could be dis
tinguished far enough ahead to stop train
equipped with air brakes even though run
ming at speed of forty-fve or fifty miles
per hour while at a reduced rate of speed
during heavy storms and wash-outs, the la
biity Of running into open draws or tTestles
would be greatly reduced. Another method
has been tried in the matter of headlight
ing locomotives, which up to the present
time has not given fattering results.
BY THIS ARRANGEMENT
Groups of incandescent lights are placed in
the headlight, but il was soon found that
the beam Of light radiated in this manner
was not as penetrating as when the arc is
used; also that the carbon filaments are
soon destroyed on account Of the vibration
of the engine
In the early part of 1887 the Southern
Pacific Company, operating an electric
plant at Oakland, comprising horizontal
slde-7alve engine. locomotive boiler and
65-Iight 10-ampere Brush dynamo, found II
impossible to keep the 0il-lamps lighted In
the interlocking and automatic signals in
the yards at that point on account of the
variable winds which sweep across the
bay. As an experiment it was decided to
light twelve OF the siXty-four lamps IN null
tiple. The result was satisfactory. and the
number Of signals so lighted nave been
gradually increased until at the present
time $50 lamps in the automatic signals,
switch-stands, switeh-lights and signal
towers are lighted by electricity. Thirty
one of these lamps are in switches and sig
nails that have underground wire connec-
tons; sixteen of them light up four signal
towers, while the balance are signals To-
Gated on posts and connected by overhead
wires, all being supplied by current gem
Grated by the dynamo described above. The
signal-lamps are 3S-volt and are wired from
ten to fifteen in multiple, according TO the
number Of signals within convenient dis
tance, to form group, so reducing the cleo
trical force that the lamps use only from
20 to % volts pressure, thus lengthening
their life and yet giving sufficient light to
illuminate the bullseye lens Of the lantern.
The officials nf the en- wall
satisfied with their electric plant in Oak
land that they have gradually introduced
tile system of electric lighting at many
other points and now have plants at Ogden,
Sacramento Shops, yards and depot, Los
Angeles (for passenger depot only and San
Francisco, and it is safe to predict that
within the next twelve months the compa-
ny's ferry steamers and every yard and
depot Of Importance on the system will be
lighted by electricity. VIC F.
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THE WORK OF FIENDS.