Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-10
CAR HEATING.
The Relative Merits of Modern Car Stoves vs. Steam Discussed by Chauncey Depew.

CAR HEATING. The Relative Merits of Modern Car l Stoves vs. Steam Discussed by Chauncey Depew.
 Chauncey Depew has unburdened him self in the following interesting fashion regarding the above named important question, as appears in yesterdays New York Recorder:
 "All I claim is that when you come to the car stove, there are 160,000 miles of railway in the United States. Steam heat is used on about 10000 miles; on the rest they have the car stove. But there is as between trunk under the bed in which the man of the house puts his savings and a safe in a safe deposit company with time locks and triple doors of chilled steel.
 ''The primitive car stove, which you still find on some side roads, was an old fash toned car stove of iron which, when upset, spilled the contents all over the floor. The next car stove, and that was in use until ten years ago, and is in use still on half the railroads of the United States, is what is called an air-tight stove. The coal feeds the fire automatically, and in that way it is very little trouble to the brakeman who has charge or the car.
 "This stove heats the car also by direct radiation, and in case of collision it is liable to spill the red hot coals. The most perfect car stove at present has the coal confined in such way that it cannot get out, no matter how the stove is thrown round. It also has fountain of water, which, if the stove upsets, falls into the firebox. It is fastened on the floor by big screws. It is inclosed in an iron pen with an iron door, It heats the car by heating hot water, which runs in pipes all round the car. For the comfort of the passen- gers it is by far the best system yet de- vised
 t'The horrible sufferings of the victims of railroad accidents when the cars were set on fire led to the excitement which caused the legislature to compel the use of steam, but there were no adequate experi- ments or tests to justify the legislation. l felt it my duty at once, directly the law passed, as president of the Central railroad, and the Central being the long est road in the state, running as it does the whole length of it, to at once comply with the law, though had great doubts as to the system being so good or safe as the best heater. It has now been tried upon the Erie, the Pennsylvania system, the Lake Shore and the Michigan Central.
 THE DANGER OF STEAM.
 ''There were in my office last week Pres ident Roberts and Vice President Thomp- son of the Pennsylvania railroad, Mr. Newell president of the Lake Shore: Mr. Ledyard of the Michigan Central; Mr. Thomas, vice president of the Erie and for years head of it's operating depart ment; MT. Lang, the general manager of the West Shore, and MT. Sargent, general manager of the Grand Trunk railroad. On account of the investigation then going on before the coroner's jury this subject of steam heat became a topic of discussion These gentlemen were unanimously of the opinion that steam heat was liable to perils far surpassing in horrors anything alleged against heating by the most improved heater. All these gentlemen have the steam upon their roads
 "Now the possible danger from the best style of heater in car; first, you must have your collision, and they are very rare; next you must have your car tele- scoped. With the present platform and bumpers that seldom occurs Then your heater must be smashed in such way as to get the live coals out from this sealed box and iron pen. Now, on the other hand, with steam a single regulating valve let the steam escape from the boiler of the engine into pipe, and so on through the pipes through the train. If the train is very long then the pressure has to be increased until it reaches pretty high point to force fresh steam to the end of the train, and in the first few cars the pressure is very great on the pipes but if these valves for any reason or other should break or give out, then the whole force of the steam in the boilel would at once be sent into the train. This would present conditions which providen tially have never yet arisen, but which would be attended with horrors that would shock the whole country. Every perso1 that breathed that steam would certainl, die.
 "You may say this is contingency tha will never happen. It has happened twic in my own e1perience-once on my owl car while fortunately was absent, ant once in palace sleeper which had no on in it, but the force of the steam broke al the plate glass mirrors, which were quar ter of an inch thick ,and peeled the varnisl off the wood. The last occurrence is th | death of this valuable horse in the Ameri | can Express car from inhaling steam, tn | account of which you have just shown me 'It may be that the inventive genius O
 the country will in time overcome thi
 danger: but at the present moment tn possibilities of tho destruction of life ar greater from any system of steam health, than from a combined stove and heater il each car of the most approved pattern" In referring to the result of the verdic found by the coroner's jury, MT. Depev | laughingly remarked: ''From the amour of the bail fixed for the appearance of MT Rockefeller, the other railroad officials ant 1 myself, Coroner Levy must have enter | tained some fear that we were going to ru1 away directly we heard that the officer
 and directors of the New Haven were t.
 be held immediately responsible for tn
 loss of life resulting from the accident"