The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-31
ELECTRIC SIGNALING
Devices Adopted by Leading Rail
ways to Prevent Accidents.
How They Are Operated on the New
York Central System-East-B Bound
Shipments from Chicago.

Electrical signaling is in a sufficiently adj
vanced stage to be called we'll nigh per-
feet, and further experiments will be only
to improve, If possible, on some one of the
various methods of moving trains by the
electrical block system The Pennsylvania
Is using, between Philadelphia and New
York, one of the latest devices, and it's per-
Torrance is highly satisfactory. On the
Harlem road what is called the permissive
signal is In use. with other combinations
of interlocking switches and automatic re-
leasing devices, which work very well, but
would hardly do for a trunk line. where
are very fast, heavy trains, as on the New
York Central and the Pennsylvania The
New York Central has a very perfect
working train signal service Re
Gently two express trains on the
New York Central, which had been
delayed. left Albany for New York
only two minutes apart, and made
the run, each train in two hours and fifty
two minutes, and at time were they
more than four minutes APART. yet were
always blocked against each other. This
Was safe enough, as by actual test the
heaviest express trains running sixty-three
s miles an nour. have been stopped in 1900
feet, and between these blocks an engineer
on the shortest OF them has 1900 feet to
stop his train in. f.. Van Etten, general
said, in conversation with a reporter of the
New York Post that ''the systems i'm use
% TSe road IS divided n aas blocks
from 1000 feet to two miles long At the
end or each block is a tower for the signal
ly for north and south-bound trains. Sig
mails are of the semaphore pattern, on the
the home signal is opposite the tower:
the other, the distance signal is not less
than loo feet in the direction from which
the trains come. The semaphoreS have one
arm, except where there are switches:
then they have two. the upper governing
the dyerging track. The arm of the home
is red, that of the distance green. on
each the arm In a horizontal position by
day. or red light at night, means danger
stop. The arm lowered. or a white light
by night, means the block is clear The
same Is true as to the distance except
light means run cautiously Then If the
red light Is found to show on the home
tower until the block is clear. We dis
charge. every man without hearing his ex-
II he sSoSd by the h9m sgp Ia ses at
TO move his signals through any trouble
with With the mecha in or II there be an acct
called a clearance card to the engineer
Inis states the time. cause of failure of
signals to work; etc. This is reported at
signal is shown at a tower the engineer
must stop and ascertain the cause.
NoW iOL the electrical part OF the SyS-
tenn, Tor all the semaphores are worked by
hand There is in each tower a little cleo
trical device that Is connected by wires
with the levers in the tower house on each
side. BY operating plunge these levers
ere automatically locked so that the signal
men In the first tower cannot set his clear
signal until the man beyond allows him TO
do so. He is said to plunge when he re-
leases the levers in the tower beyond him,
but he does not do this until the train has
passed entirely out of that block and then
he signals by a bell code that he has
plunged
where there is switch between two
block towers, 1t is provided with an electric
lock, operated from the tow"s. If u con-
ductor wishes to enter the siding, he must
unlock little cabin on the side of the track
and telegraph by bell code TO the signalman.
The latter turns a key which releases the
switch and the train enters. The lock acts
automatically and closes the switch again,
track again without asking the signalman
20 unlock the switch"
East-BOund Shipments from Chicago.
East-bound shipments from Chicago last
week amounted TO SO, 1863 tons against s1,0i6
for the corresponding week of last year,
63,234 tons for the preceding week. The
Soads carried tonnage as follows: Michigan
Central. 6,i23; Wabash, 1853; Lake Shore,
11.3s7: Fort Wayne. 1850; Panhandle. soil;
Baltimore & Ohio, 4,134; Grand Trunk, 3,123:
Nickel-plate 6.02i; Chicago & Erie. 1853:
Big Four. 4,5f7 Shipments were made up
OF the following articles In tons: Flour:
2.373: grain and mill stuffs, 80. 400: dressed
bcef. II. sos: faxseed. 2,627; lard 2,2s6: hides.
$3.50; lumber, 3,707; misc eiaueous, 5.692. Lake
shipments during the week were l1l,5l7
tons.
The First tn Restore Salaries.