The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-28
THIRD AVENUE CURVE PULLEY.

- - sew a1S
fire engines is manned and ready. In their
wagon they have got chisels, saws. hamm ers,
c ~IsH's Saddles fesw and U1t blocks ekksT sn Mif fails for tSr sust,ss !"
ing lines of hose from the elevated road, to let
their cars pass under them. or long struts Of
tracks do not serve. they have Jacks for rails
ing broken-down trucks, and a lot of other
things. But one wonders how 1t was they got
the signal that sent them away.
SIGNALLING FROM A CAR TO THE POWER HOUSE.
Walk along the tracks OF the Third avenue
road, and at the north side of every evenly num-
bered street, and at about the same distances
apart down town, you will see beside one OF the
wheel-pit plates a small iron plate, oblong. and
one OF these Is a signal instrument connected
with the main Office by electric wires: You will
this box, and every gripman, when he gets his
badge to begin work, gets a wrench with which
20 SsS SpssS oo 1n,s Of Sp rules s Which ne tei ah Them shs tus so what ta
There is a signal to start the cable, go slow.
car wheel or axle broken, and pedestal or box
broken. He finds a handle and pulls that up as
rings out the number in the office as
he pulls It,, and when he turns down the
t nanaif az 5sp pRs NUMBER Sns Sere Of 't the T Soa. f There si Is
another set OF wires running from each OF these
boxes. These connect with a telephone in the
they need help or instructions when they get to
the scene of a call they open the box. screw on a
oih " At'A haAh " a. ohAtS ibi a tNA-
ephone, which forms part OF every outfit.
This system was put In when the road was
built. The Broadway road found the need OF
one when the runaway cable swept Broadway.
and have since put in a signal system of about
$4,000 on the Third avenue road. Every wagon
has Its district to cover, and 1t is remarkable
how quickly IL will relieve a block upon a
road. BrOken-down trucks are the most fire.
9uent cause Of trouble. Sometimes q lot OF
these getting into difficulties about the same
superintendent Robertson recalls a day when
one car. with. OF course, all those behind II, was
delayed ] hour and 20 minutes on a round trip.
At Ninety second street an ice wagon broke
down in front OF II, at Forty-second street a
truck loaded with barrels got stuck under the
elevated. In its way, and at Chatham square a
hve-ton coal truck broke In front of IL on the
track. At such times cars are switched over at
the ends of sections, and local traffic Is kept up
by that means.
Perhaps the device which Mr.. Robertson of
the Third Avenue road is most proud of IL the
life saver recently illustrated and described I'm
THE Sun. II IL the only one OF his inventions
which is not patented, and since THE SUNS
story OF its good work Mr.. Robertson says 1t
would be worth at least $4,000 in the market.
II has been in use too long to patent, and is open
To the public. The principle which gives IL
value, Mr.. Robertson says, is not so much in its
form as In the fact that il, lies back as far uH-
der the end of the car as possible, and thus
gives the gripman a chance TO check or stop his
car before the fallen person is struck by any
thing which can crush him.