The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-23


that was an advance upon the haphazard
methods of forty years ago. But ex-
perience has shown that these systems
are far from perfect, and as you have al
ready told The Star, my road, for one, is
trying very hard to better that later sys-
tenn. The block system depends upon the
giving OF correct signals to engineer and
his seeing and obeying these signals. If
any part OF the apparatus gets out of
order and fails to give the right signal, or
any signal, or if the engineer through
some inadvertence fails to catch the
meaning of the signal, disaster is only
avoided by lucky chance and the public
being startled by a long list OF killed and
injured.
Automatic devices to supplement hu-
man skill and foresight are being intro
duced on our best roads. and soon will be
as common and recognized as necessary
on all roads as the air brake. II is proba-
bic that the extension of electrical appli-
ances to railroads will, in the near future,
make travelling on the rail safer than it is
to stay at home. That is an old and
broad assertion, but Notwithstanding the
record of 1898 l think we shall soon see
those conditions fulfilled. Some inven-
tions looking to this end are being tested
now. 1t appears fanciful to claim that
an electrical apparatus can be arranged
which will stop train at points of dan
ger independent of the engineer, that
will warn the engineer of an accident
happening to the device itself and its
failure to work correctly, and which will
enable every moving train, switch and
drawbridge to operate its own signals.
HELP FROM ELECTRICITY.
But that is what we now propose to
do, and those with me VINO have wit
messed the marvellous things done by cleo
trlclty, will back up my assertion. These
devices will warn an engineer in ample
time to stop his train when a train is ap-
preaching him on the same track, tell
him when draw bridge is open ahead of
him, whether an accident has happened to
any wheel on his train of cars, and whether
treStle bridge has sagged or fallen
down or burned up. These devices will
eliminate, as far as human genius can APP
parently go, every element of uncertainty
and leave nothing to human fallibility or
negligence. They will do everything but
talk, and for that they will substitute the
sharp and continuous ringing of gongs
that will speak as plain as words.
Next to the electrical appliances are
the mechanical designs, which are al
most, If not equally, as effective in pre-
venting accidents. One of these is the
derailment stop, which consists of a lever
inside the driving wheels of the locomo-
tive and within the trucks of the cars,
whose lower end depends within a few
inches OF the top surface Of the rail 1t is
plvoted so as to permit of a movement
longltudinally of the train, and its upper
free end. which extends beyond the pivot,
is connected to a link or arm, which in
turn is connected with the handle of a
cock situated in the main train pipe of
the trains airbrake system. When de-
railment takes place the lower end is
brought in contact with the ground
either by the wheels cutting into the
earth or by sufficiency of the periphery
of the wheel descending between two
cross ties. BY the forward motion of the
train the lower end of the lever is
vibrated rearwardly, the upper end NOV
ing forward from the pivot and by this
forward motion eXerting pull upon the
link connecting with the handle of the
main train airbrake lever, opening the
same and causing the air TO escape, thus
applying the brakes
Cooperating with this ingenious de-
vice is the drawbridge mechanism, which
consists of a sliding rod lying at and
across the land end Of the bridge termi-
nal, and projecting out sufficiently to be
engaged by bracket or arm fastened to
the bridge and moving with it. This slid
ing rod has coiled upon it spring, so ar
ranged that when relieved from the
pressure of the arm or plate it springs
out, and upon the return of the bridge it
is pushed back and the spring com
pressed. Pivoted to the crossties is a
bell crank whose ends are engaged re-
spectively by the sliding transverse rod
and line of gas pipe lever running par
ellel with the track. This is carried back
a sufficient distance and there connected
to crank arm, which in turn is connec-
ted to rock shaft, lying transversely of
the tracks, and to which are connected at
suitable places sector-shaped trip pieces,
which are raised and lowered by the rota-
ton of the TRAVERSE rock shaft as the
bridge is opened and closed through the
means of the mechanism l have spoken
of before. These trips, when in opera tion
or in raised position, which is the posi-
tion they occupy when the bridge is
opened, engage the levers of the air brake
system, and by turning them back apply
the brakes and stop the train. Upon the
closing of the bridge they are. of course,
turned down and out of their working
position.
An engineer approaching an open
drawbridge first passes signal warning
him to stop, and failing to obey it for any
reason, his levers are struck and turned
back by the stops and he comes to a stand
still upon the rails whether he wants to
or not.
A PROTECTION FENCE.
''The other device I have limited at in
the first part of our conversation is pro-
lection fence TO be placed on trestles. 1t
is a marvel of simplicity and ingenuity.
Lying across the trestle is a series Of
jointed levers, whose joints are connected
by fusible plugs. Just outside of the
structure is spring coiled upon a rod,
exerting a continual pressure away from
the structure, yet coiled SO that it can it.
self be compressed. A line of gas pipe
lever connects with the jointed levers and
runs back proper distance where tits
connected to crank arm which is at
tached to rock shaft, at right angles,
and this rock shaft runs transversely
of the tracks and terminates in a
box having fastened to it a cres-
cent-shaned LITER. unOn which rests q