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

NN''
to the big sbeaves under the street which turn
it into the conduit. These wheels are In great
vaults under the street, and at night are lighted,
and one can peep down into them through the
grip slot and see the wheels go around. These
wheels being below the grade OF the conduit are
just as we have seen that II does on the bridge,
To a height above the regular carrying wheels.
and high enough for the car grip to take 1t.
The wheels over which IL turns at this point
and the similar ones at the end of its route and
again where Il is about 70 go to the drivers
scribed after we have examined the grip and its
action. Meantime we will follow the cable. It
goes merrily along on It's journey. now riding
over the wheels. in the pits along the conduit
and singing with the hum of a great hive OF
ings. It meets with nothing else until II comes to
another set OF gypsies and dives into another big
It turns, around a wheel, usually as big
in diameter as the distance between the grip
slots in the up and down tracks. and goes over
an exactly similar route in the return conduit.
IL this be not at the end of the road. but between
sections, as at sixth street. on the Third avenue
road, the vault under the street will, contain
four OF these great wheels, which In this vault
are fifteen feet in diameter. Two of these turn
the pair OF cables. which work from Sixty-ffth
street down. and the other two those which
operate the road from the Post Office up, work
ingfrom Bayard street. On the uptown cable, at
the cable road on that street. AT such crossings
one cable must go clear under the other road.
The Third avenue cable does so here by means
of four. wheels. as shown in one Of the cuts.
At such places the car must release the
CaDlt, ID touTNt. Hnu run oNtT IN intervening
space by its own momentum, and there are
gypsy wheels on each side to enable IL to release
been made, such AS sprocket chains and teeth on
grips, to carry cars from the places where they
must release one cable to where they can take
another. but in practice II has been found in
this city. at least. that none were needed. The
cars can float over. and AT most places this Is
helped by putting the changing places upon
The Broadway road used to use horses to carry
their cars over this gap at Houston street, but
have found that even in broadway n little care
would enable them to float the cars over.
DIFFICULTY At CURVES.
Curves are the curse OF cable engineers. Il
every bend In a cable road. no matter how slight,
you will see the iron covers. of vaults on the in
side Of the curve within the tracks, and these
placed not more than five feet apart from centre
to centre the whole length Of the curve. Clear
s s5osn% %h s , snsen SEr sna Oh the m fs,r sTU sTenas i loSp
at the City Hall has got wheels In an almost
Sontinuous row IF from in f hTSoan. OF the Tine Hs
We are ready now to examine the grlp-the
stantiy running cable beneath the street.
those Of the Broadwsy and Third avenue lines
are representative types of the best for double
pasls rSHd and r bss l fTS sr RI a sidffr n Esc a. S al in a
cable clasp upon either side, where II grips the
wire rope between smooth jaws Of hard steel:
being hauled. the, cable. is, simply sliding
over the lower jaw OF the grip. Spool
rollers have been used in a hope of
reducing this wearing friction, but have
been found OF little use. From one set of these
jaws fat steel plates, a little less in thickness
than the width of the grip slot. go up and are
bolted into a frame fast TO the truck of the car.
Another set of these plates carries the movable
jaws, and is connected at the top with a lever or
q set Of levers which move them up and down.
A third set OF these plates moves a pair OF A
shaped pieces which raise up and force the cable
out of the jaws. In the Third avenue grip II Is
the lower set Of jaws which moves. In the
Broad way grip the upper set moves,
There are slight grooves in the jaws OF the
grips, and when a car Is merely stop
ping along the road II Is only necessary
10 open the grip jaws a little bit to let the cable
slip along In these, while AT the same time the
grooves prevent a chance OF its jumping ont.
When II becomes necessary to release the cable
entirely, tho jaws must be opened wide. A fail
ure to do this has cut a cable right In two more
than once, and in any case IL will make a kink
that Is sure to break soon, besides wrecking the
grip. To avoid this chance each OF our roads
has an automatic grip opener. That on the
Broadway line includes a part of the grip.
Just above the movable jaw is another piece
of metal with tapered ends. 1t is hung upon
the jaws supports and moves up and down with
1t. Two plates are connected to II, which run
up TO the upper part of the grip, where by levers
are connected with toggls joints in the
arms OF the movable grip jaws. Ii the grip
man opens the jaws in time this plate goes up
with the jaws, but II he does not, It runs upon a