The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-04-25

will have an important bearing upon the
security from danger of the 100000 pas
sengers carried annually by the rail-
roads Of this country.
The block and signal systems. which,
when they work correctly. prevent a
train from entering Il section of the roao
until the track for that section is clear.
are great advantages upon the old
method of Geographic orders between
stations. as hat was an advance upO9
the haphazard methods Of forty years
ago. But experience has shown that
these systems are far from perfect, ana
my road. for one is trying very hard 70
better that later system. The block
system depends upon the giving of co..
rect signals to the 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
inadvertencc 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 in
jured.
Automatic devices to supplement
human skill and foresight are being in
troduccd on our best roads and soon will
he as common and recognized as neces-
sary on all roads as the air brakes. 1t
Is probable that the extension of cleo
trical appliances to railroads will, in the
near future, make travelling on the ran
safer than it is to stay at home. That
is an old and broad assertion, but not
wthstanding the record Of 1898. l think
we shall soon see those conditions full
filed. Some inventions looking To this
end are being tested now. 1t appears
fanciful TO claim that an electrical alp
paratus can be arranged which Will stop
a train at points of danger independent
of the engineer: that will warn the en-
gineer Of an accident happening to the
device itself and its failure TO work cor
rcctly. and which will enable every mov-
ing train. switch and drawbridge TO
operate its own signals.
Help from ELECTRICITY.
Put that is what we now propose to
do. and those with me who have wit
messed the marvellous things done by
electricity will back up my assertion.
These devices Will warn an engineer in
ample time TO stop his train when a
train is approaching him on the same
track, tell him when a drawbridge is
open ahead of him. whether an accident
has happened TO any wheel 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 apparently go, every
element of uncertainty and leave moth
ing 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 pivOted so as to permit of a movement
longitudnally of the train, and it's upper
free end, which extends beyond the
pivot, 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
of the wheel descending between two
crOsstieS. BY the forward motion of the
train the lower end of the lever is vi
brated rearwardly, the upper end moving
forward from the pivot and by this for
ward motion eXerting a pull upon the
link connecting with the handle Of the
main train air-brake lever, opening the
same and causing the air to escape, thus
applying the brakes.
"Co-operating with this ingenious de-
vice is the draWDfldge mechanism, winch
consists of a sliding rod lying at and
across the land end of the bridge ter
minal and projecting out sufficiently to
be engaged by a bracket or arm fastened
to the bridge and moving with il. This
sliding-rOd has coiled upon ii a spring,
so arranged 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 a line of gas-pipe lever running
parallel with the track. This is carried
back a sufficient distance and there con-
nected with crank arm. which in turn
is connected TO A rock shaft lying trans
versely of the tracks, and TO which are
connected at suitable places sector
shaped trip pieces, which are raised and
lowered by the rotation of the trans
verse rock shaft as the bridge is opened
and closed through the means of the
mechanism I have spoken of before
These trips, when in operation or raised
I'm position. which is the position they
occupy when the bridge is opened. en-
gage the levers Of the air brake system,
and by turning them back apply the
brakes and stop the train. Upon the