Evening star., 1896-03-28


of workingmen, and will always continue on |
that line; but am drawing up bill. which |
I want to introduce before Congress ad- |
journs that will throw safeguards around |
the travelling public. In the rough, its chief |
features will be the compulsory establish
rfent of the block signal system on all rail- |
roads over certain tonnage and the aboli- |
ton Of grade crossings. not only in the
cities, but all along the lines.
"Of course. majority of the big roads
already have the block signal system in
operation, but I know of several corpora
tions that can almost be classed among the
first in the country that use the system only
in the cities. or for few miles out. With
out investigation, it would appear as if the
entire road was being run. under this sys-
tenn, but when disastrous wreck occurs
then the public learns for the first time that
od-fashioned methods are still in
State legislation won't do. The lobby
| employed by the railroads do almost
anything with a state representative, but
! here in Congress it IS quite different.
The legislator that VIII introduce bill
| that will wipe out grade crossings all over
| the country will, in time, be looked upon
| as one of the greatest benefactors of his
| race the century has brought out. No one
| knows better than 90 the opposition that
! will be developed to this measure and to
| the block system.
As n Preventive of Accidents.
II have been watching the railroads for
| the past fifteen years, and noting every
| phase of an accident. large percentage of
| the wrecks in the east occurring on railroads
| that have adopted the block signal system
| throughout their systems have been caused
( by carelessness, on the part of employees or
| the breaking down of the car equipment or
| the defects in roadbed. Out in the west
ern country the block signal system if
| generally adopted. can prevent seven
| eiahths of the accidents. Railroads of small
| tonnage throughout the country are, as
| rule, under the management of parent
| company that can stand the expense of the
Introduction of the system, and only want
| vigorous pushing to place the safeguards
| in use throughout their lines
| LAS to what particular system of block
| signaling shall be adopted. that question
| will be left to the common sense of each
| corporation. There are at present several
! systems in use that do the most effec tive
| work. One of the roads up in our country
has been equipping its road with the au-
tomato electric-pneumatic signal system
which may or may not be the system of the
| future 1t is worked by the passing of a
train over a certain portion of the tracks.
| This portion is connected with the signals
| by electricity, and as the locomotive passes
| over it current is made and the signal
| arms go up and remain up in that position
until the trains have passed out Of the
block.
This system. a prominent railroad
manager writes me, NOT only covers one
block, but the signals tell whether a train
is in the adjoining block or the next one.
If both signals are open then two blocks
are clear. This alone gives notice to the
engineer Of how the tracks are for two
blocks ahead
LAS the only expense attached to this
system is the furnishing of electricity and
the cost of the apparatus for signaling, the
blocks can be made considerably shorter
and signals placed at more frequent inter-
walls. Should this system prove to be sue
cess ma jority of the big roads of the
| ntrv hIt 7
all the roads to be equipped in like manner.
Rather Crude Then.
"The more I study over railroad methods
the more positive 1 become that the sys-
! tenn of running will soon be almost perfect.
The day was when engineers drove their
great machines through the night without
the glimmer of a signal light at a switch
or station. 1t takes a man of iron nerve to
be a competent engineer, but in the old
days his daring knew no limit His ma
. chime then crude in mechanism, the
roadbed was usually wretched, and precau-
tions against the loss of life were so un-
certain as to be of little use. The mis-
placed switch was usually found at night
only when the forward trucks of the engine
left the rails. There was a wildcat system
of moving trains on many of the roads
2 and the only warning the public had at
> crossings in town and country was found iT
a ghastly looking cross-shaped board.
"All the earlier automatic systems de-
pended for communication between the
: block stations upon a wire strung upon
I poles, and as a train might break apart
, and leave portion of the cars obstructine
the track when it had apparently cleared
the block, and as by violation Of the
r rules the engineer of the second train
: might enter section before the first train
!: had cleared it, the track circuit was pro-
posed, and proved to be highly practical
BY Electric Signals.
8 "Now i'll the new system, the electric
: current is conducted by the rails Of the
e track and any metallic connection between
the right-hand and the left-hand rails ma,
q ! be made to so alter the strength of al
$ electro-magnet as to change a signal from
n | safety to danger. The signal stands a
p safety so long as the current is uninter
S rupted, but when a pair of wheels enter:
( the section and affords the requisite metal
g lie connection, the greater part of the cur
d rent is withdrawn from the electro magne
r holding the signal in the safety position
u and it moves by the power of clockwork OF
v compressed air to the danger position
o another system that is spoken very
t highly of on account of its cheapness ant
/ accuracy is one that is wholly worked b,
h electricity. The principle on which thi:
. signal is constructed and operated is tha
d the first wheel entering the block sets tn,
e signal at danger, and at the same tim,
: breaks an electric current in such a way
that under no possible contingency can tn,
:. signal again show safety until the trair
9 passes out of the block and operates tn,
r | track instrument winch restores the cir
3 cult. The disk assumes the danger position
n by gravity whenever the power exerted b,
the electric current is withdrawn. In othe
h words, the safety position Of the signal Il
/ dependent upon an uninterrupted circui
through the magnet of the signal irstru
ment. 1T is simply and only the attractiv,
power Of -electro-magnetism which hold
the signal at safety.
IAN engineer wholly color blind can max,
no mistake in reading the signal, even i
the engine Is plunging through darkness a
o fl rious speed. When the signal stands a
/ danger the center is red and the surround
ing surface dark; but color-blind perso1
:, even Their, 1t is claimed, would experienc,
no difficulty in correctly reading the indica
ticn, as he would be compelled to note tn,
absence of white in the center, and onl,
after clearly seeing white would he hav
a right to proceed.
Day and Night Systems.
: II consider the arrangement for day an,
right signaling as being almost perfect
n For the day signal reliance is placed on th
9 9 aperture and disk. Night signaling is ac
complished by a. subsidiary aperture jus
above that used during the day. Behind
Is placed an ordinary signal lantern, an,