The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-06-14
STOPPING THE TRAIN.
How George Westinghouse Conceiv-
ed the Idea of Inventing an Air.
Brake.
By ROY FAIRFIELD GREENE.

BY ROY tARfELL GREEN Il.
The last quarter of a century has
been continuous succession of in
ventions beneficial to humanity. La
Dor saving machinery has lifted the
burdens of life from toiling millions.
The telephone. the telegraph as perfect
ed, and the many cable lines. as well
as the improvements in the postal SER
vice, have obliterated lines of distance
and put the whole world at our next
doors. Life saving devices, encouraged
by governmental aid, along the coasts
OF our seaboard have made the terrors
of ocean travel less, and even the train
service of our transcontinentdl systems
has kept pace with the age OF improve
ment and made travelling a pleasure
where it was once attended with fear
and trepidalion-
The air-brake, as applied to the stop
ping of trains, has been the most inn
portant invention of the age, for by its
agency accidents have been rendered of
less frequent occurrence and safety to
life and limb assured.
The invention of the air-brake was
a creature of George Westinghouse
youth. The idea had been suggested to
him by railroad accident where he
in the light of the present, it appears
to have been fortunate, since from uhis
occurrence the thought sprung, and
has borne good fruit.
The train upon which the young in
ventor was riding was brought 20
sudden stand-sIiL, and he was told that
a collision had occurred. While others
were removing pieces of the wreckage
and debris in an attempt to rescue
ta1f,, foll grow
young Westinghouse was standing at
one side of the track mentally caiculat-
ing if it were not possible to provide
some mechanical appliance which
would give the engineer command OF
train such as he did not possess in
the use of the throttle and lever. He
turned this idea over in mis- mind and
having the skill and the capacity Of in
ventive genius he conceived, in a short
while, a brain model of the air-brake.
He was not yet twenty-one years of
| age but he had the faith of his true
! convictions, and not long after COM
plotting his model ne was in Chicago
and there met an Inventor who Thought
| that to him had come the inspiration
| for the perfect brake, having such faith
in this inspiration that he mad worked
| 1T out and secured patent for his de-
sign.
| westinghouse said: II too have d
scheme for railway brake which will
enable the engineer of a train to apply
| the brake from an engine to the last
car and will bring a train to a stand
! still in far less time than the hand
brake now in use oan do
'Ah, but the old inventor replied,
you cannot make a brake to do these
things without infringing upon my pat
ent"
81 can, and will" said young West
inghouse, and within a year he had
ACCOMPLISHED his dream and was be-
ginning to find himself famous.
The great brake-blocks, which when
pressed against the wheels serve to
slaeken the speed and ultimately bring
| them to a standStll are under direct
or indirect influence of the strong cur
rent of air from the engine. The cy-
Under beneath each car which stores
| a quantity of air, when connected with
the engine by the hose-like tubes. holds
a piston that connects with the brake
blocks, holding them away from the
wheels. When the engineer shuts of
the current of air from the engine the
piston is released and the brake is al
once applied to The wheels; thus it may
be seen that in case of an accident
the air tubes connecting with the en-
CINE are severed and the train comes
to a standstill without the engineer &
intervention.
Some practical tests of the air-brake':
efficiency in speedily stopping train
and power to prevent a collision, were
recently made, freight cars being EN-
ployed in this test of which there were
flfty-six IN the train.
The first was an emergency stop.
The train was run at the rate o
twenty-five miles All hour, and by ust
of the air brake the train was stopped
within ten seconds after the DANCE
signal was given, the stop being mad,
within las feet of the signal point TIL
second test showed that an "energen
cy stoo'' could be made in fifteen sec
t onds, within 4Ss feet. the train goint
: at the rate of thirty-seven miles al
hour
Service stops" or the ordinary sta
ton stops. were then made with TIL
guests on beard, and although the trail
was run at a speed of twenty-five mile
an hour, only about twice the distane
required for emergency stops wa
found necessary.
The air-brake as originally invtente'
and perfected by the youthful Georg
Westin ghouse has redounded to tn
I fame and fortune of the inventor, an
proven an incalculable blessing to trav
cling humanity.
NOTHING TO FEAR.
y You may have a rough voyage throug