The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-25
PASSING OF THE BRAKEMAN.
Improved Appliances in the Hand
ling of Trains.
From dc Chicago Trihune.

From the Chicago Tribune
The rapidly progressing disappearance
of the railroad brakeman as a necessary
adjunct of the handling of train has
been natural result of improvements
that have made the work he performed
practically automatic. 1t is curious, also,
that largely to the same agency is attri-
buted the marked decline in the number
of casualties to these brakemen and other
railroad employees. Reports to congress
by the interstate commerce comm ssion
show that during the last year 1923 en-
ployes of American railroads were killed
and 23,422 injured, while during the year
previous the number killed was 300 and
the injured $1,000 The commi ssioners ad-
nit that some of the decrease is due to
greater efficiency among the men, but the
larger portion by far is accounted for by
the increased use of these automatic APP
pHances.
The government has officially recogniz-
ed the effectiveness of these Improvements
in reducing the dangers of operating rail
roads to the lowest limits by including in
the interstate commerce law mandatory
provision that all railroads must equip
their cars with automa tic and continuous
brakes and couplers and their locomo-
tives with driving wheel brakes" In ODE
dience to this regulation nearly one-half
of the 100000 freight and coal cars in
use are provided now with these appli-
ances, and all, with few exceptions, of
the $500 passenger cars and 5000 mail
and baggage cars are similarly equipped
1t is reasonable to suppose, Also that
the same cause is responsible partly for
the steady decline of the number and Sc
robustness of accidents in which passen-
gers have been involved. In the last year,
when 100000 passengers were carried
Ill L.
in a tabulation that only one was killed
to each 1,66S, 79l carried, or one to each
A. ,22S miles Travelled. By the auto
matte process trains can be stopped so
quickly on levels or grades, curves or
bridges, that "full-head" collisions are
rare, and collisions with all forms of OBJ
structions less probable. The negineer
now does in an instant what it took the
brakeman many minutes to perform, and
does it mch more effectively. An expla-
nation of the operation recently published
brings it within the comprehension of the
most ineXpert.
Under each of the cars is a rubber
pipe connected with an air compressor
on the engine. This pipe leads to and
supplies an air reservoir under each car
These reservoirs are loaded from the
engine with compressed air to the amount
of seventy pounds each. The pressure of
this air keeps open the brakes, and as
long as the compressed air remains in the
! reservoir under the cars the brakes are
open. By turning the lever on the engine
the compressed air is released, and as 1t
| is released the brakes on each of the
cars close automatically, pressing against
the wheels and practically locking them.
AS soon as the train is brought to a full
STOP of which the painting of the com
pressed air as it escapes from under the
| cars gives notice. The reservoirs are
again filled by turn of the lever on the
engine, and this fills the reservoirs under
| the cars and thereby automatically re-
! leases all the brakes at once"
| There have been many other devices for
| the safeguarding of lives of travellers. but
! it is doubtful if the interests of safety
! have been promoted more extensively by
| any other one agency.