Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-02
why Poison Your system
4 Modern Labyrinth.

y ANVufA 4ttftf
quick. Jim.' shouts the Read man.
40. 81 and Y. There comes the Boston
express. and the Croton local only two
minutes behind, Shove 'em in there
livelv.'
"An right" responds Jim.
on the instant this lever is down the
others snapped up and the express train
Just out OF the tunnel has a clean, clear
track into It's haven. at torty-seoond
street. Three hundred yards before the
station Is reached the -throats1
iron monster. uncoupled from It's burden
OF cars. darts forward on a siding like
a spirited horse embarrassed from It's
load. wlVe the train glides forward
with its own momentum. slowly and
more, slowly as the brakes are applied.
until II comes to stop under the depot
shed. Hardly have the passengers poured
forth when another train rolls in. and
then another. the pathway IN each in
stance cleared By these keen men at the
levers in this tcwer-house OF the yards OF
the Grand-Central station, in New York
city. For they only know the intricacies
OF this interesting modern labyrinth
where more iron paths and by-paths are
to be found. in all probability than in
any other place OF the same size In the
world
Suppose you enter this rectangular
house with one of your railroad friends
and go up stairs. Here there Is a long
"keyboad," as the men call ~, consist
ing of one hundred and four numbered
iron levers You see the men In charge
grasp lever after lever. apparently at
random: you hear the sharp click OF these
gunlike rods. as they move backwards or
forwards and then, as you see red
light fash white or a white red two
blocks away. YOU are told by one OF
the men at the levers that a path has
been cleared for the stamford local. or
the Empire State express. IL you look
in the room underneath Il seems like
the interior of a huge piano-board. Here
are stiff- moving wires and bars. each one
connected above 10 its particular iron
key. Beneath they spread out in every
direction, like the thresd-lil<e legs OF
a spider. each connected with its special
rail or switch or light. and never In
terfering with Its neighbor-so delicate
the mechanism AS you go up stairs :.
second time 10 hear Mr.. Anderson. the
man I'm charge OF the great keyboard.
talk about the arrangements you cannot
help thinking again how like "A monster
plano IL is. To be sure. the iron keys are
struck.
over 800 pieces OF rolling stock'-as
the railroad-men speak OF trains and
engines-have TO be sent In and out OF
the depot and yard in a day. These In
clude nearly 800 regular incoming and
outgoing passenger trains. the stock
and baggage trains. which ply between
there and Mott Haven. carrying empty
cars and station-freight. and the made
up and "unmade" trains passing 10 and
fro When a through western or Boston
express starts out OF the station the
arrangement OF one or two levers by no
means irsures II straight track into
the tunnel Oftentimes a combination OF
ten or fifteen all over the switch board
Is necessary TO give a train a straight
away track. and you wonder as you hear
this. how the men ever learn the varying
combinations OF keys. The train-dis-
patcher in the depot notires the men In
the tower-house on which road each ar
irving and departing train is-whether
New York Central. Harlem River or
New Haven-and they instantly know
the answer to the problem.