Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-06-08
CARS MADE oLEAN WITH wiNo
Pneunatic Device Used In Santa Is
Yards In Chicago.

Yards In Chicago.
If the average housekeeper who has
had more or less unpleasant experience
with the old-fashioned broom could
drop down into the Santa Fe yards, Mt
18th street. almost any morning she
would behold a sight that would set
her wild with envy. She would be as
tonished by a performance that she
might think little short Of miraculous.
She would see q man walking up and
down a strip of carpet at the side Of q
Pullman palace car and accomplishing
a feat apparently far beyond the mas
terplece of the greatest prestidigita-
teur, to her way Of thinking. The man
might point out what the woman would
call "a long stick with q broad end at
the carpet and straightway dust would
fly from the surface in immense clouds
at least It would II there was any dust
In the carpet.
This peculiar and Interesting opera
ton has been going on down in the
Santa Fe yards for nearly two years,
but it is nevertheless almost unknown.
What the housekeeper would call
long stick with q broad end Is an Iron
pipe with a spreading brass nozzle
through which compressed air rushes
under a pressure Of seventy pounds to
the square inch. The upper end OF the
pipe Is inserted in rubber hose which
leads from an air-compressing ma
chine. The workman takes In hand the
pipe, which is between four and i've
feet In length, and, placing the brass
nozzle within an inch of the surface Of
the carpet, he walks down Its length
passing the instrument over every
square inch Of the cappet. The brass
nozzle is about three inches wide, and a
narrow aperture through which the air
escapes extends from one side to the
other. This aperture Is almost az long
as the nozzle is wide, but It Is only
about one-fourth Of an inch In width.
The air escapes with such force that
wherever 1t strikes the carpet the dust
Is blown out SO cleanly that q prOfes-
sional carpet beater would find 1t i'm
possible to extract another particle.
The unique device is used not only to
clean the carpets outside Of the cars.
but to clean the entire interiors of the
cars as well. For the interiors a small.
er pipe and nozzle are used and a long.
er hose Is attached. The workman
passes around the inside Of the car
pointing the nozzle at every spot which
he wishes to cleanse. He doesn't have
to point 1t long at any one spot before
the air has effectually cleared the sur
face Of all dirt that is loose.
There Is no patent on the invention.
which seems to have been perfected by
q process Of evolution. Anybody who
has the desire and the money to pay for
the machinery has the contrivance at
his disposal. It is now used in several
of the railroad yards Of the city and has
proved universally satisfactory. The
device Is especially excellent for the
removal Of dust and dirt from corners
and crevices which cannot well be
reached with a broom. The air can,
Of course, be thrown into any place into
which dust can drift and the dirt he
blown out without the least difficulty.
In sleeping cars there are many places
in which the compressed air system Is
found to be 4 great improvement ovrr
old methods. The cleaning of the up
per berths was always accomplished
with much trouble until the air con,
trivance was adopted. but since then
the work has been done with ease md
dispatch The workman simply pulls
down the berth, and, reaching In With
his pipe, he pokes about IN every nook
and corner until he can no longer blow
any dust from the berth. Then he
knows 1t is clean and he passes to the
next one. All Of the upholstery. as well
as the floor, ceiling, ETC., is Of course
cleaned more easily than the berths.
The cleaning can be done at practical
iy any distance from the air-compress
ing machine. A long line of hose leads
from the machine, or, perhaps, more
often the compressed air is carried IN
ron pipes to the various points where
the cars are brought to be cleaned. The
rubber hose Is then attached to the pips
line near the car and the air turned on
A stop cock on the pipe line controls
the passage Of the air into the hos<
and another at the top Of the four-foo'
pine controls It's exit from the nozzle
The hose is always long enough to per
pit a workman to walk the entir'
length of a palace car.-Chicago Ohron
Ncle.