The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-11-27
DONE BY COMPRESSED AIR
YARIED USES TO WHICH 1T rs BE-
ING PUT.
Manages Railroad Trains, Handles Bag
gage, Rings Cathedral Chimes, Builds
Bridges, Makes Baskets, Gives sham
poos, Dusts Carpets, Does II all Well.

poos, Dusts Carpets, Does II all Well.
All are familiar with the uses of conf
pressed air in bicycle tires, In door
brakes in pneumatic tube mattresses
and in the department store cash tube
system, to mention a few modern APP
plications, which, however are novel no
longer. But does every one know that
baskets are now made by compressed
air, that statuary is chiselled by IT,
that carpets and furniture are cleaned
and busted by it, that buildings are
painted by it, and that modern tram
service would be out of the question
We're it not for the practical efficiency
of air under pressure? outside of the
engineering world how many people
imagine the scope and multitudinous
uses Of air tools and machinery in the
building of bridges, in the carving out
of tunnels in almost every branch OF
mbining, in ship building, &c?
Riding on modern thoroughly
equipped railroad, did it ever occur to
you that air Is used to signal and steer
the train and to work the brakesI
That the carpets, the cushions, ana the
furniture of the coaches are cleaned ana
busted by pneumatic brushes; that the
cars are painted by pneumatic paint
spraying machines, and, to mention the
latest by air appliances, that the bag
gage is handled by elevators. the bell
rung by pneumatic ringer?
After eighteen years of costly and ex-
ta,,ctIra tha nnp1lnlttI
interlocking signal and switch system
has been made a success and fixture
at the leading terminal stations in this
country, BY it's aid one man now does
the work that would otherwise require
the combined efforts of six operators,
and he does the work better, the chanc-
es of his making mistakes having been
reduced to a minimum. With the lever
in his hand he controls the marvellous
ly efficient interlocking machine, which
in turn controls a number of switches
and signals connected by pneumatic
cylinders. As many as a dozen trains
may be rushing down on the signal
house; one movement of his hand, and
he has signalled them all; another moYe-
ment, he has steered each individual
train across a switch launching 1t on
it's proper course The system in use
at the Boston Southern station is the
largest known There are no fewer
than 23S pneumatic switches in opera
ton. II trains may move simultaneous
ly into or out of the train shed, las
signals are provided for the
400 possible routes presented in the
switch system Of that terminal.
Cleaning car cushions and carpets by
compressed air has lately been intro
duced. A pipe fiattened at the end I'M
til it is almost the shape of a spade is
used. The air rushes through perfora-
tions at the thin, wide end, cleaning the
without touching 1t, at much
swifter rate and much thoroughly than
brooms or brushes could. Be-
sides, the wear and tear consequent on
beating the material Is done away with,
which Is Of itself a great saving, Arm
I'd with single pneumatic cleaner one
nan can do more work in less time than
.hree men could formerly do with canes
and brushes. As for painting cars the
pneumatic paint spraying machines now
n the market are even superior to those
Used in painting the Worlds Fair
buildings in Chicago in 1893 A paint
ng machine has been invented that will
'oat 10000 square feet of surface In six !
hours and a half in the hands of a
kiful operator, Painting by air Is not |
,nly UNNECESSARILY swifter and cheaper |
hat old fashioned brush work, but it !
las been demonstrated that paint sup |
,lied by the air machine is applied |
more thoroughly and is more durable |
han brush painting. The Pittsburg, |
nd Lake Erie Railroad the Louisville
nd Nashville Railroad and the linois
CENTRAL Railroad were pioneers in this
ield The last road Is at present re-
'aintng about 400 cars a week with
air, while the Louisville
nd Nashville Railroad recently cover
d eighty-hve buildings under this J,
Method in record breaking time.
The Grand Rapids and Indiana Rail-
Dad has gone one step further by late
Y adopting the pneumatic baggage
andler system. This device has prov
d itself able to handle heavy baggage
luch more rapidly that 1t could other
rise be handled, and, moreover, to do
way with breakage. The day Of the
aggage smasher may, heretofore, be
asst. The machine is a very simple ar
Of air cylinder and baggage
lpport. The latter is lowered to the
latform where it receives the baggage.
hen it rises quickly and is automatic
lily swung around by a cam action,
arrying the baggage into the car, The
TT is operated by air drawn from the
ain tanks to special reservoir, and |
is controlled by the baggagemen. The
lachine has lifting capacity of 500 !
1unds, with seventy pounds of air
ressure; it has a strong scale device
'oviding for the weighing Of the bag
age as it is handled, and 1t is able to
ad trunks at the rate of six pieces d
yery thirty-five seconds. For country {
ations where now there is only one |
an to handle the baggage with the I
'ual disastrous results, this device will
We many a trunk from being damaged !
smashed.
If you wish to hear locomotive bells
ing by compressed air you must take
train on the Kansas City, St. Joseph | l
Council Bluffs Railroad, on which line $
number of pneumatic bell ringers are |
operation, giving admirable results q
It would be impossible to do the high ;
ass work of modern bridge building Q
ithout the aid or air tools. All the
orld pricked up its multitudionolus V
rs when the success of American 8