The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-04

come on the 75o daily trains that will make
the station their terminus.
The work of putting in the switches by
which the eight main tracks win be con-
nected with the faulke Arrangement OF
the twenty-eight tracks in the interior OF
the train house has been watched with
interest by railroad men and engineers.
over these tracks wiz pass the trains now
entering the Boston and Albany. the Park
square station and the KneeIand street
stations of the New York, New Haven
ana Hartford and those OF The New Eng
land road.
Ihese trains now run into three stations.
ana the temporary station Of the New
england outside the Kneeland street sta
tioh. Each road handles trains daily up
to the capacity Of its station, and dozens
OF switchmen in the yards have tbei,,
hands run in keeping them on the right
tracks. When the trains begin to run into
the new station. al this work viii he in
the hands Of one man, or rather, of three
men, as there win be three shifts of eIght
hours each employed.
10 connect the eight Feeding tracks with
those In the train house there viii be hftv
two single switches, thirty-five double sim
switches and thirty-fve movable frogs
The man In the tower Wall have command
OF these through one hundred and TWENTY
TWO compressed-air cylinders VARYING from,
HVe 10 SIX and one-haf inches in diam
eter. These are connected with his tower
by electric wires, so that touch of the fin
ger causes them to work al the proper mo-
ment, and shunts the rushing train on 10
the proper track, where its passengers are
TO be landed
70 indicate whether the track is clear or
not, the switches win be connected with
one hundred and fifty semaphore signals
that WIZ snow clear above all Instructions
on the tops of bridges placed over the
tracks destined for each of the several
roads These will show the CUSTOMARY re,I
danger signal if the track Is in use. or a
green If it is ready for occupancy. or
no signal II IL Is entirely unoccupied The
semaphoTe signals work AUTOMATICALLY
with the opening and closing of the
switches.
with these mechanical arrangements az
his disposal, and no fear that they VIII go
to sleep at their posts, or leave them I'M
protected logo on a strike, the operator in
the tower sits as comfortably as th., re-
probabilities of the position will permit
him.
Before him is a machine on which num-
bered plates indicate the switch series
OF levers from five 70 six inches in length
run along the front Of the machine. each
located a a numbered. plate When train
is to come over the rails and to go into the
TRAIN shed, he turns the lever to the right
or left, as the proper railing of the train
requires, and it slides smoothly into its
proper position. The operator is not al
lowed to think of anything else but his
switches while on duty. He is not alone in
tho tower, either. With him are three 9TH
ers, who are known as the director tho
assistant director and the telephone man.
Each of these has his duties connected
with the switch system, and in the same
service, although working on the earth. are
two men employed in keeping the switches
wen oiled and cleaned
All these men are impersonal, and to the
outside world have no names but those
that indicate their occupations There are.
so to speak, three Of each of them. Thar
is, there are three shifts of men who do tb,,
work OF The different positions but whetb-
er it be John, Jim or Tom who is on duty.
for the time he is only the operator, direc-
tor or telephone man. The telephone man
gets word through the telephone or tele
graph wire that train is coming. He com
municates with the director, who. In turn.
teis the operator. When il is seen an
preaching he turns his lever, and tha
switch is set automatically, and the serna-
phore works and indicates whether the
track is clear or not.