The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-17
WHITE FLAG, LIGHT AND BELL.
THE LATEST DEVICES FOR RAIL-
WAY SIGNALLING.


Standard Codc-The Human EIe-
ment Almost Eliminated by the
Block system.
From the New York Evening Post.
The Standard Code, adopted by the
American Railway Association at its meet
ing in Detroit on April p, has just been
issued, and received by the officials of ali
the railroads running to New York. The
code is a revision of the signals and rules
for the operation of trains, and it's most
interesting feature is that il practically
makes a unit, as far as signals are con-
cerned, of the 251 railways in the United
States, Canada and Mexico, which operate
l6l sos miles of road
The average traveller nowadays. having
long been familiar with the railway, is
prone TO take the means by which his
comfort and safety are achieved as a mat
ter of course. But, If the general public
is Indifferent, as a result of the security
it has been taught to feel those upon
whom the responsibility rests are by no
means SO, and a constant effort is being
made to improve the methods by means
Of which safety is secured.
The first decided improvement was mark
ed by the Introduction of fixed signals.
placed on posts a.ong the track OF these.
the semaphore is most generally used Il
consist of a blade or arm, to the short
end of which a frame containing a colored
glass Is attached, SO arranged that Il can
be raised in front of a fixed lantern When
the arm is elevated. the light is seen
through the color glass; and the signal is
indicated. In the daytime the position of
the semaphore arm is the engineers guide.
The introduction of the block system
has led to an almost universal employment
of this form of signal. BY means of this
system, succeeding trains on the same
track are practically isolated from one
another, and the danger of rear collisions
mas been eliminated almost entirely. In
the block system the road is divided into
spaces or blocks; i'm what is known as the
absolute" block system no train is al
lowed to enter one of these until the last
preceding train has passed into the next
space. The limits of the blocks are mark
ed by signals, usually semaphores operat-
ed directly by a signal man, or else con-
trolled by him by means of compressed
air or automatically by electricity.
The semaphores We're at first controlled
from towers, but the signalmen in the
towers were human-they occasionally
made mistakes or went to sleep in conse-
quence of which serious accidents follow
ed. In the latest development of the sys-
tenn the human element is largely elimi-
mated by means of "interlocking' the sig
nal-levers in two successive towers. By a
combination of mechanical devices each
lever that moves signal is locked in POSI-
ton by a man in the tower at the farther
end of the block section, and can only be
unlocked with the latter's cooperation.
Few persons have any idea of the vast
number of signals in general use, and
while it is understood that red flag indi-
Gates danger, the glittering of a myriad
of lights as the train glides through a
freight-yard conveys to the average per-
son only a suggestion of meaningless con-
fusion But the glimmer of the lantern
and the waving of a tattered bit of red
cloth follow. in every instance. a fixed
rule. set down in the code.
One OF the striking exemplfcations of
the Improvements in the new code is
found under the head of Audible Signals"
and applies to the use of the engine-whis-
tie. AS late as 1881 the whistle signals
in use on the various roads of the country
differed considerably Thus for example.
on some railways, one short blast repre-
scented in the code by O, was the signal
Apply brakes, stop. Otner roads, now
ever, used two short blasts, 90, to express
the same thing, but on the majority of
them 90 meant Release brakes, start"
A dozen or more roads expressed the lat
ter order by two long blasts, represented
in the code by two dashes. thus - -"
In the highway signal even
greater differences existed. On the New
York Central and Hudson River Railroad
the approach to a highway was indicated
by one long blast, -" the Cheasa-
peake and Ohio Railroad used two long
followed by two short blasts - - o
o." the same signal being in use on the
Pennsylvania system. Other roads had
other signals. In the new code the fol-
lowing are the uniform whistle signals
adopted, the symbols being used, as all
ready explained:
ENGINE STEAM WHISTLE SIGNALS.
Sound. Indication.