New-York tribune., 1901-12-25
rHAr LITERPOoL HORROR.

An accident precisely like that when OCCUR Gu
! - ~ elevated road in Liverpool on Monday
! evening is utterly without a paraliei III 'ne p"'
and certainly should remain so IN lhe iu'"i 6
! Cars have repeatedly taken fire from the oUi
| ing ont of fuse before this. Such lnciue'
| ara observed ON the lines of the Metropoilldh
! Street Railway Company in this city ever! l1"
! weeks and once were only too common on ,ll9
! elevated roads of Brooklyn. Chicago fhiid"e.
phia and other cities have had slIliiiaI eAp'-
! ances in abundance But the injury wrought
! thereby is ordinarily confined 10 properly anu
can generally be repaired at an expense OF oniS
few dollars. 1t only an e1ceptiohdi N @
bnation of circumstances which lea 10 uii
ferent result in England's great seaport. Inc
train was incIosed In tunnel. the motiFe
machinery ceased to operate rather suddenly
from some cause. and large quantl'! VI cleo
soted wooden ties were stored there
Neither the first nor the second OF THESE lac
tors in the situation would have couhteu ioi
much had it not been for the third FIRE nav ing
been communicated from one OF the cars " '0
+ies the tunnel was converted into furnace
from which escape was practically lmpoSSlple'
Now there is not the slightest necessity lol
Introducing infiammable material into the nool
of such passage any more than INTO the "alls
or the ceiling. Still less excuse IS there ioi
using a tunnel for the storage OF uIhpei ue9
tined for service on another part OF the llIe.
Had not this mistake been MADE III lhe sun
wav through which the Liverpool elevated rail-
way extends. there is every reason 10 pelieNe
that Mondays disaster would have been
averted Electric underground roads have been
operated elsewhere for years in succession
without any such trouble. and in all proha-
bilitv they will continue TO be.
Nevertheless this sad event will emphasize a
lesson which is already being slowly learned,
Electricians have long been urging it upon the
attention of railroad managers. but not with
counIete success. A fuse is bit of soft wire
introduced into an electric circuit in such
vay that if an excessive amount of current Is
turned on the ilament will melt, and by inter
rupting the flow prevent harm to the costly
mechanism of the motor. When fuse melts
powerful spark is produced at the gap. ana
thus the adjacent woodwork is liable to take
fire. Such possibility is a constant source of
danger. Here. perhaps, is the weakest point in
an otherwise admirable system of traction.
But there are at least two good ways in
which the deficiency may he met. The imme-
date surroundings of the fuse box. if not the
whole front end of the car might be con-
structed of steel or other absolutely incombus
tible material Or a different device for pro
tecting the motor might he adopted Either
plan would involve extra expense in the equip
ment of car: but, looking at the matter from
a financial point of view alone, the precaution
would be advantageous 1t would reduce the
number Of damage suits to which a railroad
company would be exposed. This consideration
might have weight in quarters where no spe-
cial solictude is felt for the comfort and safety
Of