The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-13
TO IMPROVE TRACKS
WESTERN RAILWAY PREPAR- ING TO TAKE KINKS OUT.
A New Adjunct is in Service at the Shops-An Airbrake' School Room for Railroad
 Men.

Work was begun yesterday morning tearing down the coal chutes of the Weetern in the yards of the former shops in North Montgomery.
 then President and General Manager of the Western. commenced the erection of the new shops his objective plan was to get more yard room for the growing To this end he made arrangements with the city, and county authorities to take out the turn where the Jackson Ferry Road joins the extension of North Court Street. Just beyond the old shops the Jackson Ferry Road turns sharply to the right and crosses the network of tracks the Western has in their yards.
 This will be all changed When the old chutes are taken out, the Jackson Ferry Road instead of making the turn at the crossing mentioned will be. ex- tended straight as a die.
 The present route of the extension of North Court Street will also be changed, and instead of running by the old gem eral offices of the Western will be built in straight line from the Court Street p6ass Sna mfEgs Ferry wn This will give the Western room for good many more tracks where the present road lies. on the right of the old shop yards.
 The new coal chutes of the Western is a great improvement on the( old The capacity of the new is 2000 tons of coal. fifteen cars daily being handled there. while the old one only had capacity of about 1000 tons.
 In room on the upper floor of Master Mechanic Frank Walsh's office at the new Western shops is an arrangement that is possibly the only one of its kind in the South. It is an air brake instruc- tion room, fitted up in a manner thor ough and complete in every respect.
 Ranged around the sides of the room ta fhA the iF- brakes on train of eight cars. It is connected with the big air pressure in the shops-for most of the modern tools in the shops are operated by compressed air. Starting from the valve by which an engineer regulates and controls the air in his train the same completeness that there is in a regular train IS oo- served to the last coach, the only dif- are open so as to allow the inner work ings to be seen.
 Most of the big railroad systems have cars fitted up with the air brakes ana ferent divisions instrucfing employees. J. H. Bouchard Is the airbrake instruc- tor at the Western and yesterday morn- ing he had one of his classes, engineers, conductors, etc. He was formerly with the Central in Savannah, and besides be- ing airbrake instructor at the Western has charge of all air pumps in the shops and yards.
 News was received in Montgomery yes- terday of an accident that happened to W. H. Johnson Sunday. Johnson Is reg uiar fiagman between here and Birming- out on the Alabama Mineral. Not being familiar with the road he got down from his train between Anniston and Calera, but instead of stepping on the ground he He was picked up and taken to his home in Birmingham and yesterday was report ed as being in a critical condition. He has a brother, Sid Johnson, running as a freight conductor between here and Birmingham.
 T. M. Upchurch was promoted yesterday from hagman to fireman of one Of the inches in height in his stocking feet end the railroad boys in the North End are wondering how he Is going to double himself up enough to shovel coal from the tank into the firebox.
 An Augusta. Ga. dispatch says:
 vice-President James U. Jackson of the Charleston, Augusta and Chattanooga Railroad Company and general agent here of the Seaboard Air Line: has just re- and announces that he has signed up a contract with John Blair McAfee. rail road contractor of Philadelphia, for the construction of the line between Cha Caaries1
  once and the contract requires comple- ton in eighteen months. Work will be- gin where the Seaboard Air Line crosses the proposed line at Olar, s. C., and pro- ceeds toward both ends at the same time. Completion of this line will bring the Seaboard to Augusta and Charleston over it's own tracks.
 The Louisville and Nashville train No. from the North was nearly six hours late yesterday. not getting out of here for the South until D. m. A train was sent South on time yesterday morning at 11:l5, with the Western connection. General Manager Evans passed through on the delayed train at o'clock, and Chief Engineer Montfort went South on train No. last night.
 The Western train from Atlanta due at 9:20 last night, was two hours late. train No. for New Orleans being held and getting out at Il o'clock,
 HISTORY OF MASTS