The San Francisco call., 1903-09-06

N INVENTIVE genius and mechanical
ingenuity are being continually taxed
TO provide some new form OF amuse-
ment, or rather, venturesOmeness, TO
catch the notice and nickels Of the
multitudes that throng our pleasure re-
sorts on every holiday occasion
The Ferris Wheel" scenic railway" q"
'Ioop-the-loop" and other contrivances
have come in their turn and have had
their day OF popularity, but the crowd
IS always ready for something new and
thrilling.
An electrical engineer OF New York
P X. Stern-now comes forward with
contrivance which proves the scientific
American is fully calculated TO tickle the
sluggish sensations Of the most blase.
This apparatus is intended to furnish
the delightfully."- horrible experience Of a
head-on collision, without, however, in
5uring the passengers who are seated In
the railway cars employed.
Stern's system is remarkable chiefly
for the daring conception which It ex-
presses and for The exceptional skill
shown In devising mechanism absolutely
safe in its operation. In Il a single track
is used, on which railway cars are caused
10 travel, either IN the same or opposite
direction When one car meets another,
A. simply rides over the roof Of the oppos-
ing car on specially provided rails, gently
rolls down on the other side upon the
track and proceeds upon its way as If 1t
had never left the roadbed. The photo
graphs herewith reproduced were taken
from an electrically-driven working
model. made strictly according TO scale.
The cars. although they run upon
wheels, are really travelling bridges with
overhanging compartments for the ac-
cOmmooation OF passengers. Over the
framed structure OF the cars thus con-
stituted. an arched track is carried, Sc
curely fastened TO the car and serving
the purpose Of providing a roadbed for
the colliding car. This superimposed
track is built IN accordance with we'll
understood principles Of bridge construc-
con. The outer ends OF each superim-
posed track are designed to form with
the surface OF the roadway an overhead
switch provided with specially formed
pilots and with a horizontal axis and a
vertical axis. Upon each horizontal axis
the respective outer portions of the
arched track can swing vertically. and
upon the vertical axis the track can
swing 10 a limited extent from side TO
side. The pilots OF the superimposed
track are automatic IN their operation
When they strike the car ahead thev
Immediately travel up the inclined super
imposed way OF that car thereby guild
ing the car TO which they are themselves
has passed over the car below it, the
rear pilot as IL descends Will be lifted
and Will gradually drop by gravity to the
roadbed. The permanent roadbed upon
which the cars normally travel and the
superimposed track on each car are of
different gauges. The wheels of the car
resemble those which were once used on
old-fashioned cable railways, formed as
they are with a broad middle fiange trav-
cling In a centrally grooved track, with
lateral portions Of smaller diameter sus-
tained by hanges which flank the central
groove OF the track
As the Illustrations show, the forward
ends Of the pilots OF the superimposed
tracks are provided with rollers and skids
which are so designed that one car shall
mount the other without shock The
the car ahead and sufficiently elevate the
rollers Of the pilots TO permit them TO run
upon the superimposed narrow gauge
track without jar. The car itself follows
with q motion equally as gentle In
actual practice cars of 1I-feet 6 inches
in length viii be employed. the extreme
length being 4S feet
The passengers will find accommoda-
tons in the car bodies arranged along
each side Of the travelling structure and
provided with removable roof and sides
in order to permit ready means of ingress
and egress. The top OF the rail is only c
feet above the base rail. In actual prac-
uce the cars will be run at a speed about
ten TO fifteen miles an hour and will be
caused TO collide at about eight miles an
hour, which VIII be quite sufficient for