Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-01-09

TEN the Past Twenty Years With Perfect
Success. During Which Service 1t Has Been
Materially Improved - The N. P. the First
TranscontinentaI Road to Adop. It.
Tacoma News.
The block system is calculated to
make it much safer for moving trains,
and where it is in use collisions can
only occur through very gross care.
lessness on the part of some employe.
For the purpose of operating this sys-
tenn the road is divided into blocks of
certain distances and at each block
signals are fixed. The idea of these
signals are to keep two trains from en-.
tering block at the same time.
The system adopted by the North
ern Pacific is the very latest and far
superior to the block system that was
in use few years ago. In the book
of rules that has just been issued by
the company for the government and
information OF employees the following
definitions are given:
Block station-A place from which
block signals are operated; home
block signal-a fixed signal at the en-
trance of block to control trains in
entering and using said block; distant
block signal-a fixed signal used in
connection with home block signal
to regulate the approach thereto; ad-
vance block signal-a fixed signal
used in connection with the home
block signal to subdivide the block in
advance.
In the operation OF the block system
there is what is known as the positive
block and the permissive block. III
the former but one train at time is
permitted and in the latter two or
more trains are permitted under eau
tionary instructions. On the North
ern Pacific the semaphore is used.
When the red arm is in horizontal
position at the home block it indicates
'stor" When diagonally downward
or the green signal is displayed it in
dicates that the track is clear and the
train may proceed. When the arm
points diagonalIy upward or the yellow
signal is displayed, it indicates that
trains can only proceed under a eau
tion card.
The distant signals convey the fol-
lowing meaning: When the arm
stands ut horizontal or yellow is dis
played, the approaching train is
warned to proceed with caution and be
prepared to stop at the home signal.
When the arm is diagonally downward
or green 10 displayed, it indicates that
the home block is clear and trains
may proceed without coming to stop
at that point.
The block system is operated by tel
egraph, q separate wire being used for
that and no other purpose. 1t is
therefore necessary that any person
employed as . signalman at block
station be a telegraph operator.
The block system on the Pacific
division WILDE in operation between
Auburn and Ellensburg and this is the
way trains will be handled; A train
leaves Auburn going east and it is
then in the block between Auburn and
Covington. The signalman at the
latter place has been notified and he
will allow no train to pase into the
block until the east-bound train
arrives. At the same time the sema-
phore arm at Auburn stands in hori-
zontal position which warns all other
east-bound trains that there is train
already in the block and it cannot be
entered until the train that is bound
east has reached Covington and has
cleared the block at that station. Ae
soon as the east-bound train reaches
Covington the signalman at that sta.
tion notifies the signalman at Auburn
by telegraph and the latter at once
displays the clear signal by dropping
the semaphore arm to diagonal posi-.
ton and there it is kept until another
train enters the block.