The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-04-25
RAILROAD WORLD.

 From the Cincinnati commercal-Tribuna. The perfection to which the safety sig naling of trains has reached on the Queen and Crescent route is the subject of an interesting article on the new automatic electric motor and gas signals which hava been installed throughout the entire length of the line. appearing in the cur rent Issue of The 400. a journal of travel This block signal service insures the highest degree of safety for the travel ing public which railroads have yet been able to plan.
 Travellers have noticed at intervals of every mile along the Queen and Crescent route signal posts
 Stated simply, these show the presence of a train on the mile of track ahead to an approaching train, and the engineers of trains are thus warned of the near ness of any train on their track.
 The 400 has this to say:
 The average traveller is almost wholly unaware of the perfection to which the safety-signaiing of trains has obtained on the best American railroads.
 The Queen and Crescent-from Cincn- natl to Chattanooga and the south--was the first single-traelx in the world to take up the question of automatic signaling to the exterme extent; the first single track road to introduce the use of con- tinuous block automatic signals; and the C., N. o. X T. P, proper ss the only sim ge-track road in the world that is prac- tically blocked through its entire length with the automatic signal.
 Three distinct types of automatic sig nals are used on this line:
 First, the elocltworle or revolving disk signal; secondly. the nclosed disk sig mol; third, the semaphore signal.
 These three styles of signals represent the first type of automatic signals In the progress made In automatic signalling as pertaining to railroads
 The semaphnre type of signals ss tho only type of automatic signal now being installed.
 Of the inclosed disk there are three different types, which represent the pha- ses of development in this particular kind of signal
 Of the semaphore signal there are five different types of mechanism employed, representing four developments of the electro motor semaphore signal, and last the newest development of automatic semaphore-the gas signal.
 The automatic electro gas semaphore signal Is the latest type that Is being installed on railroads.
 
 road to install one of this kind of sig nals
 This form of signal derives It's operating force from the gas tank that is stored In an underground casing Immediately alongside the signal pole.
 This tank holds a sufficient quantity of liquid carbonc acid gas. stored at a very high pressure. for operating the signal six months
 There are two of these tanks at each signal and when one is exhausted the other fig immediately thrown into ser vice. and the empty tank sent fin to be re- charged.
 The control of the outlet of the gas from the tank to the operating mechan- ism of the signal itself Is accomplished by the regulating screw and diaphragm, which are adjusted to allow the desired pressure to be applied in to operating mechanism.
 The control of the pressure itself Into the operating mechanism is taken care of by a valve that Is automatically oper- ated by set of electro magnets.
 In each one of these signals there Is duplex regulator and catch. so that the signal inspector can tell at a glance the pressure in the main gas tank, and also in the operating mechanism.
 The method of operating these signals Is somewhat as follows:
 When the block is unoccupied the con- 
 cult of the electro magnets immediately on the interior of the signal post.
 When this Is done the valve control- ing the inlet of gas to the operating me- chanism Is open, and gas at a pressure of 45 pounds 10 the square inch is allowed to enter a cylinder which is attached to the up-an-down rod of the signal spec tacle.
 The method of procedure is that the pressure of the gas in the cylinder pushes this piston up the motion is in turn by a crank transmitted to the spectacle1cast- ing and the signal assumes the pro ceed' position.
 When the signal has reached the full "proceed" position, through a back lever attached to the mechanism, the inlet valve of gas is automatically cut off and the signal is held in the proceed" position or ablock unoccupied' position. by lever attached to the back strap of l the electro magnets.
 When a train enters the block the con- trolling relays of the track circuit are de- energized and the electro magnets of the | signal itself in turn de-energized.
 The back strap of these magnets is re- leased and through this connecting lever kicked off from the magnets.
 The signal then assumes the stop position quickly from the force of gray ity, there being at all times a weight of about 125 pounds attending to force the signal to this position.
 The signal just before reaching the full | stop" position is checked by the action of the gas cylinder which has now been turned into an air dash pot. and from the rapid motion has accumulated a certain amount of air in the cylinder that acts as a cushion when the signal is assum- ing It's position.
 This prevents the heavy weight from going to the "stop" position with Jar. The statement of Auditor Moiloy. is- sued yesterday shows the gross earnings of the Cincinnati. New Orleans ana Texas Pacific railroad for the month of March, 1904 were S572 401.
 This Is an increase of s46,0o2 over the same month last year.
 The gross earnings for the fourth week cf March this year, however, showed a
 ht decrease of sSeS from the same