The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-29

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livery traveller has noticed the
IN condition of railroad cars at the
II. conclusion of long journey.
They are Uttered from end to
end with every imaginable kind OF
rubbish that passenger could carry
on board. Greasy papers with which
lunches have been wrapped lie about
in the aisles and on the seats. Peanut
husks, banana peelings, passe fruit,
n1ingle with old newspapers, discarded
books and railroad folders, and over
all. If the weather has been dry and
dusty, there is a layer of CRIME that
completes the scene Of desolation.
Yet these cars started on the trip
practically as fresh and clean as the
day they left the shops, and, despite the
accumulation of rubbish, are spotless
when few hours later they are again
put into commission for the return.
How it can be so effectively done is
one of the wonders Of modern rail-
roading, at least from the viewpoint Of
the habituaI traveller.
When one of the big passenger trains
pulls into st. Paul from any point OF
the compass the question is suggested
and while each of the railroads has It's
own special method of cleansing the
rolling stock, the end is the same in
each case.
The engine is uncoupled and taken
away for the expert attention of the
wipers, and the train is taken up by
switch engine and shunted to a side
track which is all ready to receive it.
The cars are carefully backed in and
pushed along until the end coach
stands close to a pipe that apparently
comes up from under narrow board
walk. One Of the men couples up the
end Of the pipe with the steam pipe that
carries heat to the car, while it is in
use on the road Then the man opens
a shut-off in the mouth of the pipe
and the gurgle that follows shows that
steam is again circulating through the
arteries of the cars.
Keep Empty Cars Warm
This is done to prevent the cars
from freezing up while they are be-
ing cleaned and made ready for an
other trip, for in cold weather the
freezing of the water that has collected
in the pipes would result in the total
disablement of the car and possibly
in serious damage in case the pipes
should burst from the force of the ex-
panding ice.
This much is done by all the roads,
but from this point the similarity
ceases. On the Northern Pacific, as
soon as the North Coast limited is laid
out for the cleaning process, the jani-
tors first scrub the floors and wood
work of the day coaches and sweep
the floors of the Pullmans. Then a
second delegation applies a weak So
luton of formaldehyde. Before this is
applied the upholstery is subjected to
the action of the air brush, which is
a device that literally blows all the
dust out of the heavy stuffs and raises
the nap of the fabrics so that they
appear almost new.
The air brush is equipped with nu-
merous small vents along its outer sur
face and compressed air is forced
through them against the surface of the
upholstery. The effect of the small
streams of air is to Immediately en-
liven the plush and remove everything
from it that could be removed by the
most vigorous hand brushes.
The disinfectant is not strong enough
to cause any discomfort to the passen-
gers when the car is again in service,
but as a very minute portion of it is
sufficient to kill any germs of disease
that may have accumulated during the
journey the single application of the
stuff is sufficient to be effective in this
respect.
Series of Experiments
1t took some time to discover exactly
the right proportion of formaldehyde
to mix in the solution and some of the