The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03
no CAR ELECTRICITY PROOF.
RrTrROss ~ WEsL stGERp1AS
COegFR shGtTHFD ONEa
susway gtpr a1mps lhs s-appsssNHy eve.
eysaS tees etFst eve " fBeag
Zee sst ~ ~ mlssaattsap8 a"Vafa
AeeigegVs n Nesf eelWsHf taN4 "

egsgs tees etsst eWf ~ rHeag
u sef ~ ~ elssuatl8ap9 a"Nag2
teeiasWt" n WNsf @sswaNt taWs "
fhs M IN ~ -,twsy m gfstsy svpniaa
Demonstrated tsH things thaf e1pfef
shsashsd ears ere nrf AfepeuSf ssd thss
M sven no @eei aafa sfs enslrs'y sfs
aasinf ~ eiecf ~ eivfaH9
Nv iel lds after the Paris Nttrssy No
IN shlch ia fsfsYea sess Riiisd vlcss
rtestteHt Hvysn N fha fhtsFtufuuah -.
rfranrt en- oplnibH fhat IN ehrHfhsd
osfa ssfa safe aealRa hre IN FHdsY
nlah me ahrafhlne waa mt dsarogsd,
hut tho cara sera ruined, Ill the
sork heins pfa~lcally aoas Tm n
tors ant thw proeeeted parts " ths my
ine appsfafua wefu MT dHmanrd fn'irh.
ipcau@ hoy wefe opvefed VIII asherfoal
Tho sselcsr In ih~ accid~nt suffered thfouah
ttr mai'tne ~ Ne install ~ The in,@naa
slec' fic current but n was mt ~ darnafed
that v cannot be repaired easily,
Al evidoncsa N The accideut Were -.
moved from the mibwey syon after daytiam
Yesterday, buf TIN odof 81 the amoh re-
MANNED all day Thousands ~ passengers
craned their necks hon passing tho suens
~ tho accident hut all thsy could go
were tho blackened sides ~ the pillars
and walls whers %workingmsn we're busy
fsing np the tracks.
Angus, Belmont, president 81 tho com-
paay said yesterday that the fire was due
TO What hs called q yard accident and
added
Men In switching empty oars never win
and never can he expected 90 exercise the
-. ma a. y ~ 49, 1.ea tatnRtaR
trains loaded with passengers, - that u is
not likely that we shall ever have any suca
accident with trains loaded with passen-
gers"
MIR. Belmont also called attention to the
fact that tho independent lighting system
was In working order for half an hour after
the collision and asserted;
The public can always be SURE that no
matter what may happen in the way Of an
accident in the subway the passengers
will always have light e~noughto enablet them
to make their way in safety to the nearest
station.
We shall never put any moro wooden
cars in the subway. From now on all
the new cars will be Of steel and absolutely
freproof. We can't throw our present
cars into the scrap heap. and they are too
hea Wy for the elevated roads,
The bottom fioor Of the sheethed ca rs
is of maple, a slow burning wood. Above
this floor is a layerof rolled fire felt an eighth
of an inch thick and above that is the maple
flooring upon which the people walk. All
the floor timbers and stills are coated with
fireproof paint and on the underside OF the
car is composition called t~ransite, q quarter
of an inch thick This composition IL COM
posed of asbestos and in its preparation
silicate Of soda and magnesia are used.
The motor and control wires are coated with
asbestos and laid in oonduits lined with
asbestos. The copper. ~sheathing. Is ono
thirty-second OF an inch thick and reaches
to the car windows.
In speaking of this kn Of car Vice.
President Bryan said in 1908:
Il don't see how any fame could get
hold on such a car. There are to be fadh-
off the power along the division. in case
of an emergency. There will be hydrants
all along the subway for the use In case
of fire, and if there should be a fire the VEN
tilation is such that everybody could get
without being, suffooated. We have
and many tests with special reference to
fire, and every safeguard that could be
devised has been adopted
Mr.. Bryan yesterday. gave out a state
in the accident had been much exagger-
He asserted that the copper sheath
on the two cars that were burned was
uninjured, and added:
on the whole the two cars acted very
well. The woodwork was naturally very
much charged by the flames and the enor-
nous heat. No matter what the material
may be it cannot stand the heat generated
by a powerful electric current. There was
a considerable amount of stun burned as
the result of the short circuit when one
of the cars fell over against the third rail.
The wooden sheathing Of the rail, the in
~sulation around the wires and other in
aammable stuff caught fire and caused a
great deal of smoke. h motors and
general equipment OF the affected cars,
however, were found to be in very good
condition.
There is absolutely nothing that is proof
against a heavy short circuit Mr., Bryan
added later, that is, no material Of which !
anything in which it comes in
contact, IL the contact remains long enough.
/ make the statement frankly. When we
got those copper sheathed cars they repre-
the highest advance in that line.
They we're absolutely the best idea in pro-
tecting cars from fire. We still regard
them as ~fireproof to ordinary fires and 30
we shall continue to use them, but we should
not think of putting any new oars into the
subway unless made of steel. The reason
the copper sheathed cars went by the board
oircHit, and nothing can stand against that.
THE steel car was badly dented by the
impact of the explosion and the marks OF
the short circuit are evident. The zane
seats burned but nothing else was DESTROYED,
showing that with the exception Of where
the short circuit current was applied it
the test perfectly: We shall Use no