Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
'PHONED FROM TRAIN
Great Railroad Safeguard Said
to Be a Success.
GOING 20 MILES AN HOUR
Operator on Kentucky Railroad
Makes Connection With New York.
APPARATUS NOT COMPLICATED
Conversation Had With Cincinnati
and Other Points-Louisville
is the Inventor.

LOUISVILLE, December 22-From a
railroad train running at speeds varying
from fifteen to thirty-fve miles an nour
telephone conversations were held with
Louisville, Cincinnati Madison, Ind. and
other points yesterday by means of an APP
pl1ance invented ny DR.. AlVa P. Jones of
Louisville. for which he is said to have re-
fused 500 900 offer made by Chicago par
ties.
Men who were on the train for the Fur
pose of tseting the working of the system
declared that it is the greatest railroad
safeguard since the invention of the air.
brake, as it enables train dispatchers to
communicate directly with crews on NOV
ing trains and gives such crews the same
facility of communication with each other.
Sends Message Successfully.
The test made from train on the
Carrollton and Worthwhile branch of the
Louisville and Nashville. along a stretch of
track which had been equipped for the pur
pose. From staff correspondent aboard
Louisville newspaper received this mes
sage through the apparatus while the train
was going twenty miles an hour:
Train No. 6, c. &W. r. R, between Car
rollton and Worthwhile. Ky, December 81
The train is running at "a speed of about
twenty miles an hour. The test is made
under adverse conditions the weather be-
ing muggy and the atmosphere Cead.
I'm the party maki~g the observations,
besides the inventor, Theodore Harris,
president OF the Louisville National Bank
ing Company: Judge John c. StrOther of
Louisville. Attorney James B. Duncan of
Carrollton. l. w. Orrell, manager of the
CarrolltOn Telephone Company, and James
Gale, president and general manager of the
Carrollton and Worthwhile railroad The
train is in charge of Conductor srles
Hughes and Engineer James Monyhan.
Connection With New York Made.
Successful conversation has been held
with Cincinnati and other points. An at
tempt was made to talk with Melville E
Stone. president of the Associated Press.
New York. The New York connection was
obtained, but owing to heavy weather con-
ditfons in the east the conversation was
not satisfactory
The Louisville and Worthwhile Long Dis
lance Telephone opera ors said they Lem
selves We're unable to talk with the New
York operators with any success. The mem
bers of the party believe that the success
of the invention is established.
Contact by Trolley.
The apparatus carried on the train con-
sisted of an ordinary telephone equipment.
and the connection with local exchanges
was obtained by means of two heavy cop
per wires, stretched along the track at the
distance of five feet, and about three feet
above the ground.
Contact between the train and lie wires
was maintained by form of trolley con-
nected with the locomotive boiler. This
trolley is made of gaspipe and carries two
small tanks filled with chemical mixture
through which steam is fed to make a
chemical induction at a distance which
may vary from half an inch to Tree feet,
allowing for all vibrations sway of the
train.