Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-07

All wires TO he Thoroughly Insu-
lated In Heavy Metal COMMUNICATIVE
Cars Are to he Fire, Collision, Heat
and Noise Proof-Fittings and Fur
nishings to he NoncombustibIe.
"All future passenger equipment of
the Pennsylvania railroad will be made
of steel. The necessity of providing
noncollapsible, absolutely 6reproof pas
Senger cars for the New York tunnel
has simply fastened the day when this
transformation must take place. The
car of the future must be as safe as
engineering science can make it."
Such was the declaration recently
authorized by a high official in the mo-
tive power department of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad, says the New York
| Times. 1t followed the examination of
reports which have been made on the
cost and performance of the new
Pennsylvania coach, No. 1,651, the first
all steel passenger car to be built in
the world. This car has been placed
temporarily on one of the company's
regular local runs, and most minute
reports are being made as to it's work.
The future passenger equipment is to
be Of steel, therefore; not only steel
! frame and box, but steel and noncom-
buStible material in every particular.
This will involve a very large expendi-
| ture of money, but the management
feel that no expense should be spared
to remove the danger from fire and
collision in future railroading.
| The decision now definitely reached
will call for 1000 unburnable railroad
company cars to be ready when the
| New York tunnel is completed. 1t will
| also call for some 500 Pullman cars,
which must also be of completely nom
cOmbustible construction. At the re-
quest of the Pennsylvania railroad tho
| Pullman company Is now building the
| first all steel sleeper ever constructed.
1t will be inspected by the Pennsyl-
vania officials at very early date.
| Railroad officials and travellers gen.
orally have been keenly interested in
the result of the Pennsylvania ex-
| pertinent with a new car. Other SO
called steel coaches have been built
notably for the New York subway
but they have been only partly of steel.
The first car to be built anywhere
wherein the main object has been to
secure the elimination of every parti-
Gle of combustible material is No.
1861, the reports on which are just
| now in shape to make 1t possible to
base definite future action upon them.
The new car weighs 1O3.550 pounds,
against "a 900 for the standard wooden
coach, but it is found that the added
weight greatly reduces the vibration
and adds to the comfort of the passen-
gers. No inconsiderable part of the
| additional weight is due to the great
burden involved in carrying storage
batteries and battery boxes All the
new cars are to be lighted by cleo
tricity, and the Pennsylvania will car
ry no gas Illuminated cars of any kind
into its New York tunnel The cleo
trio wires in the new cars are all thor
oughly insulated in heavy metal con-
duits, thus adding to the safety.
The new car is noncollapsible Its
hidden frame is like a cantalever
bridge, suspended on the trucks as
piers. This safety against telescoping
is secured by the use of enormous steel
Orders, the principal feature in the
body of the car being central box
girder twenty-four inches wide by
nineteen inches deep, extending
throughout the length of the coach.
In the past railroads have found that
when trains have collided and the body
of one car rose above the body of the
next there was a tendency for the
underframe of the first car to sweep
the superstructure of the second car
ment this is prevented by the extraor-
binary strength in the door and vesti-
bule end posts, which are, of course, of
very heavy rolled steel.
To show something of the effort
made TO make this car absolutely fire.
proof it is only necessary TO state that
the flooring throughout the car and
platform consists of an imitation of
stone spread while in plastic state
over the steel plates of the car. The
framing above the windows is COM
posed of steel plates. The doors are
composed of steel plates pressed into
a shape initiating the wooden doors
used in other cars and filed with cork
to deaden the sound. The roof is con-
structed of composite boards covered
with fireproof paint.
1t is the policy of the Pennsylvania
to eliminate eventually even the small
est amount. of wood or other burnable
material in its cars. In the expert
mental car the seats are of steel
frame. covered with fireproof plush.
The foot rests are also of steel. For
the present the arm rests are of wood,
but experiments are now being made
with various metals in the effort to
secure noneombustible material
which will not be cold to the touch.
In the planning of this car no ex.
pense has been spared to build a coach
which should provide the greatest pos
sible strength steel framing which