The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-17
MAKING THE THUNDER
Tempest, With Lightning and w,..
EmuIated by Apparatus

w men the snow went up insts.,
down I'm the winter scene Of 60
island Illusion show recently. ,t.ohsl
the biunder OF an unskfIled eng @
the audience laughed and the CO.. Co. lof
lost. Nevertheless, saws the Me-, va
sun. the latter-day Illusion show T. teii
yincing. Is con
Where a couple Of years ago tvye..
fve 10 thirty men were needed -
crate big illusion, now a half ~
VIII suffice. Stationed in front of lei
gantic switchboard covered with rs
dreds OF levers. three or four mon IN
troll the many eontrivauces ~. Ut
every part of the complex scene is a.
| manipulated. Each ship. steamhos.
etc. that moves across the scene -
! stead of being drawn by a stage bsrs
Is under the direct management Of -
operator. These pieces are all ser :.
wheels and run along tiny rails ~
piece Is equipped with an electric -.
tor OF small power. the current is ea--
municated through the rails, and tbr,
the piece can be accurately guided J.
the desired point.
The numberless parts Of scenery a.,
likewise governed from the operator
platform.
New schemes are invented every wa,
to perfect the Illusions The "thurss,
car" is an example. The car Is a hssry
truck weighing about $50 pourss
equipped with four wheels. each 4,
which is corrugated. This vehicle rs5,
in a trough of two-inch plankins. whjrs
extends across the building. a Gistanc,
OF forty feet. At either end Of the csr
is fastened a cable. which runs on
set Of pulleys underneath from one end
of the runway to the other and at.
tached to motor.
AS the car runs back and forward
along this roadway OF planking the cor.
rugated wheels give forth a Tumblme
noise somewhat. similar TO that Of a
VEHICLE crossing a bridge. but multiplied
a hundred times In volume. The car is
directed by the operator. who can
cause it to travel to and fro as rapidly
as he wishes. The sound created close.
ly resembles thunder.
Another great Improvement has beer
made In the device to initiate the
shTieking of the wind. The modem
wind shriek,'r'' consists of a huge "a.
ganized iron funnel. at the bottom o.
which are fifty or more small whistle
OF different shapes and sounds. Under
meath these is the mouth OF a pipe at
tached to q powerful blower. run BY a
motor. The air rushing into the mouth
OF the tunnel at ETSl resembles the
noise Of a gale through areaways and
around corners or whistling through
rigging and trees.
With a slight movement Of the lever
controlling the blower the operator can
cause this device to whistle softly
gradually increasing in intensity until
q cyclone seems about to turn loose.
The terrific crashes which accompany
lightning are produced by streaming
nearIy a hundred One-pound is0n balls
from a height of ten feet upon a steel
plate. -t.
The balls are drawn to the top Of the
"crash" elevator, where they are sus-
pended In a pocket with a touch OF a
lever the operator releases the bottom
of this pocket. and the mass OF iron
globes fall upon the steel plate below.
Then. having created the awful and ter
rifying racket. the balls rush down a
steep trough of heavy planhng. giving
forth a close imitation of the rumbling
that often follows a lightning crash. At
the end Of this trough there Is another
pocket into which the balls gathG
themselves, ready to drop another tea
feet at the operators command. After
which they once more run down to an
other pocket. Following the third cIzsa
the balls scurry to and fro down
board runway. built zigzag fashion,
the thunder effect, and a.
last run into the pocket at the bottom
of the elevator, ready TO be drawn
to the top for a repetition of the storm.