Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-29


 pie matter to build freight caA which will not burn, but passenger car, which must be furnished and decorated to meet modern demands. presents unusual difficulties. The or dinary materials used by the deco rator and upholsterer must be re- placed by clever limitations. The car frames, the structural portions and the outside sheathing are of course of steel, no other material being suit able. Much of the interior work of the cars again is made of steel, which can be worked up into innumerable forms. In order to initiate, wood, sheets of composite material made of compressed vegetable pulp or asbestos are used. Another form of decorative material consists of sheets of steel to which fibre or asbestos board has been glued.
 The coverings used for the seats and even the carpets on the floors are chemically treated to render them proof against fire. The floors of the cars are covered with corrugated steel plates which are covered with cement. Even the paints used in the cars are so composed that they will not produce any smoke or dangerous fumes in case of fire. The construc- ton of steel cars has become of late, years not only a science but an art It will soon be possible for one to travel in a car and enjoy every lux ury of modern travel with the assur. ance that these palaces on wheels are not death traps. The first of these infiammable cars were merely de- signed for ordinary day travel, but 1t is the plan eventually to have all types of cars constructed with the same care. Several types of sleep, ing cars, dining cars and combina- tion cars have been designed and are now in process of construction.
 The history of railroad accidents shows that the breaking up of pas senger cars is very common. A con. siderable proportion of the injuries and of the lives lost Is therefore due to the weakness of car construction. The new cars are so designed that they may roll completely over without danger of collapse. A long series of experiments have been carried on of late to determine the exact strain upon cars in variety of accidents. The exact force exerted in head-on collision, for instance, has been meas. ured within few pounds. The cars. having been constructed as the result of these measurements, will, 1t is be- lieved, be capable of withstanding any strain which may be placed upon them.
 The development of the steel pas senger car has been the work of but . few years. When steel cars were proposed for the New York subway not a single car builder in the coun- try was in a position to furnish them. One of the earliest of these cars was . 5s-foot passenger coach with a steel frame and steel outside sneatn- ing as high as the roof. The roof was made of wood covered with cop per. A single car of this type con tained 1,5oo pounds of wood. The next car. completed in November. 1907, contained practically no wood. Designs are now being prepared for . 70-foot dining car which will contain but 300 pounds of wood. the car be- ing constructed of steel and com posite board. An all steel sleeping car has recently been completed and Is now on exhibition at the James town exposition. It closely resembles The standard wooden car except in the finishing of its interior. which Is delicate pearl gray in color instead of the usual highly polished natural