The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1907-10-17
NEW SIGNAL LIGHTS
WRITER MAKES A SUGGESTION
THAT SEEMS PERTINENT.
Present System, He Says, Gives Need
less Labor to the Memory ana
Attention - '. ould Make
Semaphore Luminous.


The present system of block SIG
nails at night is III adapted not u
the eve alone-it gives needless labo'
to the memory and the attention
requires the engineer, among the Ill
Vulnerable lights that lines his track
to distinguish those which are Il
guide him from those that are o.
no significance to him at all.
Any one who has ridden in the car
OF an express locomotive during itS
| frantic course by night and seen the
engineer as by miracle pick out MS
white signal amid swarm of near
| by city lights of a hue identical with
| the one that must direct him; seen
| him, also. with an almost mysterious
confidence rush past countless red
and green lights, knowing that they
were not for him, but were switch
/ lights or lanterns guarding the reai
of some neighborine train, or were
signals for slow trains. for cross
overs and a host Of things besides
as one dashes recklessly through this
maze OF colored lights he can no
longer wonder that signals are occa-
sionally misread or unobserved. He
can only marvel, declares George Nj.
Stratton in the Century, that night
express ever reaches its goal in
safety.
Added then, to tle perils due to
the defects of the eye both normal
and abnormal, the present block sig
mails have this serious fault: They
do not stand out distinct and apart
from numberless other lights that
suddenly appear to the engineer, but
to which he is expected to give no
heed
The plan that | would propose
would be to use throughout the "a
hours the kind of signal which is now
employed only by day. This could
be accomplished simply by making
at night the vane of the semaphore
luminous.
AS in our cities lights are arranged
in lines and letters to catch the at
tention, so here the signal could be.
come a fiery arm pointing outward or
down, or, if need be, midway between
these directions at will. Such line
of fire would be strikingly different
from the usual lights of buildings or
of streets
1t would also, both in quality and
in form, stand out entirely distinct
from all the colored lights whose use
upon the railway 1t may, in the end
seem wise to continue for purposes
other than the block signal A CON
tinuous line of light, moreover. would
be visible at far greater distance
than is the present single light.
The glowing signal lights would
best be white, and of course should
not change in tint in order to convey
their message. This would at once
remove all need of discerning whether
the line burned white or green or req
with all the risk which the distinction
brings.
me mechanical difficulties of in
Producing the new form of signal
would not be great. A row of half
a dozen oil lamps stretched along the
'front.' of the signal arm-lamps of the
type at present used in the block svs.
ten-could only be counterpoised In
prevent their interference with the
proper action of the mechanism
which controls the arm.
Even with such lanterns the neU
system would have an immense su.
perlority over the old, but no ono
should regard these weak lights nc
more than a makeshift. for what is
needed is something that
VIII penetrate the smoke and mist
and storm
On roads where electricity is NOR
Inc motive power the best iluminant
Tor the new signal would perhaps he
gas stored under pressure in tanks
gas such as is used in MANY of o,r
'aii"ay cars or in the gas buoys set
ilohs our shores by the government,
since these buoys burn intended e..
months in storm or calm # wouId
seem mat such light might well he
adapted to illuminate the semanbora
irm.
FOR II a line of oil lamps were
ised the temptation would be stron,
o economic in weight. and con.
'equentiy IN oil capacity, and thus fo
rave only moderate hrilIio,.
Vhere a powerful light is neadod