Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-22
SAFE RAILWAY TRAVEL
Provision to Test Automatic
Signal Devices.
BILL PENDING IN CONGRESS
Host of Appliances Now Before the
I. c. G..
RECORD OF RECENT ACCIDENTS
Action of the German Government In
Establishing Station to Test
Railway Appliances.
RECORD OF RECENT ACCIDENTS

| For the first time in its history II looks as
though Congress intended to give the inter-
| state commerce commission money to ex.
| pertinent with safety devices for the pro-
| lection of the general public. There is a
| law in effect now which compels the use OF
| automatic couplers for the protection OF
| railway employees, and the public partici-
pates TO some extent in the benefit of the
| automatic airbrakes. But both of these de-
vices are primarily for the benefit of the
| employees. Their efficacy is shown In tho
| fact that while the total of railroad acct
| dents and their attendant loss of life has
| increased in this country there has been
| falling off in tho number of employees
| killed. 1t used to be that the employees
| were the chief sufferers and most of the
| individual fatalities were due to coupling
cars But with the compulsory adoption OF
automatic couplers this class of accidents
has diminished. Not all of the rolling stock
of the railroads Is yet equipped with these
| car-safety devices, and the law provided a
term OF years In which the roads would be
compelled to thus protect their employees.
| Tho term of grace has now expired. and
| there are regular reports rendered to the
Department of Justice on which prosecu-
tons are based. There were seventy-eight
| cases certified to the department this week
| against twenty-one railroads.
To Protect the Public.
The number OF collision accidents has
| compelled the attention of the government
| to the need for safety devices to protect the
| travelling public. The last accident bulle-
| tin issued showed that there had been in
the preceding quarter 1912 railway acci-
dents of all sorts. out of which S91 were
| collisions. There had been LISP persons
killed and 1s.66s injured. Compared with
the preceding quarter this was an Increase
of "a passengers killed
One Of the devices that has been pressing
| for an official trial Is rather unique I'm Its
operation and results. Experiments have
been made with 1t on a stretch of railroad
| near Washington and 1t has done all that
\ was claimed for 1t. The next step that the
| owners want is to get 1t officially tried by
the government, In the belief that IL Is
| far ahead of anything else in the same
| line that the railroads will be compelled to
| adopt it, because they cannot afford to re-
| fuse. 1t is called the Born automatic cleo
trio signal and brake. Briefly 1t consists
| of two lights In the engine cab, one red to
| indicate trains approaching head on and
| the other white to show q train approach
| cab of the engine and in front OF the en-
gineer's eyes, 1t is impossible for him
either to disregard it or miss seeing II on
account of fog or smoke. which have been
the causes of some of the most disastrous
railway wrecks.
The principle on which the system works
| IL that the power of electric current Is
proportional to the length OF wire that 1t
1 has to traverse The tracks in this case
are used for one wire and there Is an in
| expensive trolley wire running beside the
track for the return current. In the cab
| of each locomotive is an electric motor to
operate the safety device and the current
furnished by the small dynamo is just half
strong enough to work the motor When
two trains are approaching each other.
however. they get double the power out
of the dynamo, and at whatever distance
the machine is set 1t begins to operate. If
1t Is set for a mile. the lamps In the en-
CINE cabs commence to glow when the
trains have just mile of track and wire
between them. If it is set for 100 yards. the
system does not start to work till that
limit Is reached.
Essential Part Of the System.
But the essential part OF the system IL
that the safety of the train does not de-
pend on the engineer needing the warning
Of the danger lamps. There Is a magnetic
connection between the safety device and
the throttle and air brakes, so that the
engineer may be drunk. dead or asleep. and
when he fails to cut off the steam and put
on the brakes the machine does that II.
self.
witnessed by number of railroad officials
and were said to be remarkably successful.
Trains ware controlled for one mile down
to 300 yards, and the system worked under
all sorts of weather conditions.
The cost of installing the system Is said
not to be great. being about $500 mile
for the track connections and $50 each Tor
the dynamo and motor in the engine cab.
One point of convenience that Is claimed
for the system is that 1t can be used In
dependently Of its safety feature for tele-
phoning or telegraphing from a moving
train, and this is a matter of Importance
to the railroad officials in being able to
keep constantly in touch with their trains
and to the public In being able to SEND
1t is claimed that the use of the system
will enable any railroad to Increase the
density of its traffic 80 per cent with entire
safety. and to crowded eastern roads this
Is q matter Of no small Importance.
Other Safety Devices.
But this is by no means the only device
Of the same general sort that is applying
to the commission for test under the
provisions Of the expected appropriat ton.
There is an application in from e. P. By
ington of New York for test of an auto
matte tripping device. This Is worked by
the pilot of the engine and operates so as
to cut Off the steam and apply the brakes
only If the signal Is set at danger ana
Is disregarded by the engineer.
One of the most ingenious OF the lot ana
there are many. Is from E. q. Gum OF
New Jersey. who has an automatic device
for setting the brakes. and in addition
sprinkies oil on the rails, the theory being
that on the creased rails the wheels Will
revolve without moving forward.
Williams & Waite of Philadelphia nave
an ingenious cab signal system that diners
from most in making use OF alternating cur
rents instead OF the direct current. n w.
Harris is another OF the applicants VINO
has a cab signal system and an automatic
cutoff arrangement, but the disadvantage
Of It Is that 1t requires the use OF an
overhead trolley. There are muiaade
of other schemes Of gong and light signals
and automatic cut offs and interiocking
signals Some of them have their strong