Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-01
BOYLE HEIGHTS INVENTOR is
SUCCESSFUL
APPLIANCE MAY SOLVE BIG
PROBLEM
William r. Gardner Works Out Life
Saving Apparatus Which Railway
Men Believe Will Be Uni
versaIIy Adopted

ond street, has perfected fender which
experts declare will solve the problem of
safety for the walking and riding pub
lie.
This fender. according to- claims, will
pick up a railway crosstie or a mans
hat from the track; will gently lift
small child from position of danger or
prevent disaster from heavy obstruc-
ton on the roadway
Tenders heretofore invented have
shown a marked tendency to ride heavy
distractions or to buckle back and allow
the obstruction to derail the car The
Gardner appliance will scoop obstacles on
the track even If they happen to be a
horse or a heavy truck. This fender
will support any weight up to 1900
pounds. Other appliances of the sort,
according to mechanics, would crumple
like handful Of hairpins under such
weight.
1t is claimed for the Gardner fender that
it would probably keep the car from be-
ing derailed by striking and acting as a
buffer for anything like an immovable
object, thus saving the passengers inside
the car from possible injury
Folds Under the Car
The Gardner fender has a feature
which appeals strongly to railroad men.
1t can be folded beneath the car in five
seconds while the motorman stands on
the platform and could be thrown out OF
the way at any time without stopping the
car or even slowing down. 1t can ebe
folded under while the car sweeps around
a dangerous curve in the country runs
| 1t can be applied to any electric car In
existence without difficulty.
| The Boyle Heights mans invention Is
| the only one which does not interfere
with the coupler and can be used with
,,fao tio,, ,ha,, for al
draws or is drawn by another car. The
fender provides flexible wire netting In
which 1t catches the unfortunate who
| finds himself in the path of a speeding
car. 1t doesn't interfere with the head
| light on airy car and Is so simple In de-
| sign that it can be constructed in any
machine shop and without special ma
chinery.
| Street car men in Los Angeles have
pronounced the Gardner fender the most
satisfactory of anything in its line yet
worked out In the brain of an inventor.
1t is not unsightly and when not in use
presents no ugly mass OF iron straps
dangling on the end of a car.
Made In Los Angeles
The Gardner appliance can be hung
close to the end of car which is built
with rounding deadwoods. Other tenders
with rigid square lines cannot be so APP
piled, but must stand away outside.
A full size working model Of Gardeners
fender has been constructed at the Har-
rison machine Eshops, I'LL North Main
street, and is ready to be put on any car.
On account of the litigation now pending
on the fender question the apparatus mas
not been put into service.
| One big railway system in Los Angeles
which favors the Gardner fender has de-
cided to await the outcome of the pres
ent litigation or the modification OF the
ordinance.
If the ordinance is made reasonable 1t
is claimed most of the cars In Los An
geles will be fitted with the life-saving
device inside of two months. Tne ap-
paratus will be built in the carshops in
or near Los Angeles.
Railway officials have shown their de-
sire to settle the fender question in a
way that will assure safety to the public
and to the railway employees
Favored by Officials
1--WE have no inclination to put fen
der on our cars which will sway ana mop
around and threaten derailment when
reasonable speed is acquired In cross
country runs said an official yesterday
ere a reasonable and broad ordinance
is adopted we shall go ahead with the
Gardner fender, making them In our own
shops. and have the affair settled. ihis
fender is much more practical anu SAT-
hut the restrictions are such as to make
n impossible at present. We want TO
nrotect the public, and for this reason we
do not want to adopt an unsatisfactory
appliance" 49,, g..
IT am convinced I have solved the ZEN
der problem and can go anywhere III INC
world where the laws are ralr anu put
nv fender on any sort OF car OF any
motive power and safeguard both pedes-
TRANS and passengers" said Mr.. GARD
ner Yesterday. my fender can pc maze
to hang at any distance from the ran,
from half an inch to eighteen incnes: II
oar he applied to any car in a snort
tirne In interurban runs where speed is
absolutely essential my fender insures
nerfect safety. For this reason IL VIII
donbtless be adopted all over the worlo
where tenders are required
is Natural Inventor
Mr. Gardner was formerly carpenter
and has lived in Boyle Heights ABOUT tWo
Years. He came to Los Angeles nVe years
ago from Kentucky, where ne was 80
He Is a natural inventor ana since ny
hood has spent his spare hours ~ u, e..
ing models and machines one % us ,s,otnr
r,hfnh was a great success from spec
t.a,,Iar standpoint, but lacked one essen
tial-power. ,,,ere INVENT
Mr.. Gardeners ancestors were lnven
ors. his father having given Inc ,anv
valuable threshing machine. IN many many
niaces in kentucky and Tennessee may
pr PAGES te,,nd some of the old patterns OF the
Dg sTe of the South" which for over
quarter of century have been s sdn at
, Hu@ the wheat from the chaf Tor the
sturdy S farmers of those states. ~ :. ~.
It was at the old Gardner r.a mn county
mos.t,,o,Sv that Gardner first got ms
machinery.
Among the inventions Of the ,, Soy Sis
HEIGHTS tss genius is an eraser, which n,s
friends friends believe will make him large
fortune. 10 rardine in
H ,nea, courts the inventor is quietly
going ni about his business in negotia.in,g
With several street railway systems IN
southern cities for the rights to place nv
fender on their cars.