The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-01-17
RAILROAD
RUMBLlNCS.
Freight Train is Wrecked at
Martel.
LOCAL ERIE employees
Perfect an Invention That
May Prove a Winner.
r
Officials Inspect Marion Transfe
House with a View of Making
Extensive Improvements.

Extra Erie freight train No. 1900
east bound in charge of conductor
Larnius, was peculiarly wrecked at
Caledonia at 1890 o'clock this morn
ing The train consisted of forty five
heavily loaded cars, and when pull
ing out of siding at Caledonia,
broken break beam caught on a
switch frog and derailed box car,
which was heavily loaded with flour.
The derailed car was not noticed by
the conductor, and the train pulled
out of Caledonia, dragging the car
on the ties. The car bumped along,
damaging the rails and ties until the
train reached Martel, when it was
finally discovered. 1t was necessary
to call the Gallon wrecking crew and
the damaged car was removed. The
flour was badly damaged. That a
serious wreck did not OCCUR was lit
tie less than miraculous, as bolts
were cut off and spikes torn out all
along the line between Caledonia
and Martel.
w. II. Hartsough, travelling pass
enger agent of the Hooking Valley,
with headquarters at Columbus, was
looking after business at the local
station for a short time this morning.
Several important changes have
been effected in the program at
the transfer house. The night force
has been laid off on account of
the great slack i'll freight traffic.
The hours of the office force have
been changed and instead of going
on duty at S o'clock IN the morn
ing, the office will open at |
. clock in the afternoon and con-
tinuc open until last mail is out
at night which is about O'Clock /.
The electric light plant will shut
down at S O'Clock also. Since the
night force has been discharged
there are exactly 10 men employed
at the plant
There are two local railroad men
whose great inventive genius i,
gainin" for them wide rcpuia Il,
ton, not only among the officials
Of the Erie company but numcrou.
other companies rs well. ThcS,
two EdisonS' ARE none other thar
NJ. a. Gee, and Lloyd Thomas
foreman and assistant foreman oi
the local Erie interlocking plant
Perhaps there is no other qucs
tion which has been more perplcX
ing in the minds of interlockin.
experts. than the one of how {,
keep the apparatuses in work,m!
order during IA heavy snow storm
or freezing rain. The snow an,
ice packs hard between the eros,
bars and soon knocks the lachin
cry cut of commission. The onI,
way that u railroad company cal
keep its interIocking plant il
working order during ii heavy snoy
is TO employe from twenty TO thir
: ty men to scoop snow away froa
the sliding bars of the switches
This morning, for instance the Fri
had twenty men working about it
yards doing nothing but keeping til
snow ont Of The interlcckers.
Thomas and Gee have lai
awake nights thinking of som
plan by means of which this extr
trouble could he done away with
They finally received an insp;ra
, ton and the problem is solved
They have invented an apparatu
which will either burn gasoline o
/, natural gas and will lie beneat
, the intcnocking rats and furnis
= sufficient heat to melt all the sno,
> and ice that could collect in thre
days. During IA snow storm thes
apparatuses will be fired and tn
switches will be kept as warm a
on d summer day.