Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-02
matically when the engineer does not
see the open switch.
Operation of New Brake

OpGTdlIOn VI iNCW PI dhS
When a switch is opened a clutch is
thrown up on the main track 200 or
300 yards from the switch. If the en-
gineer does not see the open switch
the clutch trips the automatic brake
as the train passes over and before the
engine reaches the switch, the entire
train is skidding on steel shoes and
comes to halt. The greatest draw
back to the invention is that it is apt
to stop a train too quickly, so success
full have the experiments been.
The invention is simple in the eX-
treme. The most important part of
the mechanism of the brake is a series
of flanged steel track shoes, which fall
to the rail, one in front of each wheel.
The shoes are thrown back under the
wheels, which climb up on them and
the entire train is thus raised on the
steel skids in an instant's time. The
brake is controlled by the engineer, as
well as automatic, and may be set with
the ease of raising a hand
A feature of promise of the new in
vention is the arrangement for pre-
venting collisions between railway
trains and street cars at crossings.
How Collisions Are Avoided
The approach to every railway cross
Ing on a car line is equipped with the
safety clutch, which stops the car be-
fore it reaches the track. Mr.. Gard
ners first idea was to have an auto
matte clutch, operated only when a
train was approaching. The two safety
clutches were to be connected by a
diagonal, between the two tracks, and
the car would stop the train, and vice
| versa.
1t was called to his attention that
it would be unnecessary to stop the
| train and that street cars always are
required to stop at railway crossings.
On this account he plans to equip only
the car track with the clutch. Any
car striking the clutch with the power
on will be brought to a violent halt,
! but if the power is turned off, as the
car approaches, showing that the mo-
torman is slowing down for the cross
! ing, the clutch falls and the car may
be brought to a gradual stop.
The device is so simple and has
worked so perfectly in the trial of the
models that it has attracted the at
| tention of engineers and inventors, who
have aided in bringing it to the atten-
ton of the railroads. When Mr.. Gard
ner first secured his patent he took it
to the engineers of the Huntington
road, but they were not interested in
safety devices, and he is now consider
ing offers from several eastern roads.
Always in Working Order
TT has advantages over magnetic
and air brakes, because it is always in
working order" said Mr.. Gardner,
Magnetic brakes are useless when the
electric power is cut off, when the
trolley leaves the wire, and air brakes
fail when the pumps stop. They will
be the cheapest brakes made. 1t costs
about $500 to equip a car with mag
netic brakes and about $3.50 for straight
air. This brake would cost scarcely
half this amount"
The street car brake includes a fen
der which will scoop up any obstruc-
ton in front of the car. Its inventor
claims that it would lift a child from
the track without injuring it in the
least. 1t is built of a collapsible cage
which is inverted with the impact with
anything on the track and carries the
obstruction back under the front OF
, the car.
The brake may be applied to any
vehicle and is especially designed foi
automobiles, it's working on the ma
chine being exactly the same as on g
car. The speed of an automobile may
be limited by it's use the brake being
set TO fall when a certain speed il
reached. The machine will be equipped
! with locked iron box, containing th'
speed regulator, and a chauffeur driv
ing alone without the key will fine
{ himself compelled to keep to a SAT-
rate of speed
Mr.. Gardner was born in Louisville
: KY, in 1862, and has been a residen
/ of Los Angeles four years. He is
, carpenter by trade but has devoted tn
r last two years to the perfection of hi
r invention. He was first brought t
q work on the invention by recalling tn
A methods ued by lumbermen in devisin
e brakes for their wheels in going dow
: steep hills. A log is chained I'm from
of the rear wheels, which climb upo
v 1t IN exactly the same way as the ca
n wheels climb on the steel shoes.