Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-06-09
SALT LAKE YOUTH
TO AVERT WRECKS
Roy Ridge Takes Up Work Of Per-
feoting New Railway Sig
nal Device.
MESSAGE FROM MOVING TRAIN
Inventor Now Demonstrating Equip
ment In Nevada, Where Dispatch
Is Sent without Use OF Wires.

Roy Ridge, a Salt Lake boy, now
IN Reno, New, has an interest in an
invention described as the wonder of
the age. This Is the perfection OF the
g-sought-for arrangement an ar
rangement whereby messages can be
sent from o. rapidly moving train The
Reno Gazette received the following
message June 8:
Chesapeake Junction. u. c.. June
3, 1908
Gazette. Reno, New. Sending YOU
this wire from moving railroad train.
First instance on record. See Roy
Rideg. DWIGHT JONES"
The Gazette saw" Roy Ridge at
once for an explanation. When hand
ed tho telegram and asked what It
meant, he exclaimed. why that is
great" as he jumped out of his chair
and seemed for moment quite excit-
ed. why that means that our patent is
worth more to us than all the gold
mines in Nevada would be. 1t means
that our patent has proved n success
and that some day all the railroads in
the United States VIII be equipped
with the contrivance by which this
message was sent.
Some time ago DR.. NJ. A. Born, OF
Atlanta. Ga. invented machine TO be
placed on cars and engines for the
purpose of sending messages from
train while 1t was In motion, and also
to prevent railroad wrecks
My father-in-law Mr.. Hopkins
Loudon. secured the controlling inter-
est In this patent and formed the
American Signal company of Kansas
+ 49, ha
stock and Charles Taylor. the we'll
known Goldfield mining man. also Sc
sured a large block of the stock. The
remainder of the stock is held by east
ern men
PROBLEM SOLVED.
THE United States government has
for the past year been seeking for a
successful contrivance to prevent rail-
road accidents, as the block system has
failed to do this. One hundred and
fifty patents have been submitted 10
the government, and our patent is
numbered among them. At last our
patent has solved the problem, as this
message and as letters / have received
from my father-in-law, indicate.
Il cannot explain the working of
this patent. but the principal thing II
is meant for is to prevent railroad ac-
cidents.
SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.
I'VE leased the Chesapeake & Branch
lnterurban railroad, near Washington,
some time ago, and a few days ago be-
gan TO run regular demonstration
trains equipped with this device over
the line. The first time the patent was
tested on this road two huge engines
filled with government officials, were
used. The first engine was run out
distance OF several miles and the other
engine then started at full speed to
overtake 1t. The engineer and all the
other men in the engine were informed
that whsn the second engine came
within 300 yards of the first engine it
would stop The engineer pulled the
throttle wide open. but became fright
ened and jumped, as did the other
men in the engine The engine went
tearing down the track at a fearful
rate. and IL looked as IL collision
would occur but when this engine, run
ming at full speed, came within 300
yards of the first eigine. a light flashed
IN the cab, the brakes were applied au-
tomatically, large gong sounded In the
cab and the engine stopped. The pat
ent had proved Il SUCCESS.
Since that time the experiment has
been tried many times and has al
ways worked, and now congressman,
senators and other government officers
are given rides on these two trains
daily.
MADE WRECK PROOF.
1.-THE scheme OF sending a message
from the train while 1t was in motion
was tried for the first time last week,
and the message TO the Gazette, tho
first one ever sent In such q manner
has proved that portion of our patent
success also This means that tele-
grams and telephone messages viii IN
the future be transmitted from moving
trains Just as easily as they can be
transmitted from an office or home
at present
THE patent is made to work with a
wire by the side Of one OF the rails, by
means OF a third rail or by means OF
a wire arranged similar to 81 trolly wire
"a railroad system can be equipped
with this patent and the system can
DO made almost wreck-proof, as by
means OF this device trains can bs
stopped automatically whenever In dam
ger Of colliding with another train or
whenever bridge is out or the
track IL torn up in any way. Accord
ing TO this device a broken rail will
even cause train to stop within a
certain distance of the point Of danger
by cutting the current and automut-
ically setting the air brakes In an APP
proceeding train.
ut Is the wonder OF the age"