The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1909-11-19

houble-track foduNs mr. ~
n NY ts entrance posi- ana
movable arm and on sin
NXA gle-track lines one az each
limit end. When you read that
IlNI line has every inch pro-
1lnI tected by this system. II
means the entire line Is
TIl1 divided into consecutive
INII blocks"
INWI rs IL universally usedg'
INI mo. There's only one
line from Chicago 10 New
INNI York thus protected. and
NII OF the total i'm the United
IhNI states one-third is on he
NJ Union and Southern Pa
NsD cihc.
Take three blocks at the beginning
OF "A line with a train In each. Train
In first must not move To second until
the train I'm second goes TO third. and
train in second must not 20 into third
until third moves TO fourth.
AS number three goes into fourth, 4
tells train In two II has done so, an'
train In two going into block three make
the movable arm say to train In one
Come on. I've gone into block two.
"As an Illustration. let's take three
connecting rooms at your home. com
municating without doors. Now attac
on the right Thanksgiving from the fron
TO the back-of each door frame mo-
able stick which can be pushed TO right
angles with the door frame or pointed
down about you would point your arm
at spot on the noor two feet from you.
Got that? Your stick represents the
'semaphore.' or arm. Now, then. the
middle room is your private Office. Your
servant knows the arm being at right
angles she must not enter and when
you are not in there the stick will point
downward at so degrees and she may
n
"All very simple you say: but on
busy morning you rush I'm your once
and forget 10 change the arm TO denote
occupied. The servant ushers In the last
person in the world you want there. just
then--and the scheme is disastrous
failure. Then you improve so the stick
| left 10 itself Will remain firmly at right
angles Can't forget that. you figure.
| Next thing you do is to forget TO change
| the position OF the stick The enploye
| sees signal occupied and turns away an
| important client with disaster almost
equal 20 that caused by admitting the
one she shouldn't
you change things so the stick will
move from right angle to pointing TO
: the floor, when you are not In your
| Office You can In walking from the
| front room into your Office release the
arm. which will go 10 horizontal; II Will
! stay in that position as long as you are
In there and when you walk out OF
| your ONCE into the back room IL will be
ed and your employe may take the next
| caller In.
in other words you have changed this
| device from a possible human forgetful-
ness 10 a positive mechanical perform
ance you have an automatic signal
| Substitute the consecutive lengths OF
railway for your rooms and you have
the block signal"
''Then. as ! understand H. soma
! phore arm located at the entrance 10 a
block set at right angle TO the post is a
! signal to an approaching train TO stop
and when pointing diagonally toward the
ground means keep on going7 Yes.
You call IL automatic?'
at is. Just as your stick H. kept at
so degrees incline. when your ONCE Il
vacant. so is the semaphore arm on the
line when a block is unoccupied. When
A train enters a block Il affects the en-
ergy which is part OF automatic sig
mailing. so that the arm goes TO and re-
mains horizontal as long as the block Is
occupied"
You build these signals so their nor
NAL position is stop and then you apply
force that makes them show keeI
going Why is that?'
because the trains must keep going
! They have not only the problems OF
safety. but ~ hurry up They work by
minutes. and seconds. The first dut,
is safety. Having that cinched, the au
tomato hangs out the signal TO keeT
moving. only when something occurs
stop position"
whats the energy you referred tor
Electric current" Where does IL CONF
from?" Battery near each post 'liov
is IL worked - THE rails OF each blocl
are made just as n all one piece. b,
connecting all joints with wire. TheI
connecting the extreme ends forms
complete circuit The current flows II
this circuit. Machinery made out of ex
perience, wheels. springs and things .
moved by this current. and its move
ments either hold the arm down or per
init Il TO stay horizontal
with no train in block. the curren
makes the mechanism pull the arm dow
and hold II there. when train enter
a block II destroys this combination. tn
wheels and axles combined with the rail-
make a shorter circuit Electric curren
deserts the longer for the shorter wa
round The energy that held the arr
! down is withdrawn. and UP IL swings
horizontal
Each block Is independent of all othe
blocks When the last wheels OF a trai
I leave H. the current resumes It's flow
and the signal arm away back at IN
entrance is pulled down 10 proceed he
fore the hind wheels have ceased dom
what I've just stated. the front wheel
OF the locomotive have entered the neA
block and repeated what IL did In IN
previous blocks"