Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1910-02-17
ELECTRIC LIGHTS
FOR LOCOMOTIVES
ENGINEERS scoRN IDEA OF TEN
poRARY BLINDNESS AND
4soRE EYES"
RAILROAD MEN SEE MANY ECO
NoMIcAL ADVANTAGES IN
NEW DESIGN.


agitation a number of correspond.
ents to the Locomotive Engineers
journal had taken occasion to voice
their arguments pro and con on this
important subject, says the Railway
Review. 1t is a matter of interest to-
know the attitude of those who, from
the fact that thy are the users OF this
equipment, ought to be best qualified
to Judge of its value as means Of
promoting greater safety in the
movement of trains. y, the eleven en-
gineers whose letters were published,
all but two declared themselves in IA
yor of tn high power light. They re,
gard it as a great saver of life and
property, each being sure that Within
his experience, serious mishap has
been avoided wholly because OF his
having had the protection afforded by
the electric light.
That the intensity of the light
should be a source Of serious injury
to the eyes of the men in charge Of
trains met on adjacent tracks and like,
~ to cause accident through temper
airy blindness and inability to observe.
signals and possible distractions, is
regarded as an unnecessary accom-.
paniment to it's use; since, as properly.
installed, the light should be focused
on the track not too far ahead, and be
provided with means for reducing the
intensity of the rays when meeting an
opposing train.
This latter precaution is one that
any self-respecting engineer shorld
never fail to observe. They feel that
much of the opposition among their
ranks comes from a disposition to
skepticism with regard to whatever
! device that may, for the time being
partahe OF the nature or an innova-
ton, irrespective Of it's merits
AS an instance it is recalled that
not a few engineers protested very
emphatically against the introduction
Of the power brake, the sight feed lu-
bricator, the water glass. and the in
jector.
The. electric headlight, they say, is
beyond question an effective means of
Illuminating the track, is easily man.
ipulated, requires but little attention,
practically no cost for repairs, and is
wholly dependable. Its initial cost is
high, but initial cost and maintenance
is regarded as very nominal rate on
the insurance afforded against dam
age to life, property and the conse
QHent legal entanglememts
The two engineers who have ex-
pressed themselves as being unfavor-
ably disposed toward the electric
headlight do so because of the fact
that an engineer in meeting a train
on an adjacent track is temporarily
blinded, this being particularly true
on long stretches of straight track,
and becaus OF the difficulty i'm detect.
ing the cClors of lamp signals when
SO brilliantly illuminated.
They admit the desirability of hay.
ing a good light but are inclined to
favor an improved oil or low power
electric rather than go to the extreme
and be subject to the above rossi.
bilities of disaster
Naturally each of these men shades
his opinion to suit his particular ex-
perience. The engineer whose run
takes him over a. single track laIle,
through gorgesI tunnels over bridges
trest1es and long capricous streams,
sees world of weight behind his ar
gnmen1 for the penetrating light, arla
is very strongly insistent that he
knows what he is talking about
On the other hand, as in the case
OF the two engineers who are not IA
vorable to the brighter light, where
trains are constantly being met on a
relatively straight line wnere two or
more tracks are employed, and where
block signals must be observed every
few hundred yards, the argument
against the electric headlight assumes
different aspect and affects the en-
glneer and the manager accordingly