New-York tribune., 1910-05-24
TO TIME MOTOR RACES
New Apparatus To Be Used al
Worcester Climb.
PREVENTING "BACK KICK
Simple Device to Stop Accidents
Caused by Sudden Reversing
of Engine.

Club fn Boston, when the bicycle was king
various organizations Of expert timers
have risen, had their day and passed orr
OF being. The Chronograpn Club was ths
first association OF its kind in America
in that ID kept complete and detailed
records of timing. had it's watches certified
and made really a science out Of timin.
of bicycle races.
Since then all kinds OF automatic devices
for timing have been used with more o.
less success. Many Of them have been uss
less and some few Of them have proved
successful and dependable
AT the climb UP Dead Horse Hill In
Worcester, Mass. under the auspices of
the Worcester Automobile Club. on June
q new timing apparatae Will be IN use
The department OF mechanical engineering
Of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute has
adapted the instruments which will bs
used. and David Gallup. professor Of gas
engineering. will be in charge, assisted by-
John D. Harvey and c. D. knight, Of the
institute
The apparatus consists Of a roll OF paper
on drum driven ar a constant speed bv 2
small motor and on which are indicated
second intervals through an electrically
connected clock and pendulum. The speed
of the paper is such that a second interval
may be made equal in length 70 four
Inches, which may be sufficient to deter
mine time at LOO Of a second. The fnstant
a car goes over the line either at starr
OF finish. an electric circuit will be opened
by specially devised snap switch and
this will be indicated on moving tape
Each tape will be marked with the ma<a
and number of the car, event number and
driver, so that the record may be kept on
file. This system will be installed in dupli-
ca te. so that chances of error and accident
will be reduced to minimum Connsc-
tions will also be made so that az the f--
slant a car crosses the line a series Of
single blow songs spaced at intervals I'd
the hill will be Tung so that those inter-
ested will be able to note the time Of
starting The instant car finishes will
be indicated in the same way
According to the statistics OF the Inter-
national Association of Accident Under
writer's. giving causes of accidents due to
the use OF automobiles. virtually one-haIS
(49.2 per cent? Of all mfshaps come from
cranking This has led the American L.
comotive Company to Introduce a device
that prevents back kick"
The attachment is a light and simple
three-piece affair that hardly would be
noticed unless attention were called TO Il.
II appears as a small collar of eccentric
outline fitted to the shaft of the starting
crank. The action Of the device is to throw
the starting crank out Of engagement with
the crank shaft whenever there is a back
kick" of the motor, so that any violent
backward swing OF the starting handle
Is impossible. When the back-frinz
occurs the starting crank moves back a
total of about Is degrees and half that
distance is after it has been disengaged
from the crank shaft. The device is the
Invention of William r. Webster, a con-
sulting engineer. of Philadelphia. who had
trouble himself with back kick
The wrecked Marion racing car which
completed in the recent Brighton Beach
twenty-four-hoUr race is now back In the
Indiana polls factory. where it is being
groomed. for the Speedway races in that
city. When Gil Anderson was driving and
the car met with it's accident. and Brad
ley. the mechanician. was killed the fol-
lowing damage was done: Three tires torn
off. rear spindle bent. steering column
badly bent. shock absorber torn off, radi-
atOr smashed, starting crank torn of and
the dash broken.
The right front wheel became wedged in
deep rut in the track causing the acci-
dent. Later in the same race Louis Strsng
was driving the same car and in leaving
the track and regainins it he moved down
two heavy fence posts. The car was out
OF the race because Of accidents one hour
and thirty-five minutes. but with this loss
averaged forty-three miles an hour for the
entire ride. The motor was run without
once being stopped for more than eight
hundred miles.