The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-03-28

Another device makes use of wire
less electricity. A heavily charged
wire is placed along the track, and
1t will transmit enough power by
wireless to operate the brakes, turn
on light or ring bell
To give the dispatcher direct con-
nection with the engineer, as we'll
as with the station, is the aim of
another device that Ia beia,s tried ont
At each signal station there are con-
tact bars arranged SO that a shoe on
the engine comes into contact with
The bar. just as the shoe on an I'M
der ground trolley car comes in con-
tact with the bars in tho slot, In
the engine cab and in the station
there are green and red lights, and
BY these the dispatcher orders the
eneiDeman to proceed or stop. In
addition there Is a telephone in the
| cab by which verbal orders can be
given. The success of such a system
| Is sale to be questionable in foul
weather and under high-speed condi-
tians.
Cab signals are used in Europe, but
not In America In England the Great
I WV Is ylfIk Out a. thp Slkildi SSS-
! tenn which is said TO work well, all of
I the errors made being on the side of
safety. A wire and contact shoe
furnish the means of operating a whis-
| tie and bell in~the cab. While Eu-
ropean tests with cab signals and
| American tests with automatic stops
have proved highly successful the gem
eral attitude of railroad signal au-
thorities in the Unite States is that
| neither Is feasible,
| Once the Interstate Commerce Com
mission finds satisfactory appliances
1T viii recommend to Congress that a
law be enacted requiring the railroads
| to equip their service with such APP
planes. This will be fought to the
bitter end, but finally Congress will
adopt it, then the railroads will fight
| 1t out in the courts, and after that will
comply with the law as graciously as
defeat is able to do. That has been
the history of all protective legislation.
When the States tried to enforce auto
matte coupler laws the railroads claim
ed that such authority was vested In
the Federal government, and when the
Federal government enacted and at
tempted TO enforce such laws the rail-
roads declared ii the province of the
States to do these things. 1t was the
same way with the airbrake law. the
employers liability law. the hours Of
labor law and the ash pan law. The
latter requires that every locomotive
shall be equipped with an ash pan
which can be dumped without an en-
ployee going under the engine to do it,
! Experience has demonstrated that
epoch making as was the invention of
the air brake. it's failure to work Is
sufficiently frequent to justify Il search
for something better. This search has
been successful in at least one in
stance. The new idea Is that the
power by whic the brakes are con-
troiled shall lie in a number of power
full coil springs. Air pressure is to
hold the springs in check so long
as the brakes are not used. AS soon
as 1t Is desired to apply them. the sim
pie release OF valve does the work.
| The only fault liz that no method is
offered of holding the brakes off the
wheel when a car is being moved by
gravity or otherwise switched without
connection with the engine.
One of the things that has most seri-
ously hndered the work of the COM
mission In its investigations Is the lack
of accurate data concerning accidents.
The law requires that railroads report
all accidents and their causes, but the
reports that come in are about as lu-
minous as a black hat on a dark night.
The commission hopes to be given the
authority to investigate accidents on
its own initiative and thus to ascertain
real Information on the subject.
I. Some time ago two foreign railroad
men visited the United States for the
purpose Of studying railroad conditions.
After travelling about the country they
found that only very small per cent.
Of the trains are run on time, and that
there are only $4,000 employees work
Ing for the safety of travel. They fig
ured out that IL the United States had
the same proportion of men to look
after the safety of Its trains that Eng
land has. instead of $4,000 1t would
have 61S.o0o engaged in making train
operation safer.
Tomorrow:
the TREADWELL NINE.