Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-01-13
INVENTOR TO
MAKE A TEST
Safety Signal to be Tried
on Rapid Transit.

Fred La Croix, OF San Antonio,
Texas, inventor of q device for pre-
venting railway accidents by a sys-
TEN OF signals, is aboIt to make a
t6px OF the system on Staten Island
o<aIn. The test viii be made on the
4mb0y division of the Staten Island
L H&pdd Transit between Dongan Hills
~ Grant City, which Is being put
N shape for 1t.
Mr.. LaCreix made a similar test
~ the device about two years ago on
IN single track between Pleasant
R9ains and Annadale, which proved
as6nccess, but since that time the de-
race has been improved. The system
II now Installed for twelve miles on
~ Newark branch Of the Erie rail-
Ny from Newark to South Pater-
oon, tor working demonstrations.
Several Of the locomotives on the
MHpir Transit are being equipped
Nth the system to make the test
Asxs.
The signals are all in the cab Of
M engine and consist OF an electric
Indicator, red and white lights, a
t1lephone and q gong. II there is a
broken rail, an open switch or a train
MN4 IEA AAkA00 III tAC QD6AAC IhC
gang sounds, the white light changes
n red and the Indicator shows ex-
Actly how far the moving train is
ffom the danger point.
In earring out this system a third
fail, not Weighing than twelve
p0unds to the gard, laid between the
other rails completes a circuit with
them and carries ah electric current
A&A&r~~AAu 49, .trroI. yIy14~~ 49,
circuit IL opened by any break or
aRntAnle, the current is Immediately
transmitted by means OF a contact
AhOe undo the engine to the signals.
AThe warnings are SO effective that
they cannot be overlooked even on
sfh4 most foggy or stormy nights.
This lessons the chances OF the train
sxlBen running by signals which they
c4mnot 500 and are laid of for so
dntrg
The track Is divided into sections,
e&hc having . different graduated
electrical resistance. When an
other train is on the track the indi-
cakor shows automatically In what
session 1t is and in what direction
1eoving. This allows an engineer to
Kol1ow i train without having to
bring his own train to a full stop
oxery now and then.
In connection with the system
there Is 3 telephone which enables
tbs engineer to communicate with
any train on the main track or any
agent while his train is In
IL engine cab . q compsesyrs
xecord 81 eeyry s~ignalvv
.a.s srlsr 4 nv~s-oury
BY an inspector, 1t furnishes incon-
testable evidence In case OF an acci-
dent. There are to be Jour of the
large engines on tie Amboy divis-
ion Of the Rapid Transit equipped
whit the system. Already engine a3
has everything on with the exception
OF the telephone, which will only
take i short time to install. The
other three will probably be Nos. 81.
2S ana 80. When this Is completed,
tuxether With the track work, a test
81 tho system will be made.
Mr. IA Croix, the inventor, makes
knnvwr 4Aa& $4,000 which was tome
sxyf4# HE6 appropriated by congress-
14F tho Interstate Railroad Commits
nten. Us available to assist in making
thUSe testa. Recently a company
called the Electric Automatic Rail-
xoAd Safety Signal Company, was
for1nsd to place La Crooks invention
Oh the market. 1t is capitalized for
100000
The officers are: Jacob Cantor,
president, Oliver w. Bird, viee-pres-
3dent; W. Al. Boeckel, secretary and
treasurer, and Fred La Croix, cleo
trical engineer.