New-York tribune., 1911-12-17
A Complete Railroad System
in Five Christmas STOCKINGS

I
division OF labor, aIl things pertaining II
! the track and operation naturally fell :,
| Myers, and 1t was not long before he Der.
/ ceyed the necessity OF some device TO kee-
the track clean. The third rail- IN partle.
| ular suffered by the collection Of even H..
slightest dust. and poor contact was IN.
/ result The track cleaner became ueces
/ sity II is Il heavy Htue affair." he"lag
| chamois foot which presses down by mean,
/ Of spring directly ON the third rail and
| when IL is h;ched IN the rear OF "a train
soon puts the track lu fine working order
/ Myers Is altogether too thor0ughgolng
mechanician 10 tolerate poor coutar, AM
/ consequent loss OF speed and power.
More remarKaDie. however from the e.ec.
/ trical point OF r!ew than the freight loco.
/ motive and the track cleaner Is the Az.
/ TEN of control In ore corner of tno r..,,
stands little screeniike cottage. .r.,
/ large enough TO accommodate - s.au
kitchen table and one person u hes
/ door and a window. and is "A simple coL.
/ Ing affair TO the uninitiated, but coElt-rs
none the less the wizardry of the t,loe
/ contriyance. The table top IS weingh ry,.
cred with neat rows Of little ei,t,rc
/ switch handles. whose operation ~ ,s.
| sponsible for the control Of all tie trains
that pass from EdwardVi.c TO Donald
/ town through Carolyn Junction or to any
other part OF the model system
This is the centre Of Myers's triumph
/ for from II radiate the concealed wires Tia,
make the operation OF the EdwardWne 4
| Donaldtown Railroad 50 remarkable ElgA;
| principal track switches. made origlrany
TO work by hand, have been converted into
electric switches The tracks have been
divided into five blocks. just as any fa.!.
way on large scale might be. The cur.
rent on these Is also under the control ,.
the operator at the table BY means Of
this ARRANGEMENT a train can be stopped
at any desired point and held there while
another comes up from behind passes #
on a siding and turns on o. the main track
ahead Of it. Three trains can thus be
operated easily al the same time over the
two main tracks. The variety of m8npu-
res which they can be- put through .s al
most endless. The track eng.neF nas not
forgotten possible accidents and short cir.
cults. Should one occur. an automatic de-
vice shuts off the current from 'ne whole
line before any damage is done.
| To those who have been privileged 20 see
this marvel i'm operation lt is little short
of uncanny 10 watch the miniature trains.
so perfect in equipment bowling along
| through the model countryside. 90 see hem
| come to a stop wait for switch % snap
! over into its proper place. apparently Of
! its own accord. and then proceed safely on
their way as if tiny engineers were indeed
| sitting in the engine cabs and towe.men
inches tall were pulling indu.tesimal lev
ers TO keep clear the right Of way. They
draw UP to the various stations pull out
on a siding or back on 90 a side track
! changing speed and running faultlessy IN
way that makes the bcholder gasp with
astonishment Red and white and black
and white disks on little standards mark
| the blocks, just as they do IN real rail.
roading, switch towers here and there
guard safety and at one point there is a
signal bridge with the familiar semaphore
arms. which it is planned 10 operate eec-
/ trically also.
/ Daylight operation is not the only possi-
bHity Of this model railroad. Its builders
have provided also for night in their care 20
perfect all possible details. In the towns
/ there are many miniature arc lamps which
/ give forth powerful light These are sup
/ pemented by electric street lamps Of the
more common letterbox type also strong IN
/ illumination. The locomotives have working
I headlights and the Pullman cars are light
| ed BY electricity. Thus the model seems
| more a bit Of fairyland than ever when Il
. runs by night. The whole scene is softly
( illuminated by the lights of the towns and
those which shine from the windows OF the
! houses and cottages Mount elizabeth looms
big and its tunnel mouths look very black
J beyond the glow from the station. AS yol
! look through the long window cut In the
! inner wall Of the room-the best point OF
vantage 10 view the model-it seems as II
/ you were looking through the wrong end oi
! an opera glass down into some New Eng
! land valley. out from behind the Donald
| town station a train moves slowly. rs
| headlight sends q stream of brill ance
down the track. Behind the locomotive
chain Of brightly lighted Pullm3ns, be-
hind whose glass windows specks of people
are discernible-it is the fast express
Rapidly il gathers ueadway and plunses
into the tunnel.
The two builders admit.that it has taken
n deal OF hard work 20 build 20 al. They
have been at it for months. working On
Saturday afternoons and on such evenings
as they have been able to snatca IoN'
other things At times progress has '.eA
slow. Mount Elizabeth was no .t..a PROD
lom Of construction In itself Fou" hun-Ieo
and fifty pounds of concrete are ]" d. ana
the borders of Lake Richard. while lne
fashioning Of IT'S tunnels and Its m'.'.i'hS
tool, many an hour The wiring ior the
elaborate control system was also hs
undertakirg. and the countless sm'h ur
tails which have led 10 such peiiecuon
took their toll in hours of thought anu
work
But for the two there has been "a keen %,
I'm the building They have found 0,
proft I'm understanding and IN training p"
mind and eye. and they know that t'e'e
a better reward stlll to come "h'n Nv
children for whom it was built have '"e'