The Washington herald., 1912-07-10

have said the Hupp system. as it is the
only one.
Coming down TO the invention itself.
II may be said roughly to consist of
three parts-first the mechanism Of the
car: second. the equipment Of the sta
ton: third. the trip" The last is prop
erly a part OF the station equipment
but deserves special mention. as it is.
after all. the most important factor in
the whole undertaking, although the sim
plest of propos tionS. About 800 feet
the mail is tp be dumped there is a
steel channel bar Il feet long. bowed
up gently in the middle. This is the
track trip" Suspended from the mail
car mechanism is a small iron wheel, so
placed as to hang well outside the
trucks. but well inside the outer edge of
the car.
Hits Track Trip"
Until that wheel strikes the track
trip the mechanism in the car is as
stationary as If dead. but let it come
in contact with the track trip and there
is something doing at once; and this is
what happens: AS the roller runs over
the trip it releases the clutch OF a large
wheel lying fat under the flooring OF
the car, and which begins TO revOlve
slowly and in exact proportion to the
revolution Of the car wheels TO which
it is attached and from which IL derives
its motive power. Incidentally. it might
be mentioned that this gearing is so ar
ranged that the wheels of the car must
make SO many revolutions-a ccording to
the s.ze OF the wheels-to one revolution
OF the big wheel. and always in the for
ward direction. so that exactly the same
= ~ a rH =,
every case before the mail is dumpeI
or caught This applies no matter what
speed the car is travelling. and, moreover
should the train suddenly stop between
the trip and the dump, the mechanism
stops: II the train backs. the mechanism
winds up. Only when the train reaches
the dumping point can the mail be de-
posted AMI only at the dumping point.
But TO continue, as soon as the auto
matte wheel starts its revolution 1t rings
a gong to notify the clerk in the car
that II is about to deliver mail. II
he has not already done so he throws
the sacks for that station on the steel
car or truck. which begins to make. its
way out the door. When the proper
place is reached the truck dumps. By
this time the big wheel has made half
a revolution perhaps. As 1t continues
the truck comes back into the car and
the receiving chute folds. This chute
is in two parts and when not in use
folds alongside the car so as to extend
but two inches, obviating the danger or
striking anything beside the track. in
cluding the cranes. Unfolding. one part
extends outward and the other inward
and when in alignment they form a per-
feet chute extending from point six
inches beyond the waiting mail bags to
well within the Car.
Bags Whipped Into Car.
As the chute passes the cranes the bags
are whipped into the car along this in
cline, describing an arc of a circle suf-
ficient to break the force of impact and
deposit them gently on the floor of the
car, without chance of damage to sacks
contents or clerks. Continuing its revo-
luton, the big wheel draws in the chute
and folds 1t up and closes the car door
and locks it. With the completion of
the revolution, the operation is finished
and the mechanism goes out of business
automatically until the next trip is
reached. And this process is repeated
every time the mechanism is tripped.
and only when SO tripped, and will be
until tho car or some part of the device
is worn out.
Coming now to the. station equipment.
that is simplicity itself, apparently. and
vet IL has been worked out with great
skill and ingenuity. II is well known
that under the present out-of-date sys-
TEN in use by the railway mail service
the clerks deliver the mail from the run