The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-10-19
THE ROWLAND DRY GOODS co.

which causes an electrical circuit and causes the air-brakes to be ap- piled. He testified that train gO- ing at the rate of 50 miles an hour could thus be stopped within 1,5OO or 2, d00 feet from the time the brakes made on the Staten Island road the train was not always stopped to "a standstin because this would cause the passengers to rush out and see what the trouble was. He had in some of the tests made complete standsttlls so as to prove that the sys- tenn could bring train to a com witness said that his system did not work when the signals were set at
 ' MT. Laeroik eednE Was fisa fhen FTa anestioned by Signal Engineer c. H. Morrison of the road. He asked witness what would happen to his system if contact posts in the third rail and the rail shoe and witness. replied the result would be to apply the circuit brakes There was a good deal of technical questions to which the wit ness answered. Engineer Morrison managed to secure from the witness admission. to one possibility of his apparatus failing to work on account of high resistance circuit. Wit ness claimed however, that this pos sibility was remote one and that such a thing couldn't happen once in one million times. Witness was asked if he thought his quesfioner the road signal engineer, would be right in recommending the system 10 the railroad, knowing of the partfcu- lar fault which was pointed out Wit ness answered this question by asking if the signal engineer of the railroad expected 100 per. cent efficiency sn any system, WhetheM signal bloctr or safety system. He admitted that his system was not 100 per cent per feet but that it is the nearest perfect of any system that has been devised or ever will be devised.
 The discussion at this point got A Dit informal. Questions were asked by the road. officials. the Wftnessea and the coroner. Signal Enginesr Morrison said that to equip the road with the system in question would rebuilt 21 bridges on it's road, as part of the new apparatus would make that necessary.
 J. E Van Benshoten. chfef train desp7tcher, testified before the hear ing adjourned. He told of giving the order for train 53 (the Boston express1 to cross from tracke three to track one at t3rldgeport and back again at West- port This message was given at A:1O- The first section of the train passed Bridgeport at 4:1S and the message passed Westport at 4:33 and the sec Ond section at 4:44. A chart showed just when the trains passed each sta t1on- Witness said he did not keep a record of the speed of trains. Cor oner Phelan wanted to know if there IS anyone supposed to make a report If a train is running too fast. The witness said that there was no one to make report of that.
 Witness said that it was not possible for a train to run ahead of it's sched- ple, as it could not get into the block Figures were introduced to show the relative speed of the two sections of the train. The first section was going 46 Is miles hour and the second section, was going 493z miles an hour on showdown, and when under way at 50 miles an hour. The despatcher said that the Springfield express had to make the Westport crossover daily for two weeks, because of al work train at Stamford.