The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-07

ly from the. system employed on thu
 four track main line of the New T4s,
 ven and on the six track freig17t svf passenger road running from New F7o, cneIe on the main line to the Harlem
 tI"er- The construction in the vardf IS Of a somewhat lighter character In place of the triangle of wires saer on the main 1ine each track in tl,f freight yard carries a single severl elgnths inch cable supported from thf cables strung between the tovvera From this cable ts Suspended a. con. duct1ve wire of copper and below thH IS the contact wire of steel aesfrel
 which the pantograph, as the trulle1 IS called, runs For the switches steef denectors are used to keen the raut tosraph running smoothly. The tovy1 CTS are arranged far enough apart cd that the wires suspended from then cover from eight to ten tracks.
 Except at points where they go 1ns der the highway bridges the contacf wire is 22 1-2 feet above the top of thr rail- This gives about a two feel clearance for the brakeman riding oa top of the cars. While there would seem to be danger even with that amount of clearance the fact that out of 500 men constantly at work in the yard not one has been hurt since thr electrical operation began would indi- cate that the hazards in the e7ectrfhed freight yard are practically no greater
 
 The electrified freight yard ovvirr to it's overhead wires to be sure. had had the result of bringing about a change in the old time methods of -thr zardmen- In the electric freight yard much less work is done on top of ths cars than formerly and more from fhg ground. The old "break in tpao's sig nal of the brakeman cannot be used on top of the cars in this yard becauBg it would probably mean death for tha h Er<, gTI1N -N Mn. lantern at arn's length over the head, indicating to the engineer that tha train had broken in two. But this signal has practically Deen rendered extinct any way by the introduction of the air brake which stops the loos- ened part automatically.
 The electric freight yard ig arranged by units By meaps of knife switch the juice can he cut on from a unit and thus repairs can be made without danger.
 Electrifcati ton Of this terminal haS already shown many advantages. Card, can be picked up much quicker by tha electric locomotive and there is tha saving of valuable time formerly lost in coaIing and cleaning engines. For example, g, steam engine arriving from a long run requires two hours befofg it can turn around and start back An electric locomotive can start pullinG back another train in thirty minutes II electric switche engines are doing thG work for which three steam gngins1 were formerly used.
 But the saving to the railroad is HE nothing compared to the immsuse civi0 berNsft 1t has conferred on those conn munities which were once bothered with the smoke and noise of freight handling. The Harlem River terminal Is not the only yard now electrified. New Rochelle, Mount Vernon. Wood lawn and Stamford now have noise less and smokeless freight yards AG these places no longer does the switch engine disturb the nocturnal slumbera of their citizens It has meant the elimination for them of all tha made the railroad objectionable and has made 1t possible for dwellings to be erected close to the freight yards. In deed, the electriffcation of the freight yard in the Bronx has already result ed in apartment houses going Tup close to the yard on land formerly consfd- cred undesirable. In fact, the civlo advantages thus accruing from the large expenditure this has involved for the railroad have far outweiEhed tho dvantages in operation for the road What is true of New York City, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon will of course be true of all other places be- tween New York and New Haven when identification is completed to that point.
  the "yvay freight stopping to drop off it's cars at stations will be thing of the past. Indeed, it Is today for places between New York and Stam- ford for an electric freight engine now does this work, hauling a train out of the Harlem River yard and pushing cars on the electrified g1ding9 all along the line to Stamford.
 That the New York, New Haven and Hartford is the most advanced rail- road in the country in working out identification on such a tremendoua scale and applying it to one of the biggest freight terminals in the c1rtr- try, making it practically noiseleae and s1nokeless. is attested by the LacA that a com mission was sent on last fall from Chicago on purpose to e1- anime the construction and operation of the Harlem River yard in the hopes that some such plan could be evolved for Chicago.
 With the completion of the electri- hcation as far as New Haven, a dis- all freight and passenger trains ovet this entire distance by electricity tna New Haven will further emphasize It's claim to be the most advanced rail road in the country in respect to cleo tri6cation and the benefits accruina therefrom to the communities which t serves.
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