The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1913-10-21
WOODEN COACHES
Menace TO LIFE

The New Haven wreck, in which an
obsolete signal system and antiquated
wooden sleeping cars furnished the
reason for such fearful loss of life,
cannot fail to shorten the time when
those railroads which do not volun-
tarily remove these risks to human
HE will be forced by law to provide
greater safeguards. Only q few DAYS
iater, ON another road, passenger
tram travelling at even faster speed
lelt the track and overturned.
though some OIL the passengers were
injured, no one was killed. The steel
cars MIthstood the shock.
Whlie the wreck OF freight trains
involves much smaller loss OF lie
and usually money, the losses from
TINS source run into millions of dollars
yearly. PRESIDENT hlpley, OF the
santa Re, In recent article discusses
a condition which has not occurred to
the layman. As we all know, under
the system OF interchange OF cars In
TINS country, one almost never sees
freight tram composed entirely, or
even largely, OF cars belonging to the
road over which it is running. On the
contrary, long passing freight is
Kaleidoscope OIL names and initials or
railroads located IN almost every
state, with cars built py numerous
builders; confusing collection OF cars
OIL various sizes, types and age. I'm
der our system OF through shipments
thus Is inevitable, and, no matter how
careful any one road may be to nam
tam ITS own rolling stock In "a condl-
ton OF eliciency anu safety, there IS
the constant u1angef o. decreplt car
from some oIher line breaking down
and causing wreck. Under the In
terstate Commerce regulations this has
been safeguarded to some extent by
heavy-penaity regulations which re-
qulre each road TO inspect every car
received from another before accept
ing it. 1T in bad order IN certain
parts, it must be repaired before pro-
ceedlng.
IhAs nelps some, Dut, as 4dr. Ripley
states, there are essentials which no
eye can measure. Who can see into a
wheel or car axle, Tor instance, and
discern the erystalnzatlon when
means break at the nrst unusual
strain or snoeKi some roads, short OF
both money and ears, when IN the mar
ket Tor new equipment, naturally get
the largest number OF cars they can
tor the funds available. 1t is self
evident that $1,000 will build better
car than $500, yet each is expected to
carry tne same Ioad. Ihe railroads
have been having an anxious time OF
late years, and 1T is impossible to
thloW away the hundreds OF thousands
OF cars which must tail below a GER
tain desirable standard. The tratfic
of the country would be blocked. 1t
| does seem possible, however, to de-
| eide On a cerLaIn standard for each
! type OF freight car, and thereafter to
require all new cars to be built in ac-
cordance. AT present each car builder
has certain features of his own which
diner from the other builders. This
largely and unnecessarily increases the
cost OF repairs, on account of the great
variety OF parts which must be kept
on hand.
Mr.. Ripley says: ~ suggest stan
dard car uniform in all essential de-
tails, to be arrived at by agreement,
ii arbitration, if necessary.
If In addition we could establish
freignt-pool or an equipment CON-
pany, the stock of which should all be
owned by the railroads, so much the
better. ''-H. IL. Windsor, in the No
vember Popular Mechanics Magazine.
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