Norwich bulletin., 1914-11-26
WILLMANTIC
TRAIN CONTROL DEVISE
 GIVEN TRIAL. On South Manchester Road Wednes- day-Appiianee Said to Satisfy All Requirements.

William Macfarlane of Philadelphia, connected with the importing house of Henry w. Peabody company of New York, and a nephew of James S. Mac farlane, the silk manufacturer of Mans field, who has been the guest for the past week of H. T. Clark at 'fThe Ridges on the South Coventry road is the inventor of the Macfarlane Au- tomatic Train Control and Constant Signal System, an electrical appliance which is said to satisfy every one of the eighteen requirements of the N Y, N. H. & H. R. R., as we'll as those laid down by the Interstate Commerce commission
 The device was tried out on a sec ton of the track of the South Man chester railroad Wednesday afternoon through the kindness of the Cheney Brothers, and worked successfully, this being the first, time anyone has ever accomplished the feat, taking the cleo iric current from the rails, while the engine was on the track, and using only 8 two-volt current
 MT. Macfarlane is no electrician, and yet in the year which has elapsed since his first patent was obtained, has, it is claimed, done what the head cleo tricians of many of the largest roads in the country have contended is inn possible.
 It's Chief Points.
 The chief points in regard to the
 
 GUS indication in the engine of the cab of the conditions in the block in which the train is running, and the two blocks ahead by means of red, green yellow or white lights as desired; that it automatically reduces the speed of the train in caution blocks to any pre- determined number of miles per hour but releases the brakes instantly when the block ahead is again safe; that it automatically stops the tra>eN in a El, on dangerous curves, croSS-overs etc. if so desired; that it may be used by the tower man to stop or regulate any train in his system; and that it con forms to the eighteen requirements of the New Haven road and those of the Interstate Commerce commission.
 Cost of Operation Small.
 The cost of operation is said to bh small, in fact, the amount of watts re- qutred to light one train on such a road as the Jersey Central would op- crate the whole system of the road, so far as this devise is concerned h. stallation is not very expensive, as all that is needed is the appliance in the engine and the substitution of diff ferent battery.
 MT. Macfarlane was seen by The Bull letin representative Wednesday,, and voiced his gratitude to the Cheney Brothers for the way in which they udu put GueI TOda HIS Q1SpOSdl on Wednesday, and given him every fa- cility to try out the appliance, which was a pronounced success He said that if 1t were possible to run a. train equipped with the device from Boston to New York, without an engineer, and only a fireman in the cab, with another train ahead of it, stopping as often as would a trolley car on the city streets the engine so equipped would stop automatically every time the one ahead did so, start again when 1t did, and get into the Grand Central sta ton exactly one minute behind the first train, if that was the leeway pro- yided for in the rules of the road. I
 Many other reasons were given why this appliance is far ahead of any space forbidS setting them forth in detail It is enough to say that the claim is made that the application of the brakes may be delayed for any de- termined number of revolutions, to al- low for breaks in the current, which train that 1t can be used so as to stop a train, or simply slow it up to one or more miles an hour, thaat 1t will work under all weather conditions, that 1t can be installed for one quarter of the cost of any other proposed system and that ft is thoroughly workable, and did the work to satisfaction on We'd needay.
 Commerce Commission Interested.
 Mr. BIacfarlane is in receipt of let ter from the Interstate Commerce com misRion with members of whom he has talked, which states that a representa- tive will be sent on to look into the operation of the system, now that he has put it inte actual operation
 In passing, he remarked upon the so-ca1led reward offered by the New Haven road. which he said was no re- ward at aIl for the requirements, which MT. Macfar1ane's system meet, t was never expected could be met, and in addition. although the sum of ten thousand dollars was offered to the inventor, the provision was made that the New Haven road be allowed to use the appliance free of charge on all their lines, at small cost. said MT. Macfarlane. for the saving of property. lives and damage suits which would follow it's installation. No one couN invent a machine which would meet the requirements would be so foolish as to give any road its use for ten thouRand dollars, said he.
 PersonaISs
 c. D. Jarvis IS in New Haven for