Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-03-31
new SIGNAL SYSTEM
EXPERIMENT OF MUCH INTEREST
PROGRESS.
May Result in Complete Change of
Existing Methods for the Protec-
ton of Railroad Passengers
and Employees of Lines.

Here's where the saying about the
prophet who is not without honor ex-
cept in his own country will probably
fit in pretty well. Though you may
not know it, the eyes of the railroad
experts of New York are fixed with in
terest upon daily reports concerning a
series of experiments which are being
conducted on twenty miles of the
track of the Cincinnati Southern rail-
road, between Erlanger and Williams
town, the New York correspondent OF
the Cincinnati Times-Star writes. Up
on this section of line signal system
is in use which may revolutiOnize the
whole method of train control and
which, according to the claims of the
inventor, will remove collisions, de-
railments and other usual causes OF
railroad disaster from the field of pos
sibility. The inventor of the system
is young man named Julian, who is
a protege of Col. j. E. Beggs of Peoria,
H.. and the name of the Julian-Beggs
signal system has been given the
method. Colonel Beggs, who knows
nothing of railroading and less of cleo
trical invention, has advanced the
money for its development, which, as
yet, has not passed the stage of COM
prehensive experiment.
Colonel Beggs, who was at the Nc
Alpin this week, said that the result
of experiments so far justifies the be-
lief that train dispatcher or other
official may, as the inventor claims, sit
in his office and control the speed and
movements of all the trains in sec
ton. The automatic and electrical
control is so complete that the engi-
neer cannot disobey orders even if he
tries. If he attempts to run into a
block where another train is standing
his engine will "go dead under him
and red lamp will flash the signal of
danger in the engine cab. When it is
safe for him to proceed a white light
will give the signal of safety and the
power of the engine will be automatic
ally restored. If he runs too close to
a moving train the speed of the engine
will be brought down, automatically,
to fifteen miles an hour or less, and a
yellow light will show, meaning eau
ton" If his train approaches a bro
ken rail or an open switch the danger
signal will show and the train will be
automatically stopped. If the engineer
attempts to run faster than the maxi
mum speed permitted under the oper-
ating rules of the road the power OF
the engine will be thrown off auto
matically-and thrown on again as
/ soon as the speed is reduced to per
missible limit. All of these eXtraor-
binary results are attained, it is
claimed by a complex but faultless
system of electrical controls, cOmmu-
nication with the moving train being
gained by a very short third rail sec.
ton at the entrance of each block.
A detailed description of the method
of operation is being prepared for pub
LEGATION in the technical journals, but
meanwhile, the speed control feature
of the system is in practical and con
slant use on fifty-two dining cars OF
the Southern railway. AS this road
contains many curves the guests in
dining cars have been subjected to dis
comfort, frequently, owing to an am
bilious engineers excessive speed
When one of the speed controlled
diners is attached to train now the
engineer cannot pull his train faster
than the maximum permitted by the
control device.