Palisadian., 1925-09-11
TO PUT 0NE-MAN CARS
ON ALL LOCAL LINES
New Order in Effect Sept. IS;
Special Safety Devices Make
New System Safe.

Beginning September Is, cars on the
Englewood, Hudson River and Fort
Lee lines of Public Service Railway
Company will each be in charge of a
single operator.
Preparations for this change have
been under way for number of
weeks. Cars have been equipped with
pneumatic door operating mechanism,
with a special braking system, which
permits any passenger to stop the car
in an emergency, with emergency
valves so placed that the rear door
can be opened from the rear platform
by passengers, and with avtype OF, fare
box which, receives coins up to a
quarter. -
At the same time, operators have
been given thorough course of in
struction in their duties, so that it is
expected that the new system will go
into effect without a hitch.
One-man operation is not an expert
ment with Public Service Railway
Most of its lines have been so operated
for a long time and the change-over
to take place on September Is will
give the company one hundred per
cent one-man cars.
The system has been successfully ap-
piled to lines of heavy as well as light
traffic. Cars in Newark, Jersey City,
Paterson, Camden and all the larger
cities served, are in charge of a single
operator, and this is true both as to
cars of large and small capacity.
The system has resulted in lessen
ing of accidents and an increase in
speed. The former result is due to
the fact that with one man in charge
of the doors the liability of starting
cars before passengers are aboard is
eliminated. The company's rules pro-
vide that the doors shall be closed be-
fore the car is started and the car
stopped before the doors are opened.
Increase in speed is due to the fact
that no time is lost in exchanging sig
nails between the front and rear plat
forms and to the further fact that the
operators attention is entirely in con-
troll of the car and he is not expecting
signals from the rear at any time.
Every duty that the operator per-
forms in connection with fare collec-
tion is performed when the car is
standing still. AS soon as the car is
in motion, he has nothing to think
about but its operation.
He has, in addition, been provided
with a number of labor saving de-
vices, including pneumatic machinery,
which permit doors and steps to be
opened or closed by the pressure of
the operators fingers on the levers
that are located at his side on the
front platform.
Cars operating on lines where there
are heavy grades are equipped with an
emergency brake system. The valve
cord runs through the car Tor its en-
tire length so that any one can stop
the car from the inside, while in case
of damage to operating mechanism on
the front platform, the car is auto
matically stopped.
On the rear platform of each car
is piaced a red box. In case of
emergency the rear doors may be
opened by any passenger, who has
only to break the glass in the front
of the box and pull the lever which it
encloses.
The fact that one-man car operation
has been in effect in so many munich
palities served by Public Service Rail-
way, with public approval and with
improvement of service, has establish
ed it as fixed policy of the company
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