Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1910 — ADOPT NEW SYSTEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ADOPT NEW SYSTEM

MAP THAT SIMPLIFIES SWITCHING IN RAILWAY TERMINALS. Method That Prevents Accidents and Places the Science of Railway Signaling at the Zenith of Perfection. A new and Improved system for the handling of trains in the large termi-

nals will be inaugurated at the new Grand Central in New York. It is a system that is the perfected re r suit of over half a century of railroading and by its use all accidents which formerly were liable to occur In an overcrowded terminal will be rendered impossible. It is a system that represents the last word in the science of signaling

and switching where perfect system is everything. A great illuminated map showing a wilderness of railroad tracks will hang in an enclosed room in the new Grand Central station. It will be seen by few and the tens of thousands of people Who hurry in and out of the station every day will know of it, if at all, only by hearsay; yet upon it their safety will depend. Far removed from the tracks, shut off from the sound of the thundering trains, the chief dispatcher will be guided by it unerringly. Upon it the position and movement of every train will be recorded, and all the tracks that conflict with the course of a train will stand out glittering on the face of this map. And more than that, if, in defiance of the warnings it flashes, a negligent leverman should attempt to seqd a train into danger upon one of these conflicting tracks, he will find the lever locked against him, so that he cannot throw the switch. The moment the train has passed from danger the map will record that fact and the switch will be unlocked and ready for use. Simultaneously with the passing of the lights and shades on the map, the whole mechanism below will be put into action. Constantly crossing the face of the map, as if casting their shadows, the trains will flash from one forbidden area to the next in a rapid staccato manner that will be puzzling at first, but it will take only a few minutes’ study to show the regularity of the movements. As soon as a train enters the terminal, a warning will show on the map and the dispatcher, in charge of the signal room, will plan out its course. Between the time it enters and its arrival at the dozen trains may cross its course, but it will not be in danger from one of them. As it enters one division, the one ahead will be barred to all other trains with signals set against any intrusion upon its right of way. Then, as it passes on, the track behind it will again become open for use. At any one time it will have for its exclusive use only a few hundred yards of track, but within that space it will travel in perfect safety. To the dispatcher i.t will be as if he were pulling the trains by so many strings without worrying about the danger of conflict. The system takes care of all the details. From the tower by means of a large machine consisting of many small handles, which are put into operation at the slightest touch, the whole system of switches and signals In the terminal below is operated. In the case of the new Grand Central the system is entirely electric and these little handles which work so easily on the machine start a current of electricity working upon a series of compressed air valves which throw the switch. This is system reduced to the last possible stage. To go further and remove the human element is no more feasible than a business system that would provide for automatons to do the work of the office staff. But, in any business system, negligence can cause mistakes. In a railroad terminal It merely blocks the traffic.