The Independent . nnot rest in a Pullman. For the wheel of silence has been in-vented and given a years test. It hasbeen demonstrated that a noiselessstreet car is a possibility and that asleeping car berth need not be a placefrom whence sleep is banished. The inventor has already done agood turn to every man who has car-ried in his vest pocket one of the littlestamp books with waxed paper leaves,for the silent wheel was perfected byEdwin C. Madden, who as Third As-sistant Postmaster General devised thenon-adhesive stamp booklet, an inven-tion that has made a couple of milliondollars profit fo
The Independent . nnot rest in a Pullman. For the wheel of silence has been in-vented and given a years test. It hasbeen demonstrated that a noiselessstreet car is a possibility and that asleeping car berth need not be a placefrom whence sleep is banished. The inventor has already done agood turn to every man who has car-ried in his vest pocket one of the littlestamp books with waxed paper leaves,for the silent wheel was perfected byEdwin C. Madden, who as Third As-sistant Postmaster General devised thenon-adhesive stamp booklet, an inven-tion that has made a couple of milliondollars profit for Uncle Sam. Mr. Mad-den got his railroad experience earlieras engine driver on the Detroit, GrandHaven & Milwaukee Railroad. For more than a year a street car inPortland, Maine, has been runningupon eight experimental wheels of theMadden type, and the inhabitants ofthat city refer to Number 404 as theGhost Car because it glides by with-out making a noise like a boiler fac-tory. It has been demonstrated in the. INSIDE INFORMATION course of this extensive test that thenew wheel is not only a nerve-saverfor the public, but a money-saver forthe railroad. Here is what the new wheel meansto railroad men: First, longer servicefor each wheel. It is estimated that theMadden wheel is good for 300,000 miles,while the present standard wheel isready for the scrap pile after runningonly half as far. Second, longer servicefor the rails, frogs and switches, for itis evident that if a cushioned wheeleases its own jar, it will reduce to acorresponding degree the pound andwear on the rails. Third, longer servicefor the rolling stock: every time a car hits a rail joint or uneven place on therail it sends a shock thru the springsand the frame, while the Madden wheelreduces this wear and tear to a mini-mum. Fourth, ease of replacement:when the tire is worn out, it can beremoved easily and a new one slippedon over the central portion, which re-ceives no wear. This applies to the rub-ber cushion whic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookpublishernewyorkswbenedict
