. The Pennsylvania railroad : its origin, construction, condition, and connections ; embracing historical, descriptive, and statistical notices of cities, towns, villages, stations, industries, and objects of interest on its various lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey . werethen made in succession, to testthe time required to get the train in motionfrom a state of rest. In the first trial thetime was four and a half seconds, and inthe .second two and eight-tenths seconds. Attached to the brake, and under eachcar, an iron arm projects downwards, itslower end being about six inches from theleve
. The Pennsylvania railroad : its origin, construction, condition, and connections ; embracing historical, descriptive, and statistical notices of cities, towns, villages, stations, industries, and objects of interest on its various lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey . werethen made in succession, to testthe time required to get the train in motionfrom a state of rest. In the first trial thetime was four and a half seconds, and inthe .second two and eight-tenths seconds. Attached to the brake, and under eachcar, an iron arm projects downwards, itslower end being about six inches from thelevel of the rails. In the event of the carrunning off the track the wheels wouldnaturally sink, and the bottom of the armcoming in contact with the ground imme-diately causes the brake to operate. Thiswas tested by placing an obstruction on thetrack, high enough to catch the arm, which,when it was reached, brought the train to ahalt in a few seconds. These tests demonstrate the power and effi-ciency of the Westinghouse Pennsylvania Railroad Company wasthe first to adopt it, a,nd its managers haveextended every facility for its consequence is that their road receivesthe full benefit of the invention, and all the BLOCK-SIGNAL STATIONS. 31. BLOCK-SIGNAL STATION. security it gives to the traveling public isenjoyed by their customers. The Wharton Patent Switch—to theinventor of which a prize medal was recentlyawarded by the Franklin Institute of Phila-delphia—is also adopted and used by thecompany. This switch is the only one inthe world that enables a railroad to grantswitch facilities without breaking the maintrack. Perfect security is thus given totrains, even if the switch is, by accident, leftwrong; and not the slightest incumbranceto a passing train is presented should theswitch be fastened wrong or not fastened atall. Another improvement in use upon theroad is the track tank, which enables a loco-motive to supply itself with water while thetrain
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidpennsylvania, bookyear1875
