A Steel Caboose and Repair Car

Abstract

of all electric conductors, attention was turned to the open or uncovered wires. The line running from Berlin to Magdeburg, a distance of 93 miles, was selected. The comparison was made between a wire 2 mm. (.078 inch) in diameter and 93 miles long, and another of 3 mm. (.118 inch) in diameter and 111:� miles long. Fig 2 shows the manner of equipping the former wire with the coils, as well as the double insulator. The coils were placed upon poles 2'\6 miles apart, and it was found that the as sisted smaller wire far surpassed the work performed by the larger wire. In Fig. 3 we show a po'!e with a num ber of coils attached. These results prove that in the Pupin inventions, new means are provided for greatly increasing the speaking property of cables. The day may not be so very far in the future before New York and London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, or St. Petersburg may be telephonically con nected, and "Hello London," will be a common expression in Wall Street. The coils necessary to assist a wire are not too large to be placed in the sheathing of a transatlantic cable. Hence such a cable is by no means an impossibil ity. Such coils, if placed at proper in tervals, may not exceed an inch in length with a diameter of half an inch. With the Marconi wireless telegraphic and the Pupin relay telephonic systems in working order, the era of quick and easy communication will have arrived. With steel cars now coming large ' ly into use, en tirely new problems of maintenance and repair are encountered. When a wooden car is wrecked in a col lision or other accident, the problem generally pre sented is that of getting the debris Ollt of the way as soon as possible and to subject the following trains to the ' least possible delay. But in the case of the steel car the dv,mage sustained is of an entirely different character.With the proper facilities at hand, it is necessary only to replace a few parts, to straighten out a few others, and the car is ready to proceed to its destination,The Goodwin Car Company has been the first to meet these changed conditions by the construction of a combined caboose and repair car, which is designed to accompany trains of the dumping cars built by that company. Such a car is shown in the accompanying cut, and was built for the Carnegie Steel Company as part of a train 'Nhich that concern is now operating in the vicinity of Pittsburg, One of the features of superiority of this car over the caboose of wood is its great strength, It has but two sills, which are of steel and form the backbone of the car, being situated Scientific American whatever could be found with its behavior.As a repair shop, this car is fitted with the pneu matic tools which are necessary to remedy any ordi nary damage that will be encountered on the road, and which are operated from the train-line pressure of the air-brake system. The car parts are all interchange able, and the repair car is fitted out with duplicate A STEEL CABOOSE AND REPAIR CAR.parts. Where it is necessary, it will be a comparative ly easy matter to cut out ...