structure at the Thirty-third street crossing might have to be raised slightly to provide sufficient clearance; but this could be done without any interruption of the traffic.

The double-deck car of which we herewith present an interior view was designed by James L. Getaz, Knoxville, Tenn., and is presented as being an interesting study of this problem. The car, as shown, is of larger capacity than would be used within the interior lines of city traffic, being more adapted for interurban service. It has a width over all of 8 feet 10 inches, a height from the top of the rail to the roof of the car of 15 feet. The length over all is 53 feet 2 inches. The car is vestibuled, and an entirely separate cab is provided at the front end for the motorman. To keep down the height of the car and provide good head room on both decks, the floor of the lower deck is lowered between two trucks, access to this lower central portion being had by a couple of steps at each end. Access to the upper deck is by way of two stairways as shown, one on each side of the car, and the movement of passengers is facilitated by arranging the seats on the upper deck back to back, longitudinally down the center of the car. The side walls of the car are braced together by carrying the floor of the upper deck upon forged steel rockers, which are bent up ward at the center into an inverted U, to provide increased head room for the center aisle of the lower deck, an arrangement which gives over a foot of extra head room, and assists in keeping down the total height of the car. These steel rockers are attached by stout knees to the side posts, and materially stiffen the whole structure.

This particular car is of the completely inclosed type-suitable for winter travel. For summer travel it can be built with open sides, as is done on the cars in European cities. The question of stability has been carefully considered, and the lowering of the lower deck between the trucks, coupled with the weight of the motors which would be necessary with a car of this size, has kept the center of gravity at a safe height above the tracks. -Scientific American.

The Possibilities of Telephoning Over Tracks to a Moving Train.

This subject as expressed above divides itself naturally into two parts corresponding to a pair of meanings that can be given to the word "possibilities." It

may safely be said that ever since the introduction of the telegraph as an accessory to railroading, the project of communicating directly with the engineer in his cab, or with the conductor in charge of the train, has been a subject of inventive scheming. For some time the project of doing away, partially or wholly, with fixed signals distributed in "blocks" along the railroad track and substituting therefor so-called "cab signals" operated by currents delivered to the locomotive through the rails, whereby every train is made to carry with it its own signals operative within a moving danger zone of track in front of and behind the train, has been seriously discussed, particularly abroad. That the scheme is regarded as feasible by some practical railroad men seems to give a sufficient warrant for the discussion of complete communication, either telegraphic or telephonic instead; although the substitution of either of these means of communication for the "cab system" used to deliver current to incandescent lamps in the cab would no doubt require detailed experiment in any successful reduction to practice.

This query naturally takes precedence as the first question of possibility. The fact that some highly ingenious inventive work of Phelps, Edison and others has shown a preference to use electrostatic induction in telegraphing to moving trains, rather than any attempt to make use of conduction from rails to wheels, does not necessarily mean that the latter method is impracticable. Since the Phelps invention was tried successfully on the Lehigh Valley Railroad a good number of years ago, much experience has been obtained with moving contacts in the course of the practical development of the trolley and of the third rail system of electric traction. If it is possible to deliver large amounts of electric power with little loss to a fast moving train, there should be every encouragement for the use of moving contacts in handling telephone currents. It should be not impossible to minimize or eliminate difficulties such as "noise" due to variable resistance between, for example, a shoe and a rail.

To our view this query is likely to be the ruling consideration. The force of conservatism, especially strong in its resistance to innovation in the operation of railroads, has hitherto prevented the general substitution of the telephone for the telegraph in train dispatching, for

reasons that come back to mere conservatism when analyzed. Moreover, the Phelps scheme above referred to was a brilliant success when tried, but died of inanition for sheer want of demand for its use.

These considerations of facts bring us logically to the question of whether connection with the world by telephone would be more attractive to express train passengers than the facilities of the telegraph were when tried as described. This is a question, not a matter to be decided offhand. The introduction of the telephone in multitudes of places where the telegraph would not be accepted that is to say, the marvelous growth of the telephone service for business and social uses-might point to a commercial as well as an experimental success for a public telephone service from moving trains. The introduction of telephones at restaurant tables and in hospital wards in one or two of our largest cities has been a success, and might indicate that such an aid to the transaction of business or the killing of time while traveling would be acceptable to the public. These things can not be ignored as at least arguments in favor of the practicability of telephoning to moving trains. On the other hand, there are many inventions-such as "station indicators," a large class in the Patent Office -that consume an amount of ingenuity and labor on the part of their inventors equal to those required to perfect far more useful inventions, but have no real "raison d'etre" either in public need or in corporate saving. Wireless telegraph messages at sea and the demand that has grown up for them is not a sufficiently similiar case to argue from on the present subject, because on the ocean the journey is longer, the sense of isolation and confinement is more oppressive. Moreover, the feat of overcoming such trackless isolation-hundreds of miles "out of sight of land"-has appealed to the public as a long stride ahead into new domains of human achievement; having thus the advantage of complete novelty over the feat of communication, even by so popular a means as the telephone, with a land-bound, land-encompassed railroad train.-Electrical Review.

The Uses of Natural Gas.

The most profitable customers that the natural gas companies have are the householders. Natural gas is eminently fitted for domestic uses, as every woman who

has cooked by its convenient flame has realized, if she has ever had occasion to abandon it for a wood or coal range. She does not wonder that the gods were jealous of the hero who brought fire down from heaven in a hollow reed and showed men how to warm and light their homes and how to cook their food. His was a god-like gift and meant to mankind the beginning of civilization. It is from such primitive uses of fire as Prometheus taught that the natural gas companies of today derive nearly all their revenue. They supplied natural gas to 509,695 domestic consumers in 1902, and blessed not less than 4,500,000 people with it as an illuminant.

So says Mr. F. H. Oliphant in his report on the Production of Natural Gas in 1902, which has just been published by the United States Geological Survey as part of its annual volume on Mineral Resources. He says many other pertinent things in this report. Natural gas, he states, is used on many other hearths than the purely domestic. Iron mills, steel works, glass works, and various other establishments to the total number of 8,103 made use of its energies in 1902. number of natural gas companies that supplied the 509,695 homebodies and the 8,103 establishments in 1902 was 2,147, which represented a gain of 602 companies over the enrollment of 1901.

The

One of the most effective uses to which natural gas has been put is as motive power for engines. The natural-gas engine came into favor about ten years ago, when its use was first employed in pumping wells. Afterward, in forms of magnitude ranging from 5 to 500 horsepower, it was extensively introduced into manufacturing plants, where it has successfully demonstrated its economy and reliability. It has in many cases replaced the steam engine and boiler. Owing to the large number of points that are often widely separated and are difficult to supply with other fuel, it is particularly applicable to the pumping of oil wells and to driving pipe-line pumps.

In connection with a mantle of alkaline earth, natural gas has produced the cheapest and best illuminant known. All natural gas has not, however, the same illuminating value. In some districts it carries a small percentage of the heavier hydro carbons, which add much to its illuminating properties.

Only one article is manufactured from natural gas. That is lampblack, for which a considerable quantity of the an

nual production of natural gas is employed.-Press Bulletin, United States Geological Survey.

cago Great Western suburban service between St. Paul and Invergrove, and the engineers give it their unqualified approval. The service is very severe and a light suburban engine is used.

Before

The Chicago Great Western Railway has placed a device on a number of their locomotives the object of which is to reduce the exhaust when the reverse lever is in the corner, allowing a lighter fire to be carried and absolutely avoiding danger of injuring fire when starting. By softening the exhaust the effect of a large nozzle is produced, and this, by reducing back pressure, naturally increases the power and economy of the engine. It is, in effect, a variable exhaust nozzle, without its drawbacks of complication and tendency to "gum up" and get out of order.

The arrangement of the device is as follows: A hole 2 to 4 inches in diameter is drilled into the exhaust cavity of each cylinder, preferably at the valve chest, and a 2 to 4-inch pipe as indicated by A in the accompanying line drawings, inserted and led by suitable bends and fittings to an auxiliary stack, B, immediately in front of the main stack. At some point, preferably just outside the valve chest, the pipe passes through a gate valve, shown at C, so constructed that when the gate is in its central position the valve is closed, and when in its forward or back position the valve is open. This valve is connected by suitable rods, and, if necessary, a rocker arm to the reverse lever, so that when the lever is in either corner the valve is open, but when near or at the center the valve is closed. Thus, when the engine is working heavily or starting out of a station with the reverse lever in or near the corner, the valves are open and permit about half the exhaust to escape directly to the atmosphere. As the engine is hooked up notch by notch, the valves close gradually, directing more and more steam through the regular exhaust nozzle until the lever is in running position, when the valves are closed and all the exhaust is used to fan the fire.

The rod operating the valve is connected by jaws and a pin through holes in the reverse lever, or bracket attached thereto, as shown at D, so that when

working up a long grade where a heavy fire must be kept up the valve may be disconnected by the engineer and closed or adjusted as desired by hand.

essary to take water on the last trip of ten miles as the engine passed the roundhouse standpipe on the way to the Union depot. After the device was applied it was found that it was possible to make a ten-mile trip, run to the Union depot, and return to the roundhouse, a distance of two miles additional, and yet have enough water for a wait on the roundhouse tracks.

The engineers say that an engine is much stronger when supplied with this

Variable Exhaust Nozzle, C. G. W. Ry.. as
applied to Piston Valve

device and works much more easily, and the coal records show a saving of 13 per cent. in coal since its application. It has shown no sign of gumming up or getting out of order, and the Great Western is now having it applied to two of the largest type of freight and to one passenger engine. It is expected to show a considerable saving on a single-track road where business is heavy and stops are many. The whole device is simple and in few parts. It can be entirely renewed by a machinist and helper in half a day. The invention is patented by F. O. Whealon, locomotive engineer C. G. W. Ry., St. Paul.-Railway Master Mechanic.

Niagara as a Source of Power.

left a dreary and uninteresting precipice by the withdrawal of the water for power purposes. Sentiment, the love of the beautiful and all that, have been appealed to without much visible or tangible effect, and now it is being pointed out that the falls, as they are, are a very great source of revenue to very many people because of the money which is brought into the State by those who go by thousands to see the wonders of the place. This argument is expected to be effective with those who can be moved in such matters only by monetary considerations. As a matter of fact, however, there are two sides to this phase of the subject. It is true enough

it seems to us, that a great natural creation such as this should be regarded as belonging not to a few individuals to be exploited as they choose, but to the State or National Government, and the privileges of deriving power from it or making use of it in any way should be given only upon terms under which the people to whom it belongs should share in its benefits. The power derived from Niagara is originally developed by the heat of the sun falling upon all that great area tributary to and drained by the Great Lakes. We are inclined to think that the utilization of this power in the service of mankind will be of far greater usefulness

that a good many people interested in railroads, hotels and the supplying of these with what they need to carry on their business derive a considerable income from the falls as they are, but the interests of these people are somewhat diffuse. There is free competition in the hotel and boarding-house business in Niagara and in most of the business by which they are supplied, while by no means all of the income that goes to the railroads is reaped by one road or even a few roads. But the men who are after the water of Niagara with the expectation of making power from it to sell to others, hope to gain a more or less complete monopoly of that power, and their interest is therefore the more concentrated and in the end likely to be the more effective. The fact is, as

and benefit than to merely let the water pour over the precipice as a spectacle, but to allow it to be monopolized by speculative companies who may charge what they please for the power or, what is the same thing, for the factory sites on which the power may be used, is not to utilize the power in the service of mankind, but in the service of a few individuals, and the protest that is being made against this is fully justifiable.-American Machinist.

Track Troubles in the Simplon
Tunnel.

One of the engineers of the Simplon relates some particulars of the obstacles recently met. At one point in the north end more than five miles from the en