MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 59 



may revolve, yet it is without effect, as they do not rest upon the rails ; 

 and secondly, the frame is a heavy brake, creating an immense fric- 

 tion on the shoes, by which, though the train will slide a short distance, 

 it will very soon be stopped. The application of the brake can be 

 done by the engineer, conductor, or passengers, by simply pulling a 

 rope which passes through and on the top of the cars, and a slight 

 pull will detach the catch on the lever, when the frame-work drops 

 from its own weight. One advantage here is, that in case an axle or 

 wheel breaks, the car will rest upon the frame, checking the speed of 

 the train, and communicating intelligence to the engineer that some 

 accident has happened. The winding up of the frame can be done 

 by hand, or steam power, if desired. 



Railroad Car Replacer. This invention, by Mr. S. H. Bean, con- 

 sists of an inclined plane, constructed of wood, or iron, attached to 

 each end of an axle, which is placed in front of each wheel of the 

 car that has run off the track, which inclined plane extends some 

 distance above the tops of the rail, and by the gravity of the car, 

 slides down a transverse inclined plane to its proper position on the 

 track, after which the replacer is attached to the car, it being of an 

 e'asy portable nature. 



Locomotive Mirrors. The practice of placing a looking-glass 

 before the engineer in a locomotive, inclined in such a way as to 

 enable him to see the whole train behind him without turning, is 

 gradually becoming universal on the continent of Europe. Many 

 roads in France have adopted this plan, the greater part of those in 

 Austria have tried it successfully, and the locomotives on the line from 

 Brussels to Antwerp have been just fitted with the necessary reflec- 

 tors. Should a car or any portion of the train become detached, 

 should an axle break, or in short any accident happen, the engineer 

 sees it at once. 



Improvement in Boxes for Axles. An improvement in boxes for 

 axles of railroad cars, has been invented by Messrs. Pro vest and 

 Smith, of Germantown, Pa., which is thus described : The steps in 

 which the spindles of the car axles run are made in two pieces, so 

 that when any strain may come upon them in the line of the running 

 of the car, they may be forced apart sufficiently to allow the axle to 

 come up into proper position, to prevent the otherwise twisting of it 

 by being cramped between the rails. The two-part step may have a 

 tongue both upon the top and bottom, which may work in correspond- 

 ing grooves in the top and bottom of the box, or it may slide in a 

 rebate ; in either the box may be so provided with flanges as to form a 

 receptacle for the oil. Behind each of these parts of the step, springs 

 are arranged, which admit of the step being opened when turning 

 curves, and closing it when coming on straight lines, thus allowing the 

 axle to adjust itself as the nature of the case may require. The spring 

 behind the step also allows it to yield slightly when the wheels strike 

 against any obstruction on the road, thus taking the sudden jar or strain 

 upon the springs instead of the spindles of the axle, as in cases where 

 the boxes are tight, and which often bend or break the spindle. 

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