62 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



the floor to the ceiling, inclosing a force-pump, worked by being geared to a 

 wheel of the car, which throws a beautiful jet of water inside the case, and 

 is carried back into the tank by a waste-pipe ; thus the water is used over 

 and over again without waste. At the top of the case is an aperture through 

 the roof, to which is fitted a double bonnet, fronting each end of the car, 

 through which air is admitted into the case the water abstracting all part- 

 icles of dust and other impurities whence it is conducted to a trunk running 

 the length of the car, opening by means of several grates up into the car 

 thus furnishing a constant supply of fresh and pure air. The quantity of air 

 admitted is regulated by a simple register, which can be turned by any one 

 of the passengers. The air escapes at the will of the passenger by opening a 

 little door in the window at his side ; and though the air is constantly pass- 

 hag out, yet there is no perceptible current until within two of three niches 

 of the little door. 



Prevention of Dust in Railroad Cars. Mr. William H. Muntz, of Boston, 

 Mass., has invented an improvement in railroad cars, for preventing the rise 

 of dust. It consists in running a line of perforated pipes along the outside of 

 each car, in sach a manner as to permit the simultaneous discharge of many 

 jets of water, in a lateral direction. These jets are intended to spurt out 10 

 or 15 feet from each side of the car, forming a fine rain to prevent the rise of 

 dust. The tank for supplying the pipes will be carried on a separate truck, 

 or each car may be furnished with its own reservoir. 



Railway Sanding Apparatus. This improvement, recently introduced into 

 England, consists of a sand-holder fixed in front to the engine framing, di- 

 rectly above the rail, and having a conical bottom upon which the sand rests. 

 Within the holder is a valve, suspended by a cord, running along the side of 

 the engine, and which, by a simple arrangement, is placed under the complete 

 control of the engineer. The end of the sand-holder terminates in an India- 

 rubber tube, which not only prevents the scattering of the sand by the wind, 

 but also prevents fracture in case of meeting with any obstacle. 



Independent Whed Broken Frame Safety Truck. Mr. C. R. Disbrow. of Bath, 

 New York, is the inventor of a very desirable improvement in car construc- 

 tion, of which the above is the verbose and somewhat terrific cognomen. 

 The term broken frame, suggestive of any thing but safety to the uninitiated, 

 refers to the fact that the frame is divided longitudinally in the middle, and 

 only connected by an extra axle running across the center a construction 

 which allows each half to oscillate vertically without affecting the other, and 

 enables the car to ride over all the ordinary inequalities of the road with a 

 steadiness previously believed to be unattainable. A " caboose" car, running 

 on the Buffalo, Corning, and New York Rail-road was lately fitted with this 

 improvement, and its practicability perfectly demonstrated, the car being 

 found to run with such steadiness that writing could be executed in a very 

 tolerable manner in its interior, even at high velocities. There are four wheels 

 in each truck, arranged in their usual positions, but the axles are divided in 

 the middle, so as to allow each wheel to turn independently of its mate, thus 

 overcoming the tendency to twist and fracture the axle, and to grind the 

 flanges against the rails in turning curves ou the road. Each truck is neces- 



