844 



Popular Science Monthly 



A jointed ring buoyed up by two floats rubs 

 against the pile and scrapes off marine growths 



Making the Waves Scrape Marine 

 Growths from Piles 



THE protection of wooden piling on 

 wharfs and piers along our coasts from 

 barnacles and the ravages of insect borers 

 is a vital matter. Lives are endangered 

 and much property is lost through .worm- 

 eaten supports. For that reason a "pro- 

 tector," installed at various points along 

 the Pacific coast by Alva L. Reynolds, 

 of Long Beach, California, is attracting 

 considerable attention. 



The device consists of a 

 jointed ring which encircles 

 the piling loosely and is 

 buoyed up by two floats, 

 which look like big wooden 

 baits on rat-trap hooks, and 

 prevent the iron ring from 

 slipping to the bottom of the 

 pile into the mud. Up and 

 down with the tide goes this 

 wooden-baited ring, con- 

 stantly rubbing itself around 

 the post and preventing the 

 entrance of wood-borers, or, if 

 the post be old and already 

 covered, scraping ofif the ma- 

 rine growths and undesirable ^^^ each n 

 attachments of all kinds. three inches. 



How an Entire Railroad Car May Be 

 Moved by Hand 



WITH a tool such as that invented by 

 Charles McCarter, of Decatur, Illi- 

 nois, any one can move a railroad car by 

 hand. It has a clamp that firmly grips the 

 car wheel when a lever (shown in the hands 

 of the man in the photograph) is lowered. 

 The lever has its end secured to a crank 

 pivoted on a triangular wheeled frame, 

 the wheels of which always rest on the 

 track rail. 



When the lever is raised, cranks release 

 the clamp from its grip on the car wheel. 

 As the lever is arranged outside of the 

 track it may be operated without any hin- 

 drance where two cars are coupled, for 

 there will be ample room to move the lever. 

 The car wheel is rolled three inches at one 

 stroke of the lever. 



When the car wheel moves, the car-mover 

 rolls ,on the rail and they both travel to- 

 gether. One man can move the heaviest 

 loaded car on any kind of track. Slippery 

 rails do not hinder the operation, and there 

 is not the least danger of the operator 

 getting his fingers or toes mashed or being 

 hurt in any way. 



The tool and its frame are light enough 

 to be easily carried where needed. It is 

 especially useful where a car switched on a 

 siding has come to a stop a few feet short 

 of the desired place for loading or unload- 

 ing. With the mover the car can be placed 

 exactly where it is needed in a few 

 minutes' time and without requiring the 

 services of more than one man. 



' of the lever the car wheel is moved 

 Slippery rails do not hinder the operation 



