714 



Popular Science Monthly 



Burning Cars to Make Money 



AFTER having carefully estimated 

 l\ the value of the wood in discarded 

 railroad cars, balancing it against the 

 cost of the labor necessary in retrieving 

 it, the Pennsylvania Railroad came to 

 the conclusion that it would be far more 

 profitable to burn the old wooden cars 

 entirely; then recover and sell the scrap 



iron remaining. By following this meth- 

 od of economy not only with cast-off cars, 

 but with scrap material of all descriptions, 

 the railroad company saved $2,000,000 

 in one year. Waste paper alone sold 

 for $19,211, while old wheels, metals 

 and wrought iron yielded more than 

 $780,000. 



The Shingle-Phonograph 



THE accompanying illustration shows 

 a phonograph recently constructed 

 by Harvey Smith, a student in the West 

 AUis High School, West Allis, Wisconsin. 

 The reproducing part of the phono- 

 graph is nothing more pretentious than 

 an ordinary shingle, with the point of a 

 darning-needle securely fastened in one 

 corner. A steel knitting- 

 needle, clamped in a labora- 

 tory ring-stand, 'is thrust 

 through a hole in the shingle 

 to support it as it is carried 

 over the record. The record 

 is mounted upon a wooden 

 turn-table constructed as fol- 

 lows: 



A disk made of three- 

 quarter-inch wood, with a 

 groove in the edge is mounted 

 on the hub and axle of an old 

 bicycle-wheel, so that it can 

 turn easily. This is con- 

 nected with an ordinary bat- 

 tery-motor by means of a 

 cord-belt. Pressure of the 

 thumb and finger on the shaft of the 

 motor regulates the speed of the disk. 

 Records can be played backward simply 

 by twisting the belt. The small illustra- 

 tion shows how two shingles may be 

 used at the same time to play a duet on 

 the same record. In like manner three 

 or four shingles may be used. 



By burning its old w _i ar_ -i railroad company saves $2,000,000 a year in labor formerly 



spent to repair the cars. Before setting fire to the cars, all usable fixtures are removed. 



After the fire, the remaining scrap iron is sold 



