Nipher — Frictional Effect of Railway Trains upon the Air. 217 



bend the arm carrying the nearer plate until it nearly touched 

 the arm 90° distant. The opposite arm was also somewhat 

 bent in an opposite rotational direction. 



A number of cases of chickens being entangled in the air 

 draught of a train have come to my attention, but some doubt 

 naturally arises in such cases. It is possible that misdirected 

 efforts on their part may have contributed to the result. A 

 better illustration is found in an incident related to me by an 

 eye-witness, Mr. T. J. Foster, of Hannibal, Mo., who in 1896 

 was conductor on train No. 81 of the St. L., K. & N. VV. 

 R. R. Some time near the year 1890 he was on a train passing 

 without stop through Paris, Mo. A number of excelsior bed 

 mattresses six inches in thickness were each tied in a* roll and 

 were standing on end on the station platform, about tvvelve 

 feet from the track. They were tumbled over by the air 

 draught of the train and rolled under the train. The train- 

 men made the greatest efforts to bring the train to a stop in 

 order to prevent derailment. 



It is evident that these objects were toppled over by the 

 blow of the air current, and that they were given a rotation 

 in falling, by being struck a little harder on the side nearest 

 the train. After they had fallen over, they were kept in 

 rotation because they were still in the current of air. The 

 moment of the force producing the rolling motion was in this 

 case relatively large, because of the large diameter of the 

 masses. Smaller masses on the ground would be less affected 

 because of the smaller leverage, and because the air current 

 near the ground is less rapid than at some distance above the 

 surface. The effect of the earth's surface in retarding 

 winds has been well known for many years. Nevertheless, 

 I have seen pieces of coal an inch in diameter rolled along 

 over the surface of the ground by train draught. 



This subject was called to ray special attention by the death 

 of a little boy, James Graney, under circumstances which 

 made it seem probable that his death had been brought about 

 by the action of the air-draught of a rapidly moving train. 

 The evidence showed that he was about to cross a railroad 

 track at a public crossing in St. Louis, and that he was on 

 the plank approach to the track. The surface of the ap- 



