September 28, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



419 



apex (now the lowest point) of the A are at- 

 tached vertical links, the otlier end of which are 

 attached to the truck ;it B. B, in our diagram. 

 As the truck 

 enters a 

 curve, one of 

 these links 

 becomes in- 

 clined for- 

 ward, and the 

 other back- 

 ward. As the 

 wheel C 

 strikes a- 

 gainst the 

 outer rail of 

 the curve, it 

 is thrown to- 

 wards the in- 

 side of the 

 c u r V e (as- 

 suming the 

 position 

 shown by the 

 dotted lines 



in the figure), and the suspension-links force 

 that side of the truck forward, ■while the wheel 

 D comes backwards ; and therefore the action 

 of the links tends to. make the .axles radiate to 

 the curve. No centre-pin is used ; and there- 

 fore, when a car is heavily bumped in switch- 

 ing, it merely swings backward on the links 

 until they become sulliciently inclined to drag 

 the truck after the car. It should be noted 

 that the pin E, which connects the links to the 

 truck, is a loose fit in the links, and 

 therefore allows of the necessary radial 

 motion. The top ends of tlie links, 

 being attached to the truck, are always 

 approximately a fixed distance above the 

 rails ; and therefore, wlien they are in- 

 clined, the car itself is UfLed, and the 

 weight of the car, hence, tends con- 



at right angles to the axis of the car, so that 

 it runs steadily on a straight line. The truck 

 appears to be very highly thought of by the mas- 

 ter car-build- 

 ers, whose 

 convention 

 was held in 

 Ciiicago dur- 

 ing the expo- 

 sition : and it 

 is possible 

 that it may 

 come into ex- 

 tended use, 

 the experi- 

 ence of the 

 Boston and 

 Albany, Con- 

 necticut Riv- 

 er, and other 

 roads which 

 have used it, 

 being strong- 

 rAR. ly in its fa- 



vor. 

 The Clifl and Righter company of Oswego, 

 X.Y., exhibited a ear-spring whicli gives an 

 equal amount of elasticity, with a less amount 

 of metal than the ordiiuary elliptic spring. 

 Each half-spring consists of a solid steel bar 

 of oval section, properly tapered towards the 

 ends. Springs as usually made, of four, five, 

 or more plates, rcsemlile a set of somewhat 

 elastic girders, the depth of each of which is 

 the thickness of the plate ; and the strength 



a^...i-'— y 



SUSrESSION CAH-TRl'CK. 



D^>. '''•7- 



DIAGRAM SHOWINU ACTION OF tJUaPENSlON CAR-TRUCK. 



stantly to keep the links vertical, and maintain of a spring is the sum of the strength of each 

 the truck in its noimal position, with the axles individual plate or girder, modified by the fric- 



