Traction Engines and Roads

1866 Scientific American  
Ever since the murder of Mr. Briggs, by Muller, on an English railway, the English have been racking their brains to invent some meaIis by which the occupants of a car, or of a compartment in a car, can communicate with the "guard, '; or the engineer. The cars, or carriages, on English 1'lIilroads are divided into compartments, calculated each for the accommodation of six or eight persons, and when once in, the passengers afe held under lock and key, there being no communication between the
more » ... erent carriages of a train, nor between the different com partments of the same carriage. Under these cir cumstances robbery and even murder are feasible, as has been proved in many other instances beside that of Mr. Briggs. Evidently, if communication, instant and certain, with the engineer or conductor, is of value on any Nad, it should be on roads managed in this manner. The English style of railway carriages has its advan tages over that of our roads, where all, without regard to character, age, nationality, or disposition are indiscriminately herded together; but it is as evident that it has also its disadvantages and dan gers. We secure immediate connection with the driver of the train by a sim pIe cord passing through loops on the ceiling of the cars, and connected be tween two carriages by a snap catch. By this cord the Whole train is connected, the passengers in the rear car having equal facilities, with those of the forward car of communicating with the engineer .
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican09221866-198b fatcat:chunf3cugfc6xnejqf7amk3mry