Harp burglar alarm aims to foil thieves with music
A Brooklyn man named C R Lerch mounted a lyre shaped harp at his door strung with piano or mandolin wires. When a burglar opens the door, weighted silken strings strike the wires, producing 90 seconds of harmonious sound to wake sleepers and deter intruders. Japanese bells are noted as softer but less effective.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
C. R. Lerch
Winthrop Street
Brooklyn
New York Tribune
Lerch
Hhe
Laws Without Teeth: Microscopic View of Soft Disk Cutting Steel
An explanation shows a soft steel disk at high speed heated at the contact point to its fusing point and brushed away, forming a narrow groove. The large disk surface keeps its temperature lower, while the contact area continually shifts as friction concentrates energy on a tiny spot.
Novel Water Heater For Gas Engines
A Rural New Yorker report explains a water heating device for gasoline engines. It uses a pump fed from a line shaft to circulate water through a jacket, placing the tank near the exhaust port and piping heat back into the tank to raise water to boiling in 30 to 40 minutes at full load.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
New Yorker
Makeshift scoops from tin cans for pantry use
A Farm and Home guide describes crafting scoops from tin cans by cutting and shaping the sides, adding a handle from broomstick or wood, and reinforcing the lip seam for strength. It suggests using caslman, corn, tomato, and half gallon paint cans as suitable containers for sugar flour bran and other light materials. The note ends by identifying Georgetown College as the oldest Roman Catholic college in the United States.
Fatalistic Rail Workers Believe In Fetishes And Luck
A William Greely essay surveys how railroad workers in the United States develop superstitious beliefs as they face constant danger. It cites wrecks in North Carolina, mail clerks saved by luck, lucky charms like old mail sacks and a Massachusetts conductor who wore a red rose daily, claiming protection from accidents.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
A.W. Greely
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Dent
North Carolina
Washington
Post Office
Fitchburg Road
Massachusetts
Berlin's Dwarf Postal Railroad Idea
Berlin's post office proposes an underground dwarf railway to link the main and branch offices. Aimed at faster mail distribution at about 26 miles per hour this driverless tunnel would run beneath streets with a small railcar cargo system and electric locomotive.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
German Post Office Department
Wit
Weil
Rons
Hawaiian Ohia Timber Ties Boost Santa Fe Railroad Plans
The Santa Fe Railway orders 5,000,000 ties cut from ohia timber of Hawaii, weighing about 90 million pounds, to supply railroad needs across the West. Ohia, or kaa, is praised for durability and low cost, with San Pedro favored as reshipment port to cut long haul from San Francisco. The plan includes potential steamers for Honolulu to San Pedro traffic and wider freight and passenger use.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santa Fe Company
Hawaii
Los Angeles Times
Santa Fe
Ohia
Hawaiian Islands
San Francisco
Barstow
Los Angeles
San Pedro
Honolulu
Signal-based safety device for trains proposed by Wilmington inventor
A Wilmington man patents a simple lever mechanism that automatically halts a locomotive when a danger signal is encountered. An arm near the track contacts the locomotive lever to trigger steam release and airbrake application, preventing accidents when signals are not seen.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wilmington
Reading Rooms for Employes at Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad established reading rooms for employees six to eight years ago. Now 20 rooms exist from Chillicothe Missouri to Needles California with $250000 invested. No employee contributions are required. only small fees for sleeping, bathing, billiards and bowling. The library houses about 18000 volumes, 40 percent fiction, 26 percent history, 29 percent biography and 15 percent technical works.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
Chillicothe
Needles
Cal
Santa Fe Railroad
Blown From Freight Car On Baltimore & Ohio Rail
Brakeman William H. Hook Jr. 36 died after being blown from the roof of a freight car near Wagner's Point in Anne Arundel county. A strong gust knocked him from the car while he rode atop the train for the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. He died shortly after the injury.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Wagner's Point
Anne Arundel County
William H. Hook, Jr
Baltimore American
Granny and Dan Plot to Free Rebel Scout in Tennessee
A Confederate-leaning girl in a mountain hut helps a captured rebel escape by deceiving pursuing Union soldiers. Granny pretends sleep while Dan slips away, aided by the girl in disguises and plans to reach safety before dawn, as the band of bluecoats are left searching the hills. The scene blends rustic frontier life with wartime intrigue and a playful, regional tone.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennessee
Pap
Dante
Ruthin
Granny
John
Dominique Jehleken
Hyer
Dad
Dan
Clayton Road
Maés
Also Mentioned on This Page
Georgetown College
Georgetown, D. C
Berlin
Haawaii
California
Centrals
Felix Fellows
Shortstory Pub. Co
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