A Useful Invention.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1474, 7 October 1885, Page 5 (Supplement)

A Useful Invention.

Mr A. R. W. Fulton, the Assistant Frigineer of the Wellington and Manffwatu Railway, haa very cleverly applied the call bell of the telephone to an h> gcnious device to secure instantaneous communication between the guards and tlie engine-drivers o£ the Company's trains. There have been many attemps to improve on the present mode of signalling by .whistle betweeD driver and guard, which is not always reliable m stormy weather, when it is moßt needed, and is defective as between guard and driver, but hitherto without success. By Mr Fulton's device, as has been proved during the last few days, the driver from the end of a train cau be signalled to slow and stop the train, and a variety of communications interchanged instantaneously, and that without looking for, or expecting a signal. The simplicity of the arrangement, its easy adaptation to any number of carriages,and the trifling expense, are features which highly commend it, but its best qualities are its never failing efficacy as a means of communication, its being always m place, and its adding greatly to the safety of travellers. We understand that the arrangemeut will be attached to all the company's trains as soon as the necessary material can be procured. Taking its many recommendations into consideration, the company may well be congratulated upon having an engineer m their service capable of perfecting such an invention. The total cost to fit up an engine and van will be about £9, and for every additional carriage or waggon 7« 6d . —Post