Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/774

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��Popular Science Monthly

��Maud MuUcr Up to Date

THE hay-rake has been vastly im- proved since Maud Muller's poetic hay-day. It is the ultra-modern ma-

���a row at one tooth-carrying

��Maud Muller now gatiiers the hay with a modern rake, which delivers it at one side in neat rows for loading

chine that the lady in the accompanying pic- ture is operating. Like a good rule it w^orks both ways. As a rake it covers a wide path and delivers the hay in side. It has a rotating frame, the rotation of which may be re- versed at will. When reversed, it oper- ates as a tedder, that is, it kicks the hay into the air, thus turning it over so that green hay will dry quickly.

The angle of the teeth is automatically changed by reversing the rotating frame. In consequence, the teeth are always disposed at the proper angle when the machine is in operation. This makes the machine effective, however unskilled the operator may be.

The rotating frame is controlled by a somewhat intricate set of gears oper- ated from a hand-lever within reach of the driver. It is a great help in haying time. Lewis E. Waterman, of Rock- ford, Illinois, invented the various im- provements that distinguish it from other side-delivery rakes.

A Continuous Railw^ay Crossing

CONTINUOUS crossing has been invented that has very few parts

��and which makes the passage of every train perfectly smooth either way. It is composed of four steel triangles which slide back and forth by means of a lever thrown in the switching tower. In the illustration may be seen the four trian- gular blocks and also the rods which are used in operating them. When the blocks are set to make a continuous crossing from left to right and it is desired to clear the other track, a stroke of the lever will cause the blocks to move in a diagonal direction upward and out- ward. The slots are thus closed, making continuous rails for the trains. This system may be attached to the signal

system so that it is al- ways in the correct po- sition.

The new device has been instal- led for test purposes by the Penn- sylvania Railroad at C a r r o t h- e r s, Ohio, where sixty trains pass every day and the wear on the crossings is so great that new ones are necessary frequently. This crossing, however, has given excellent service for a number of months and may be permanently adopted. Trains of sleep- ers, ordinarily as noisy as trains of freight cars, pass over quietly without waking the r)asscngers.

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���The jog is entirely eliminated by this new railway crossing

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