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THE Swiss Federal Railways have recently added to their rolling stock several hospital cars, which are intended for the conveyance of sick and invalid travelers, and whose equipment represents the most modern development in this direction .. The cars are placed at the service of private parties, and being intended especially for long journeys, they are fitted out with all the technical equipment to adapt them for travel over the various European railway systems. The hospital ,ear is built as a four-axle corridor carriage with two bogies, its length between buffers being 63% feet and its total weight in working order 41” tons. Not only is it fitted to travel on all standard-gage railway lines of the Continent, but it is designed also for transfer on the Scandinavian and Sicilian ferry-boats. In addition to the brakes ordinarily in use on Swiss railway lines namely, an automatical Westinghouse emergency brake with a braking cylinder of 8,800 pounds normal piston pressure, combined with a Westinghouse regulating brake there is provided a Hardy switching vacuum emergency brake with two cylinders of 3,080 pounds lighting power each which are designed for automatic working as well as for direct manipulation. As French railways still use emergency chains for safety couplings-the hose couplings of the two Westinghouse brakes being located between the chains -three pairs of Westinghouse braking hose had to be arranged at each end of the wagon. The brake can also be controlled by means of a hand-wheel from each platform. In each compartment in the car and also in the passage, there is a safety brake, with one handle for actuating both the automatic Westinghouse brake with the Signaling whistle and the electrical interconnection signal of the Paris-Orleans Railway 01 the automatical Hardy brake. In addition each wagon is fitted with the Prud-homme electrical inter-connection signal of the French' and Belgian Northern Railways, the alarm bell line of German D-trains and th\ holders for the alarm cord prescribed by Austrian railways, Ten signal holders of different designs had to be put in so as to comply with the special regulations of each of the railways on which the car is intended to. travel. , The car is heated by steam circulating in smooth tube radiators with Wilhelm regulators in general use on the Swiss Federal Railways. In order to insure a satisfactory gradation of heat, a radiator with Jenkins's regulating valve is provided in the Sick-room, A hot air heating installation on the Pape-May system serves to heat up the car when stalled or before starting or wnen traveling' Jines not equipped with steam heating. All the various compartments of the car are electrically lighted on the Brown, Boved&Co, system the total candle-power being 272. The dynamo driven through belt transmission from one Q1f the car axles in conjunction with eight accumulator batteries of 1,600 watt-hours each, also supplies ele
