Images: Chatsworth, CA 2008;NY 1909.

An excerpt from a 1951 article on the New York City Subway system:

“Few other railroads are equipped with so many safety devices. Rapid transit trains have four separate automatic stopping devices: a dead-man’s button, which brings the train to a halt if the motorman takes his hand off the power-control handle; an emergency device that shuts off the power if two cars come apart; another that stops the train if it passes a danger [red] signal, and an engineer’s brake valve constantly under the motorman’s hand. Signaling lights on the lines are virtually foolproof. To ensure passenger safety still further, there is an interlock between the car doors and the motor of the train, so that power will not go on while the doors are open.”

-“Nether World” by Richard Gehman
Copyright 1951 by Park Magazine, Inc.