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What’s old is new again

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Re “Metrolink is pairing up engineers,” Sept. 27

It’s unbelievable. Half a century after the fights to get rid of the obsolete firemen on the then-new diesel engines, we are back there.

In the 1800s, soon after Westinghouse introduced the air brake, an inventor installed a small glass portion of air tubing on the front of the engine. Whenever an approaching signal showed “stop,” it would raise a small lever to break the glass and stop the train in case the engineer neglected to do so.

Are we paying for a museum?

H.R. Richner

Costa Mesa

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