CHAPTER XX – Tom Swift and His Elec­tric Loco­mo­tive unfolds against the back­drop of a nar­row­ly avoid­ed dis­as­ter. A poten­tial wreck involv­ing Express No. 28 is pre­vent­ed thanks to a time­ly delay and an urgent mes­sage from the Half Way oper­a­tor. The warn­ing reach­es Ham­mon Sta­tion just in time, and prop­er sig­nals are set to avert a col­li­sion. As the Her­cules 0001 bar­rels down a steep grade at full speed, Tom’s steady hand and the locomotive’s respon­sive con­trols prove cru­cial. The sit­u­a­tion could have end­ed in cat­a­stro­phe, but pre­ci­sion and calm trans­form pan­ic into tri­umph. Cheers erupt from the crew as the train slows safe­ly, and the cri­sis pass­es.

Ned New­ton, vis­i­bly shak­en, admits he has no desire to repeat the expe­ri­ence. The force of the descent and the prox­im­i­ty to dis­as­ter leave him uneasy. But Tom, ever the inven­tor, sees some­thing dif­fer­ent. Rather than fear, he feels oppor­tu­ni­ty. The inci­dent sparks an idea root­ed in pre­ven­tion. Tom pro­pos­es a wire­less com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tem that allows engi­neers to instant­ly report emer­gen­cies to sta­tions both ahead and behind. While con­trol­ling nature isn’t always pos­si­ble, respond­ing effec­tive­ly can make the dif­fer­ence. Tom explains that while no loco­mo­tive is immune to mechan­i­cal fail­ure or human error, clear and imme­di­ate com­mu­ni­ca­tion can min­i­mize the con­se­quences dra­mat­i­cal­ly.

His sug­ges­tion goes beyond the­o­ry. He begins sketch­ing out how com­pact wire­less sets could be inte­grat­ed into the cab design with­out inter­fer­ing with con­trols. The goal is not just effi­cien­cy but real-time net­worked aware­ness. A train in dis­tress could now broad­cast warn­ings with­in sec­onds, prompt­ing near­by sta­tions and trains to respond proac­tive­ly. Along­side this, Tom plans to enhance brak­ing sys­tems by improv­ing pres­sure mod­u­la­tion and feed­back mech­a­nisms. It’s not about avoid­ing speed—Tom respects pow­er. It’s about pair­ing speed with safe­ty. Mr. Bartholomew, head of the rail­way com­pa­ny, imme­di­ate­ly sees the mer­it and pledges full sup­port.

As engi­neers inspect Her­cules 0001 post-run, they find the machine in excel­lent con­di­tion. Its struc­ture held firm even under extreme strain. The feed­back from the tri­al is over­whelm­ing­ly pos­i­tive. Not only has the elec­tric engine out­per­formed expec­ta­tions on incline han­dling, but it has also shown resilience under emer­gency con­di­tions. This ele­vates con­fi­dence in Tom’s design across the board. Dis­cus­sions begin about scal­ing pro­duc­tion and ini­ti­at­ing more expan­sive test­ing on longer, more com­plex routes. Tom, how­ev­er, doesn’t cel­e­brate for long. He returns to the draw­ing board with fresh urgency. His focus is already on refin­ing the inno­va­tions inspired by the near miss.

The chap­ter also touch­es on the emo­tion­al tone of inno­va­tion. Ned’s cau­tion reflects the very human side of progress—concern for life, appre­hen­sion in the face of dan­ger. Tom doesn’t dis­miss it. Instead, he builds on it. He under­stands that inven­tion must serve both the dar­ing and the doubt­ful. Every engi­neer on the track deserves tools that make their jobs safer. That belief fuels his dri­ve to ensure that Her­cules 0001 becomes more than just fast—it becomes smart, con­nect­ed, and secure.

Lat­er that day, a small­er demon­stra­tion is held at the yard, show­cas­ing some of the updates Tom begins pro­to­typ­ing. While the full wire­less sys­tem isn’t in place yet, mock sig­nals sim­u­late how it might oper­ate. Mr. Damon, ever sup­port­ive, repeats his favorite phrase—“Bless my safe­ty lever!”—as he watch­es the mock-up unfold. Rail­road staff from near­by towns begin ask­ing when the sys­tem might be avail­able. Some even ask if sim­i­lar tech­nol­o­gy could assist in night freight oper­a­tions. Tom takes note. He sees appli­ca­tions far beyond express runs.

As the chap­ter ends, opti­mism flows like cur­rent through cop­per. Tom’s inven­tion has done more than perform—it has proven adapt­able. He has shown that inno­va­tion isn’t just about bold­ness. It’s about lis­ten­ing, learn­ing, and evolv­ing. The Her­cules 0001, once a mar­vel of mechan­i­cal design, is now becom­ing a plat­form for inte­grat­ed safe­ty and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. And for Tom Swift, the future isn’t just elec­tric. It’s con­nect­ed.