New-York daily tribune., 1853-12-28
LETTERS FROM TIE PEOPLE.
RELIEF FOR BROADWAY
RELATIVE CAPACITIES or ELEVATED hA'""' n" ~"
sTREET RAnROAOs
na- 80, q ~, \. Y. -. i.

m a. f,Sias a Tfs y. y. T'tosaei
s,s In your paper Of zsah Augut you Paolshei my
,se, ofho s,h in which itis stated in snbsiance that
onla n ou;re al least from Eve 20 railroads oi tue
,,r,o causciy Of the sivth Railroad 70 AIRY
onv ar many paengers IN the morning hour oi heaVy
tr,vel down broadway, could be accomncdt7d by the
eurbuses now ensed for that thOroughiare bat iha'
b, mesbs Of Tie elevated railway projected by M wa.n
h 10 be supported upon pair Of columns along the cnro
sopss and from tweve fourteen fee. above hon and TO
h. di,eonpsc,ed with the buildings and from threea to
tw.ntvthree feet from them there could b6 carried With
regular speed Of from six 10 nine miles an hour a. might
hs rr, cffed by the public, one hundred and t~cny
ouiond persons both way' or SKY nou, ma gsf,on'
each wuv between The Battery and CysiM Pa.
ace h distance being about 35 100 neor twenty three
thorsand feet 10 singleh hour, without jong ana an)s
be II noise the possibility " accident and % one day
twelve hcrs here could be- carried from the Battery 10
he Crystal Pslsce, and returning, number Of persons
squs 70 he whole population Of the Cy OF Ne"-ior"
estuaiife IL at tx hundred thousand souls.
Az this very limited capacity Of street railroais on
vb the cars nust stop bbste their speed Ehie re
ceving and dseharping their passengers and the com
partiiyely unlimited capacity OF the Elevated X hway
projected by me whcn does not stop or arrest tne Spou
Of he main through cars for ;ha1 plrose-that oe
beng performed a every second or third cross sreei ny
ueats Of way car or tender another track along side
ofis min carriage track not generally understood
Ihave in order TO show the great advesges OF he a,
fer over The former mode Oi conveyance prepared INC oA
lowing detailed estmaie b4sed upon competent authority
which viii establish the correctness OF the foregoing state
re1f and Il 80 he advocates OF the Broa1yay Street
Eolroad viii ind to Lcr interest TO abandon their pro
iciwfhout expending any more tine or N nay upon
psn tins proved TO be incompetent to meet The reasona
bic exueCaons Of the public and adopt in It's stead the
Fleysted Railway projected By me, which no doubt would
become successful rival TO IT, If both it AMI that Street
RsilIoedshould be constituted ~
Because this Elevated Railway would be more eligible
A. 10 safety certainty, speed economy and comfort not
only, but Il would alsO II Gdoped, be elnVaieni 10 ING
widening Of Broadway; and company conii aiOrd
TO reduce the passenger fare by this Elevated Railway
equal the saving by steam over an NAL power whcn
probably would be 30 great ~ to enable - wIaou1 gll
frnsl1 & 5rDF
onrbusos ~ branch lines tenders 70 carry tlcr rAi
waypas sengers across the City tin replaced BY Elevated
Rslg ave- fTon every second third cros5sreet on
PtotdSey 10 The rrbposed CITY Belt tayennc RIroad
"Iepot and Elevated Railway and Promenade prl
jeued by in 1885 from the Battery along the 9TH
and Eat Rivers 70 Kings Briige-ihe plan fjr which
was tYtsented to the Board Of Alemen l3h June 1919
by Alderman Shuliz and referred TO the Committee on
sIreet', consisting OF Aldermen 41Igan A}fsaas ',e
scriIcn Of this proposod Improvement sec note n an
ne1edD
rHE ChPACITT o. The sfxTH.AvgHUE RAILROAD,
and show that II can carry on an average only thirty
each way per hour containing together seats T., SIX
bundled and sixty psssengers and that when worked up
to utmost capacity and limit il pass from one track
through turnout and switch 10 the return track only
forty care seating eight hundred and eighty passengers
each way thousand seven hundred and sixty seats
In cd.r 10 meet any objections that might be made to
our esimates Of the limited capacity OF Railroad laid
down in Broadway, will for present purposes as
sumo that il could carry many passengers each way per
CT,
avenue Railroad when worked up TO s utmost capacity
although in practice it would fall far short Of it, because
of the greater interruptions the crosssreet and want
Of room and increased danger in receiving and sharg
ING pafsepees and in changing horscs among the great
crowds yeholes passing n opposite directions in Boad
way addition the danger from cars ON the return
track We will therefore show,
First. 1bet tho average capacity of the Sixh-avenue
Raroad limited TO only thirty cars seating only sI
bundrd and sixty passengers each way; and sixty cars
seating thousand three hundred and twenty passen
gers both ways per hour.
Rarodd have been obtained from personal observations
made thirty successive two horse cara Of twenty two
teats each they were being passed through
The turn and switches that avenue between Forty
second end Forty third streets at which place there are
two turn outs.
waiting for turnout to be vacated varied from 10 80
seconds and averaged so seconds per car but as hs time
could haye been saved will not include it in this est
mate of time lost.
iSro, 81 abs swidh and Turnout to hrdt tns dis
bsns about ~ iest varied from % 80 " seconds and
The Inc sitn chsas pair horses flo end q ,hs
car ~ to li5 seconds Including
the lsutr the sponge the horses mouths and
The oHa tsy itid;. toward F.rsy 'ec1aa &
snoh,r car to pass it, tom 4S seconds AID
q 1--WE for ,bc s;ciss. time TO- p.. horse car from
sk through Turnout and switch to the return track
And .R % l.. srsrss eapssiy to only ooe car in every
I've ms,s' Of %s soS Rs5 hour IN eS r
George Law, ESQ., who ssOsssd that required an aver
weather averaging about eeven horsss car will s bs
6fe IN snoned smouD each hour to only 50 cars
c,, to only 60 c;is or passenger seats @
We will In the next place snow O.,
Second. That the maximum capacity Ql lne sN'n aV.
Railroad when worked up TO its utmost limit can carry
only 40 seating $50 passengers each way or " cars
Seconds.
The least time required to pss sn from Forysss0Dds
through snd switch to FOrtyhirdst has been
The @ ns Saep change p.r Of horses o one end
OF The car The Othe, has been shown to be.::;; -
the lea taken etSrns 90 fAI beyond the
"'' ,'..'' ~.' another ''' to pas T'' '.'.....
This sves us ior the least possible time pass awohos
ca the With the aid OF two
sSro9 a. @ @ & S At n ,.a. To- :.cb car
gives Tor the utmost capacity Of tn sixth hsosd per so
heSI one way ~ sss or pnser ss,s SsS
In August last ascertaned from the Superintendent oi
the Sixth Railroad that his practice then was TO start
car from each end of the road week days at every
three minutes Of time thus furnishing 20 csrs or aO pas
senger ea each way and 80 cars seating $50 passengers
both ways per hour aud that Sundays he started car
every minutes (mang 80 or660 passenger seats
each way and go seating 1890 passengers both ways
per hour and that although this latter amount Of travel
about much could be relied upon for this road
yet that might be possible in 10 25 per
cent this time and at most pass from track
through the turnout the return track in 80 instead OF
ts0 seconds.
Now as this estimate Of the superintendent to the
least time lvz 80 seconds required TO pass from
track The return track corresponds with and
firms my own obsery atisns tho same Railroad. and
hLd also corresponds with the least tmo taken f0
like purposes at the turn outs az the Park 10y the Fourth
av cars viii take il the maximum capacity Of the
Railroad viz That 30 seating $50 passengers bI
passed rom Of its tracks 20 the return rack, in
hour and that when this Railroad is worked Up 10 its ut
most capacity ii can accommodate in one hour both way
IA