New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-22
IrTTERs FROM THE PEOPLE.
rrrwEEN UP TOWN AND DOWN TOWN.

,hc island For present purposes shall consider the
civ Han Chambers-st as the lower, and Mechanics
VILE and Harlem Northumberland twentietl-st' as
tic upper extrcmtCs, the Intervening distance being
tut.A miles, Between these points there are two great
daily 90 rr.!ts Of travcl the down down for about
tbrechous in the morning the other up town for about
three hour i1 the afternoon. These currents are NANNY
composed Of persons who reside town. and are occu
ped down town. Thcy may be styled Through pasSeI-
gers " rs tncv Go not wish stop the way between
their aud their places Of business or labor or
course no railway steamboat can have station OF
land11 % every mans door The most tAat can DC al
tanned i'm city is that they shall be within reasonable
distance say rarely more and usually less than half
mile assume that half hour Of actual time between
CHlubeIs-st. and nty-SiNthst
would ols meet The needed conditions and that much
LONGER time viii not.
Tie Distance between these streets being = miles, the
frecd .torgaecs included must be little more than 10
relics an hour To accomplish this, steam must be the
motive power This excludes all idea Of surface
railr5ef for should pass each way every Is min
u,cs during Che busiest hours Of the daythat Is,
winch must have the right Of way going at a rate
which crI.s Il the len 9Th Of block in y seconds Any
ffvon point on the line Would be passed way tie
Other ever. q minutes. such road would not only mo-
uOroze the str @, through which it extended, hut would
IN cc prevent vehicles from crossing IT, for 10 care on
te 9. of drivers no watchfulnoss on the part Of
duct1.s, aud array Of fa@mm could prevent acct
dents 1t would constitute q wall practically impassa
bic, the whole length Of the city. Any railroad upon
which to be az the speed and with the fre
quency demanded must therefore be either UNDERGROUND
or elevated. would take years to build either for the
whole distance and until opened the whole distance it
would bc wholly useless for the purpose Of communica
ton twecu tho extremes Of tie cl,y Yet the necessity
Of this communication is urgent that it must be met
at once. 81 it lies within human possibility
Shut out from earth and the air, look only to
the water. think demonstrably practicable to cstab-
Hsh steamboat connection between tine two points in
question which shall fully meet all the acquisitions. The
formation Of the island furnishes remarkable facilities
for water communication between its cZTcmueS. It's
breadth between the Points indicated is almost uniformly
Just miles; only short distance does reach two
miles and q quarter and this il nowhere exceeds. There
arethus only two three points even in the central me
of the city more than mile from navigahlc water ON
one side or the other than threefourths Of the
people who need this means or transit RESIDE ana 10
business within less than half mile Of the water side
There should he lmCS-one upon each SIDE oil the
city-Of swift passenger steamers, each Inc 70 consist OF
number Of vessels sufficient TO secure the requisite
Frequency Of tips The Through passengers" do not
wish TO stop rip To bring the vessels within the
rcquircd halfne from the greater portion Of the resi-
dences there must he in each mile two andingIlaces
beside those at the ternini The upper ardngIlaces
will le at about Observation-Disclosures anu Eighty
sixthst the lower ones Houston and sevcntccnhss
Practically however, the halfmle limits VIII extend for
eight or ten blocks on each side beyond those Indicated
Thus passenger from Northumberland thirty ixtst.
will be within half mile above the OnehundrcG-ald-
twenty-ixtht landing, &c. engers-that is,
all travelling within these points and for short distances
anywhcre-wil naturally the streetraUays. These,
when relieved Of the morning and afternoon pressure Of
the through passengers viii afrd adequate accommO-
daion Tic time required FOR the entire trip from ter
minus 10 terminus may hc easily estimated. with a
speed OF 20 miles an EO1, tic voyage OF = miles without
any stoppace would occupy 22l nutcs; allowing 10
minutes for the four intermediate stppGgcs the entire
time between Harlem and ChambeIs-st viii be S2i
minutes, the utmost for any possc ger; the shortest
time Chat between Noriyinc and scventcentL-st., 50
miles, without stoDparo about 70 minutes. This would
be speed fully three times as great a. that attained Dy
the street-cars
of course the boa must he constructed with special
regard this service. II could Lot Je performed by
vessels arranged for ordinary mixed traffic. Freight in
every shape should he heout.ly cx uGed. The hull
and engine therefore Oe constructed with sole refer
ence TO safety absolute speed when way mnding
the helm quckncss in stopping and starting, means of
quick and entrance aud eTcss Whether the YES
sells are 10 he sidc-heclcra prOpencrs they must be
manufacturers" like our ferry boats, that they
enter dock head on leave it without backing and
continue the trip without losing time by stopping or
reversing As there will be delay obstruction rom
vehicles or freight the three minutes allowed for
each stoppage will he sufficient; but should double that
time be required il win only increase the length Of the
whole voyage by ten minutes Means should he provided
20 prevent The possibility Of entering leaving the
sci except when it is actually at rest at the dock
There should he but one deck and that arranged for
the comfort OF passengers The seats should be divided
by arms 80 hold not than two, each passenger
occJpyuea single seat and no more and any one being
eattoI W t'.Jrt question, any vacant scat. There
toirc .on for a gGngway the deck Will form
single room, wholly unbrokcn except by the smoke
stack and a for taking in coal. OF course smok-
ing except the part Of the smOkCstack, should be
absolutely prohibited upon any part Of The boat The
engine should re horizontal and below deck.
TIE docks should be arranged with express reference
10 these boats and used solely ly tlem and would re-
qure waitingrOoug, with the necessary
phances The number Of boats would be regulated by
the frequency the trips required. Assume that for
three nong ana afternoon II viii be trip
every minutes and for the remainder Of the day
e7ory half hour. To accomplish this five boats would be
required. From 10 a IN TO p. H., three boats would
only required TO make the halfhourly trips No trips
would probably be made between sunset and sunrise.
This may lie readily extended TO spuyten Duy
vel Creek. Above Harlem the breadth Of Manhattan
Island suddenly diminishes mile which maintains
FOR the remainder OF its length The Kingsbdge road
runs almost exactly through the center, and tie confor
NATION OF the shores shows clearly that the tract west Of
That road VIII be the first occupied for building purposes
m extension OF the proposed steamboat route this
she can be easily made at any required moment one OF
the latest up town trips could cXtendcd Tubby Hook,
WIN TWO landings intermediate. This boat, coming down
ID the morning would be ready take It's place in the
line AT the Hanhattanyie landing Another boat, say
the one leaving Chamberss at a. IN, might go up.
and return at p. BY a proper arrangement of the
time table, these trips could be made without casing
the number Of the boats
The cost OF boats and dock improvements would GER
tsnly be time compared with that Of any possible tunnel
elevated railway, with a equipment OF locomotives
and ears and moreover, consideration which vital
importance 1t could be carried into effect at once In
six months from the day when the charter was granted
Loueo lac Int a,.gg