Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1870-03-25
!, IOWA, FRIDAY, MARCH 25. 1870.


wlrl Of passion the duties of the heart may
be forgotten, remember my darling child,
there is record which will one day appear
in terrible evidence against us for cur least
omission.-Moo,c's Eurdl Nee York;.
The New York Elevated Ekaisr0aa.
The West Side Elevated Railway, in
Greenwich street, is now completed for its
entire length from the Battery TO Thirteenth
street, and it is expected that trains will
soon run on it for the accommodation Of the
public. There are few mechanical diff
culles yet to be overcome, but they are Of
trivial character, and will soon be dis
posed Of.
The cars Of this road are the same as the
ordinary street car except that they are run
on eight wheels instead of four, and that
they are built on coach springs, which rest
on rod at the extreme breath Of the car,
instead Of on the wheels directly. Along
The whole length of the car underneath, is
a series of elliptic springs, the object of
which is to catch the first momentum of the
rope as it attaches itself TO the car, and
communicate that motion gradually.t to it,
instead of suddenly, which W. uld produce
disagreeable jerk, ard would also be liza
BILE to break the rope. This attachment has
been found to work admirably, the motion
of attaching the Car being no more than
the ordinary motion produced by starting
one IF the ordinary street cars.
The motive power for the road is sup
piled ~ seven engines, with two oscllatins
cylinders apiece, nine inches in diameter,
with fourteen-inch stroke, and which are
about thirty power. These are in
vaults underneath the sidewalk, the lower
one at the corner of C0rtlandt street. and
this engine turns a driving wi eel round
which passes an endless rope, the other
blight OF which goes round cylinder at
the Battery. Attached to this rope, at dis
tances Of 80 feet are little trucks running
on four small wheels and resting on wood.
en- track underneath the main rails, and in
the centre OF the space bet cen them
Thus these trucks, passing along the line
from the engine to the Battery, right side
up or wheels underneath, pass around the
cylinder at the Battery, and return upside
down to Cortlandl street. Then they pass
down through an iron pillar having a track
arranged to fit the wheels of the truck.
round the driving wheel, which is also in
circled with similar track, up through an
other pillar and on to the Battery again.
These trucks are armed with small slots, to
which the car is attached or detached BY
lever in front Of the car, controlled by the
conductor. The rope, vi h its little trucks
keeps constantly in motion. When it is de-
sired to start the car the conductor moves
the lever End the first truck that comes
along catches the car and carries it along
with it. If it is desired to stop, a turn Of
the lever detaches the truck, tie brake is
applied as IN the ordinary street car. except
that the brake instead cf being applied to
the outer rim of the wheel is applied 10 the
axle. The wheels Of the car are Of wood
instead OF cast iron, and with wrought
iron tire; tbs renders the motion Of the
car nearly nolselCss.
The next engine vault is at Franklin
street, and contains two engines TIE lower
one moving a similar rope to the one just
described, which passed round cylinder
at the corner of CUrtlandt street, just as the
first passed round a cylinder at the Battery.
| The upper engine in this vault III, YES a
rope which has its opposite blight at point
halfway between Franklin and Beihune
streets, where the third engine vault is.
In tie Bethune street vault there are
also two engines, working two ropes in a
| similar manner, one up and the oth down
each going half way to the next station
and finally at Twenty street are the
new engines, the rope Of the upper one 90
ING round "a cylinder at Thirteenth street
and the lower one round similar enc half
way between Twenty-second and Bethune
streets.
Thus it will be seen that there is Ger.
tain distance between the two engines
where there is no rope, but that distance i,
not more than fifteen or twenty feet, anG
| the car will readily traverse this distance By
| lis own momentum.
One great desileratum will be to hsvt
the engines running at exactly the samc
velocity, so that the trucks in each section
may have exactly the same motion. and Il
effect this q system of governors is to b(
applied 10 the engines, and it is the supply
| ing of these governors that is one cause O
the presen Mt detention. Without these GOV
ernors, the engine, running ONLY the rope
with It's small trucks, would acquire a great
er velocity than the one with the car attach
e1.
BY an ingenious arrangement, the car @;
it reaches the extremity of the rope, is de
tached automatically, or the conductor
if he chooses, detach it just before it get
to this point, as has been explained, and j
then runs by its own velocity until it passes
tie other engine, when the other rops
comes along and catches it as before; anc
so easily is this done that a person inside
the car unless his attention is specially call
ed to the TACT, is unaware Of any change
from one rope to another. The car ha.
been run from one end Of the route TO III,
other, and its operation has been highly
satisfactory. tulti tiliug all the expectation,
Of the officers Of the company, and running
from one end to the other, that is from th,
Battery TO Thirteenth street, in fifteen min
utes, which is at the rate Of twelve miles al
hour. aud this is the rate at which it is pro
posed to run the cars ordinarily.
Another want which the actual working
has disclosed, is connection between the
vaults, and wires are now being laid to con
meet each one with the other along the whol'
line, as so triilng is the additional strain o
The weight OF the car upon the engine, tha
the engineer does not know whether the cal
has attached or not, nor at what point OF
The road it is. A system oi teIegraphl'
signals will be adopted by which all TIE en-
uineers will be in communication with eacl
other, 50 that they may govern their engine
in harmony.
The number of stations has not yet beer
determined on, but it is supposed that ont
for each quarter Of u mile will be sutiici Mt
The company have already had several of
fers of houses for that purpose, and will IL
a short time decide where they can best b'
located TO suit the convenience of the pub
lie. They are perfectly satisfied with tb'
result Of the trials thus far made, and con
fdently expect that the road will be an en-
tire success.-Nen York World.
The DELusloN or EARLY RlslNG.-
/ There is no greater deusion than thu
.hi,h ina .ines early rising important Il
health 10 greater error than that Mhlel
places il among the virtues. While earl,
rising has been sung in poetry and advoca
ted in proverbs from time immemorial, !
has been secretly ana right.uly cursed b,
its unhappy victims ever since civilizauot
conceived the idea of comfort. But We art
all so bound by the law of custom, so en-
| dearcd to a proverb OF Il niusty sentiment