The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1871-02-23
A Novelty in Locomotion.


Cars Without Wheels Gliding Ouer a
Recolring Track.
From the Jersey City Times. Fsb.4I
The demand for quick transit in
New York city has brought out
many ingenious inventions. Tho
latest is that Of General Imboden, of
Richmond, Va, which can scarcely
be described without illustrations.-
The structure of carrying way is to
be wire suspension bridge, running
the whole length Of the city, sup
ported by iron columns one hundred
feet apart, twenty-five feet high, rest.
ing upon granite pedestals on the
line Of the curbstones on both sides
Of the street. A light ornamental
iron arch, springs from the top of
these columns, and, spanning the
street, supports the iron piers over
which the wire cables are stretched.
Ono of these cables is over the axis
OF the street, the. other two are half
way between this and tho supporting
c0lumns. Immediately under these
cables, and attached to them, are the
glides TO which the tracks are sus.
pended-one for the down trains.
and the other for the trains going up
town. The track or roadway 10 the
most striking novelty Of tho inven-
tion. 1t ls composed Of pairs of roll
ers similar to car-wheels, secured MP
on q suitable axlo, which revolves
upon ordinary friction rollers. This
rotary track has its wheels ten feet
apart, and under it the cars are sus-
pended by rails thirty-two feet long,
that glide over the rollers with per-
feet freedom and safety, Six strong
elliptic springs connect these rails
with the cars, and will insure . mo.
ti0n almost as soft % the undulations
Of q boat. The motive power is sup.
piled by stationary engines located
in buildings or under the streets.-
These engines are one mile apart, and
propel an endless wire cable or chain
around light horizontal drums,
sixteen feet in diameter. The
attachment to the car is 60 sim.
pie that boy ten years old can
work it, and the cable is 90 construc-
ted as not to be liable to get out of
order or break but il such an acci-
dent should occur, y new cable be-
ing ready, can bo put in, in few
minutes.
( The cars are intended TO be thir.
ty feet long and ten feet wide, divid.
ed into three compartments, and
seating comfortably forty-two pas
sengers each. They may run singIy
or in trains, aud safely at the rate Of
thirty miles an hour. The stations
it 10 proposed to looato at about
equal distances Of half o mile apart;
and, spanning cross streets, they will
obstruct no business place. The bot
tom of the cars will swing sixteen
feet above the surface of the street,
thus clearing all the stages and wag.
ons passing under them. Gen. In
boden claims that the operation of
the road will be almost nOiseless and
not likely 20 frighten horses.
The whole structure is light, or.
namental and graceful, and does not
obstruot tho street any moro than
telegraph poles, which, by the way,
as we'll as lamp posts, may all bo
dispensed with along the line and
this structure used instead. Supe-
rior choapness, speed, safety and ca
pacity arc claimed for this novelty,
as we'll as that it will require the
minimum amount of power and can
never be nuisance to foot passen-
gers nor to the occupants of houses
along it's line. II in no wise resem-
bles the two other elevated railways
in Now York, fH