The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-10-25
lowed by Rail.


She babe me good -day," and left her alone.
Aetting the old cat die.
lowed by Rail.
IAN account of a new style of street railroad in
San Francisco
Clear the track! / want to tell the
young people of decided novelty
came across the other day in that Young
giant of n city, San Francisco. Turn
ing corner, saw high on the steep
hill-for many of these San Francisco
streets are steep hills-two carloads of
gay people, gliding rapidly forward
without sign or trace of either loco
motive, dummy-engine, or horse. On
ward and upward went the little train,
stopping itself now and then, and start
ing again, apparently with the greatest
ease. No smoke was to be seen, no
steam Missed and pulled, no clank of
machinery was heard. No confusion of
any kind. The motive power, like some
of the greatest forces in nature, was
hidden. What was it that pulled this
pair of city cars so easily along? You
shall hear.
In the middle of the track, running
its entire length, we find continuous
opening, or slit, about as wide as mans
finger, into which fits flat iron bar,
projecting from the under side of the
leading car; while below this opening,
and down under the track, continually
runs thick wire cable or rope in a
space about large enough for a small
boy to crawl in. The long cable is
made to run easily on small pulleys-
say, ten feet apart-by a powerful steam
engine located about midway on the
route; and this cable always is running
down one track and up the other, into
the engine house, over and around pom
derous iron wheels, which keep it in
motion.
Whenever car is to be started the
driver has simply to move large lever
in the middle of it, shaped like rail
road switch, and the lower end of this
lever, beneath the slit in the track,
grapples the running cable, like wise
or jaw, and away move levers, cars,
drivers, passengers and all.
No one is allowed to speak 20 the
driver, for he must be constantly on the
alert, ready for action.
IL
long rope extending down the street,
trailing along behind team of horses,
on a winters day, and suppose you
wanted ride on your sled, what more
natural than that you should grasp tight
hold of this rope, and take tow, as the
sailors say, gliding along with it at your
pleasure, and when you choose to stop,
you would need but to relax yonr hold,
and your sled would be free imme-
diately.
Now, by this time you should have
exactly the idea of the wire-cable rail
road, for in this case the wire-cable is
the rope and the cars are the sled.
Night and day, the endless cable, coated
with tar, gliding like long black snake,
runs in and out of the grim engine
house on the hill, upon its long journey,
while cars all along the track are con-
tinually graphing it and letting go.
Think of the $4,000 people carried over
the road daily by this unseen giant
power working beneath the ground.
We can start from crowded street
of the city, down town, and in three
minutes and a half be carried to the top
of a high hill, many blocks away-a hill
300 feet above the water, half as high
again as tall church spire.
1t is the wonder of everybody. The
country people gaze, astonished, at the
MISUNDERSTANDING car, and even the
Indifferent Cinnamon are fairly puzzled
over it. They gather in groups, with
open mouths and peering eyes, trying to
make out the strange proceeding. The
huge engine that does all the work of
the road is driven as fast as ninety revo-
lutions q minute by the steam furnished
from two large boilers, and is rated as
250-horse-power engine. That you may
know something of what that power is,
let us imagine $50 stout horses, in
teams of two, standing in the
street; we will allow ten feet for
team, which will make our line
1850 feet long. Get your slate and see
if it would not. That is very near one
quarter of a mile in length, and you can
Judge how far down your street the line
would reach. III these horses should all
start pulling at given signal, think of
the power they would exertl
Something would snap, wouldn't it?
Well, you may imagine three times as
many horses, for so-called 25O-horse-
power engine can do the work of about
$50 horses in the course of 18 work
ing hours. 1t is a great satisfaction
when riding in the car, to know that
poor animals are not pulling and pant.
ing and straining heart and lungs to
carry us up over the high hills. On
one of the billy railroads of this city
many horses used to die of heart dis
ease, so great was the strain upon the
willing animals. Now few tons ol
coal, and mans ingenuity, do all tn,
work, and well they do it.