The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-04-25
RAPID TRANSIT in NEW YORK.
Some of the Schemes for Rnpid Travelling
An Arcade Railway, n Moving Sidewalk
and n Pneumatic Railway.

Some OF the Schemes for Rnpid TRAVELLING
An Arcade Railway, n Moving sidewalk
and n Pneumatic Railway.
Rapid transit in New York has become
certainty, one of the two lines which
were started last winter being partially
completed. Appleton's Journal has an
article devoted to description of the
various schemes proposed to solve the
vexatious problem of how the people
living in the upper part of the city could
get down to their business places in
quicker time than by the horse cars.
Some of these schemes for relief we're
more ingenious than practicable: Among
the plans proposed ut various times for
| the expeditions conveyance of passen-
gers, that of the Arcade railway was the
most ambitious, the most attractive and
the least feasible. A new street was to
be constructed thirty feet below thepre-
sent level of Broadway, forming new
fronts to all the Easements of the build
ings. The sewers and gas-pipes were to
be sunk below the level of the new road
way, and an artificial roadway was to be
constructed on the level of the old street
the supports being hollow iron pillars,
which were.also to serve as drains. There
were to be clean, dry, and spacious foot
paths at each side of the arcade, and the
middle was to be filled by four railway
tracks, two for passengers and two for
freight. The upper sidewalk was to be
partly formed of glass bulls eyes, which
would admit an abundance of light into
the lower street, where umbrellas would
be unknown or superfuous in the rainest
weather, and where the climate would
always be equable and salubrious. Is it
necessary to state the advantages claim
ed for this fascinating plan by its auda-
cious projectors 1t would add a new
story to the entire length of Broadway:
double the walking capacity of the street;
quadruple the carrying capacity; and
enable the trains of the Hudson River
railway to deliver passengers and freight
as far down town as the Battery. Further
more, the rental of seventeen hundred
stores would be increased at least two
thousand dollars each, the aggregate of
which amount alone would pay ten per
, great as the calculated cost of the work,
which was twenty million dollars. But
the Arcade Railway, like many other
| schemes of equal brilliancy, never secur-
ed frmer foundation than the speciti-
cations of its ingenious inventor.
The Pneumatic railway gave more
| substantial proof of its practicability,
however, and tunnel three hundred
!, feet long was excavated under Broad
, way, southwark from Warren street,
where the proposed car and the great
, blower could be seen in operation. The
tunnel was eight feet in diameter, and
{ built of solid masonry, parts being lined
with iron plates; and the atmosphere
was dry and pure.
9 1t was constructed without any dis
g turbance of the surface of the street, by
= means of q strong cylindrical shield,
l open at both ends, which was propelled
q by hydraulic rams, the loosened sand
1 and stone falling through the rear Of
: the shield, and the tunnel being imme'
: dlately afterward arched with masonry,
q The car fitted the tunnel-had seats fol
b eighteen passengers, and was illumi
3 mated and comfortably upholstered. Il
# was propelled like sailboat before the
f wind, by strong blast of air forced
y against the rear by an immense stean
e blowing Nothing more smootl
IS in the way of locomotion than the pneu
1t matte plan could be imagined. You de
n scended from the ever busy and nois,
g Broadway into cool and quiet recep
h tion-room some thirty feet below tn
l. level of the thoroughfare, and the car
y which had the shape of a horseshoe
d was ready for you with sliding doors a
y the ends, seats at each side, and LAM
IS overhead. Being seated, you heard
= noise like the approach of squall a
: sea, the doors were closed, and with
e slight tremor the car moved out Of tn
J. station and was shot through the lengtl
d of the tunnel, where it was stopped an'
IS drawn back again. There were to be a
'e up.tunnef and down-tunnel, and
/, was claimed that ten cars minute coul
+ be dispatched. Its inventor havip
1t spent some sixty or seventy thousan
g dollars, however, the Pneumatic railwa
N was practically abandoned, though
l. was kept open for scme time as publ
De exhibition and the tunnel is now use
Id as shooting gallery.
a A quite unique plan was proposed b
y Mr.. Alfred Speer, of New Jersey, whic
Of consisted of a perpetually-moving eli
te waited train or belt of platform movin
a. up one side of the street and down th
ut other. This was commonly known 6
it the travelling sidewalk" which was
lie good descriptive name for it. The trac
as was to be supported by fancy iron pi
t. lars, fourteen feet high, ranged alon
I'd the curbstone, and the platform was
s project about four feet over the sidt
OF walk and the same distance over I'll
IN roadway. The structure was to /
I'd reached by commodious and ornament
NJ stairways at the corners of all intersec
e. ing streets, where there would be gat,
Do in the pretty iron railing surroundin
ct it.
4, Let us suppose that the travelir
In sidewalk is an accomplished thing n,
Vs. merely the unexecuted design that it
IN and that we wish to avail ourselves
K. its advantages in going from the Gil
ed Hall to Union Square. Having ascende
's. the stairs at Chambers street corner, v
.lr stand upon little platform and, lookir
ia up Broadway, see an endless foorin
OF raised on massive pillars, moving dow
ne the west side of the thorougfare and L
ne the east side. 1t resembles a yiaduc
ut and is travelling at the unvaring spe'
OF of ten miles an hour. Nearly as MAJ
ba people are upon it as upon the sidewa
below-some are walking southwark al
p others northward, and presuming tn
re their pace is four miles an hour, tht
a, make, with the added speed of the pls
TX form, fourteen miles an hour; some a
20, seated on benches and others in cabin
ry like ordinary railway cars, erected
'r- the platform. The constant flow of t