Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1881-06-10
Friday Morning, June 10. 1881.


NEW Y0RK'S UNDERGROUND RAIL-
ROAD.
An underground railroad in New York city
has been talked about for a good many years,
and it now seems as if one would really be
built soon. Indeed, it is stated that con-
tracts for building part of the road have
already been drawn and will be signed this
week. The plan is to run under Broadway
from the Battery to Fifty-ninth street, and
thence under the Boulevard or upper Broad
way to the other side of Manhattan Island
A branch line will be run from Union Square
to the Grand Central Depot in Forty-second
street. under Fourth avenue, and its termin-
us will be on the west side of the depot
whence access to the passenger rooms of the
New York Central, Hudson River and New
Haven roads will be easy. Eventually the
extension of this branch under Madison
One Hundred and Thirty-ffth street along
the west bank of the Harlem river to Kings
bridge, will be undertaken, but not until the
main line shall have been completed.
The tunnel is to be of brick and masonry.
except in certain places where iron pillars
and girders will be used. On the outside
thick coating of asphalt will protect it from
dampness and aid in maintaining an equable
temperature. The tunnel will be a double
one, or practically two tunnels side by side,
with brick wall separating them. Each
will contain single track, SO that collisions
between trains will be impossible. At short
intervals there will be arched passageways
between the tunnels SO that there may be
easy and quick access from one to the other
in case of necessity. The dimensions of the
tunnel will be as follows: Clear height of
crown to arch above tracks, Is feet; clear
width of each tunnel between walls, 12 to Ii
feet length of stations $50 feet; width of
platforms at stations, II to IA feet The
tunnel will be plastered throughout and hard
finished, and the rooms in the stations will
be tiled. The plastering, it is estimated. will
cost $4,000 mile. To prevent injury by
the vibrations caused by the trains, blocks of
asphalt are to be placed under the tracks and
the rails will be closely joined. The tunnel
being 18 feet below the surface and 80 feet
from the houses, it is thought that no danger
can arise from vibration.
The engines of the road are to be run by
compressed air. The power for the compress
ion of the air will be generated at the term
mi of the road and the charges will be trans
mitted to the locomotives at the beginning of
each trip. The steam engines of the elevated
coal per mile, while a compressed air
engine, it is said, can be easily run on thirty
pounds The use of compressed air as a
motor does away with smoke, which is one
of the most frequent objections to under
ground travel. There will be no smoke and
the constant passage of trains to and fro will
keep the air in the tunnel in motion and con-
stantly add to its ventilation. The time be-
tween stations win be from minute and
quarter to minute and half. Trains are
to be kept at least two stations apart, SO that
an accident will be impossible without dis
obedience of orders. To prevent train
from running into the one in front of it
system of ingenious signals has been de
vised, and the telegraphic and telephone
connections will be perfect. The tunnel and
the trains will be lighted by the electric light,
but in the latter the light will be generated
by the engine in an ingenious manner.
LIS prospectus lSs dS SuCu IuInSS
always are, hopeful and attractive. The road
is to cost from $14,OO0,0OO to $15, oOo. 900
and the projectors claim that they could not
fail to carry the great proportion of the pas
senger traffic of the city, and they show some
interesting figures bearing upon this ques-
tion. In 1877 the Eighth Avenue railroad
carried IA, ,752, ZOO passengers and in 1880
5,107, 146 less; the Forty-second street line
carried G, 1862, 352 in 1877 and 6,196, 267 in
1880 the Seventh avenue carried 19, 43S, 1885
in 1877 and 16, $50, 564 in 1880; the Fourth
avenue carried 10, 33s, ,S77 in 1877 and 1885,
454 in 1880; the Sixth avenue carried H.
600, 367 in 1877 and IA, 557, s15 in 1880; the
Third avenue carried so, 700. 600 in 1877 and
26, s67, 1913 in 1880. The stages carried 49,
OO0, 600 in 1877 and 1000. 600 in 1880. The
total number of passengers carried by all the
lines mentioned was ia, 492, 831 for 1877 and
1O2, 32O, ,047 for 1880, showing decrease of
II, 2,172, 1874 because of the elevated roads. In
1880 the elevated roads carried 154, 734, 49S
passengers, or 40, 241.667 more than all the
leading surface lines combined From all
this it is reasoned that an underground rail |
road would be great success.
If the scheme is carried out, in parts of
New York city there will be three lines of
one underground, one on the sur
face and one in the air. New Workers ought |
then to be able to get about their city con-
veniently and quickly. If not another still
more elevated or still more depressed line
might be constructed