Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-08-24
ONLY WIND.
A Pneumatic Tube from Chicago to New
York for Carrying Express PACKAGE
Time Hours

81
York for Carrying Express Package
Time Hours.
4 novel and interesting enterprl-"
was this week brought to light
through the medium OF a New York
civil engineer. who is at Chicago in
connection with the establishment Of
a pneumatic pipe line between New
York and Chicago. The plans, as
partly developed, are to lay four
inch pipe for the purpose OF trans
hitting letters, messages, grain sam
Piles, jewelry and other light pack
ages at maximum tariff of 10 cents
for packages and five cents for letters.
etc. Way stations will be established
at Cleveland. Buffalo. and possibly
one other point The pipe will be the
ordinery tubular kind in common
use. and the entire line will be made
perfectly alright, with brass sta
tons at the points named The box
es for the conveyance of messages
will be made from sole leather. with
wood air registers, as used in short
pneumatic tubes. Engines of %
horse power, to drive the air pumps.
will be placed at the termini, and
smaller ones at the way stations.
Seventeen .patents for various de
vices have been secured by the orig
inators of the scheme, and no doubt
some of them will be abont as fol
lows: Commencing at 6 o'clock NJ.
Washington time, the boxes contain
ing through packages will be
FED INTO THE TUBE
at Chicago and blown toward New
York. while the Chicago pump is fill
ing the tube and the New York pump
is exhausting the air. The last box,
started at Chicago at $50, will have a
patent signal establishment, which
at Cleveland, automatically announc
es it's arrival. The local boxes are
then inserted there, and later on al
Buffalo. The box will arrive at New
York at 10 O'Clock, the trip being
made in about four hours. Then The
line is cleared for west-bound traffic
Tor the following four hours, and SC
on, alternately, day and night. 1t i:
expected that during each period O
four hours 1000 boxes can he trans
mitted, each earning about 81 il
freights, or So during the "a hours
being an aggregate of $4,000 PEI
day for the line. The cost of operat
ing it is estimated at only 81, Is
daily, which includes 800 pipe section
men (repairers), so station operators
and 100 delivery and collection mes
sengers, hence the net earnings cal
reach the enormous aggregate of 50,
100000 annually-at least it is thu
figured out on paper. But even al
loving a very wide margin for error
and omissions. the profit of operating
the pneumatic pipeline promises t
be very large. The cost of laying
the line will be something less tha
$4,000 per mile, and the entire plan
will not exceed $4,5OO,00O The pro
jectors confidently anticipate an i'm
mediate
PROFIT OF 20 PER CENT.
on the investment. The next seriou
obstacle to the present consumma
ton of the singular scheme is tn
right of way, but it is said the par
ties interested have been secretly oh
tanning this at little cost. The pip
will be placed underground in tn
cities, but the bulk of the lines vii
extend along tracks of certain rail
roads, the pipe in most instances be
ing attached to and swung from tn
ends of the ties. For certain shor
distances for connecting links tn
pipe will pass through fields an,
along country roads, where it vii
be placed on "jacks" or pedestals
or swung along the base of fences
In crossing country roads it will b
swung on short poles. Three tele
graph wires will be attached to an
extended along the pipe, to be use
for electric signaling between the sta
tions. At least one engineer believe
the scheme feasible one, and if
proves success it is thought anothe
pipe line will be added for the trans
fer exclusively of grain from Chicag
to New York, by which method 5000
bushels could be carried daily for 1
cents per bushel at profit of $3.50
Grain placed in a tube here woul
arrive in New York in about fv
hours, the transfer time being some
what longer than by the message line
Appliances are now being expert
mented with the aid of automati
attachments, the grain pipe lin
would be continually charged iron
the bins of the principal elevator
here, and delivered at general cen
trail elevator at a general central ele
vator at New York. The grain, it i
claimed. would be improved in tran
sit as it would pass through paten
dust-pan upon its discharge into tn
New York elevator. The capacity O
the line being only about 1900
bushels annually, it would not seri
ously interfere with railway traffic.
The projectors of the enterpris
state that the money necessary t.
carry out the plans e1peditiously i
pledged, and at a conference to b
held on the 26th inst. the full detail
will probably be made public