Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-08-02
A GREAT PROJECT.
The Pneumatic Tube to be Laid Be-
tween Chicago and New York.
cleveland Herald


A novel and interesting enterprise was this
week brought to light through the medium
of New York civil engineer,who is at
Chicago in connection with the establishment
of pneumatic pipe line between New York
and Chicago. The plans, as partly developed,
are to lay four-inch pipe for the purpose Of
transmitting letters, messages, grain samples,
iewelry and other light packages at maxi
mum tariff of 10 cents for packages and 3
cents for letters, etc. Way stations will be
established at Cleveland, Buffalo, and possi-
bly, one other point. The pipe will be the
ordinary tubular kind in common use, and
the entire line will be made perfectly air
tight, with brass stations at the points
named The boxes for the conveyance OF
messages will be made from sole leather,
with wood air registers, as used IN short
pneumatic tubes. Engines of 25 horse power
to drive the air pumps, will be placed at the
termini, and smaller ones at the way sta
tions. Seventeen patents for various devices
have been secured by the originators of the
scheme, and no doubt some of them will be
made available in working the line. The
plan of operating, as far as revealed at pres
ent, will be about as follows Commencing
at 6 o'clock in the morning, Washington
time, the boxes containing through packages
will be fed in the tube at Chicago and blown
toward New York, while the Chicago pump
is filling the tube and the New York pump
is exhausting the air. The last box started
at Chicago, at $50, will have patent signal
attachment which at Cleveland, automati-
cally announces it's arrival. The local boxes
are then inserted there, and later on at But-
falo. The last box will arrive at New York
at 10 o'clock, the trip being made in about A
hour. Then the line is cleared for west
bound traffic for the following four hours,
and so on, alternately, day and night. 1t is
expected that during each period OF four
hours 1000 boxes can be transmitted, each
earning about 50 in freights, or S12 during
the twenty -four hours, being an aggregate OF
$4,000 per day for the line. The cost of
operating it is estimated at only 81 ,155 daily,
which includes 300 pipe-section men re-
pairers), so station operators and 100 dellv-
ering and collection messengers, hence the
net earnings can reach the enormous aggre-
gate of at least S3,0OO,0O0 annually-at least
it is thus figured out on paper. But even
allowing very wide margin for errors and
omissions, the profit of operating the pneu-
matte pipeline promises to be very large.
The cost of laying the line will be something
less than $4,000 per mile, and the entire
plant will not exceed S4,25O,00O. The pro-
iectors confidently anticipate an immediate
PROFIT OF 20 PER CENT
on the investment. The next serious obsta-
Gle to the present consummation of the
scheme is the right of way, but it is said the
parties interested have been secretly obtain
ing this at little cost. The pipe will be
placed underground in the cities, but the
o1o fra he M
certain railroads, the pipe in most instances
being attached to and swung from the ties
For certain short distances for connecting
links the pipe will pass through fields and
along country roads, where it will be placed
on short Jacks" or pedestals: OR swung along
the base of fences. In crossing country roads
it will be swung on short poles. Three
telegraph wires will be attached to and ex-
tending along the pipe, to be used for elec-
trio signaling between stations.
At least one engineer believes the scheme
feasible one, and if it proves success 1t is
thought another pipe line will be added tol
the transfer exclusively Of grain from Chi,
cago to New York, by which method $4,000
bushels could be carried daily for 1O'cents
per bushel at profit of $4,000.
Grain placed in tube here would arrive in
New York in about five hours, the transfer
time being somewhat longer than by the
message line. Appliances are now being ex.
perimented with by which, with the aid
of automatic attachments, the grain pipe
line ould be continually charged from the
bins of the principal elevators here, and
delivered at general central elevator al
New York The grain, it is claimed, would
be improved in transit, as it would pass
through patent dust-pan upon its dis
charge into the New York elevator. The
capacity of the line being only about $4,000,
900 bushels annually it would not seriously
interfere with railway traffic.
The projectors Of the enterprise state tina
the money necessary to carry out the plan
expeditiously is pledged, and at conference
to be held on the 29th inst the full detail
will probably be made public