The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-27
A SINGLE-TRACK RAILWAY.

The Queer Elevated Railroad Now Being
Constructed at Boston.
Letter in Minneapolis Tribune
They now have a charter which allows them
to form company aud build one mile of their
road in the city of Cambridge. When that is
DONE if the Railroad Commissioners approve the
new road as practical and safe, the company
will be allowed to build into, and upon Boston
streets, provided the city government gives per-
mission. The work they have just begun is the
building of 2,500-feet section of their peculiar
new railroad, also an engine and car such as
they propose to use. The new railroad is some
what difficult to describe without technical
knowledge of engineering and the use of techni-
cal terms. Its chief characteristic is a single
rail elevated upon line of posts at height Of
fourteen feet from the ground. 1t is called a
single, though perhaps more correct description
would be two rails placed one above the other at
distance of four feet, and connected by series
of braces. The supports or posts are placed at
distances of forty FIVE feet and are almost ex
actly like those of the New York elevated rail
road, except that the lower end is firmly encased
in concrete and rests upon solid bed of concrete
several feet under ground
The truck frame of the cars is placed astride
the rail like saddle upon the back of q horse
and each truck frame has six wheels Upon
either side two of these wheels run upon the
lower part of the rail, inclining upward and
outward from the point of contact at an angle of
fortyfve degrees. The other two wheels are
the top of the rail, along the sides of which
they run, one upon either side By means of
hydraulic pressure. applied from the engine
they made to clasp the rail tightly, and by
this power of traction the forward or backward
motion is secured Each wheel has
an independent axis of its own, and by most
ingenious continuance under the car, the oppos-
ing wheels are always kept at right angles with
the rails, regardless of curves Some of the
curves may be very sharp steep grades may be
overcome by means of the traction power.
The truck frames of the locomotive are like
those of the car, with the connecting rods at
tached to the horizontal wheels upon either
side of the rail. The pressure Of the wheels
upon the rails is such as to make it almost i'm
possible for them to leave it. but ir case this
should happen the car could not leave the track.
1t would simply drop an inch and ahalf and
slide along, resting upon the top of the rail- the
truck frame serving as a substantial brace upon
both sides.
The cars are of novel pattern, cylindrical in
form and built of iron. In carrying out their
plans for this unique railroad, the builders have,
of course, to guard against horizontal strain
upon the rail- which surface roads have nothing
to do with, but they confident that the pre-
cautions they have taken will make accidents
almost impossible. People very quick to
laugh at the idea of putting an engine and cars
fourteen feet from the ground upon single rail,
but the scheme is certainly bearing the rigid in
spection of engineers and other scientific men
wonderfully well, and nobody has yet risen to
prove that the principles which it is based are
not sound.