The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-20
NEW roRK's UNDERGROUND RAILWAY.
A Project That will Cost e60, OOO, 900 and
Require Seven Years tn Complate.


Project That will Cost sec, OOO, 900 and
Require Seven Years to Complete.
New York Special
For the last twenty years there have been re-
peated efforts made to secure the right by
charter TO construct an underground railroad
through Broadway from the Battery to Harle m.
Various schemes were devised, from tunnel to
an arcade and some ten years ago company did
secure the privilege of digging tunnel, which
was begun and soon afterwards abandoned. 1t
| being found impracticable to construct a road on
that principle The charter was absorbed by
those who were urging the arcade system, and
the tunnel, about three-fourths of mile
long, lies under the roadbed to-day, and
will form an easy section Of excavation in
| the construction of the road which it is now be-
lieved will be pushed to completion. For twen-
| ty years one man, Melville G. Smith, like Jake
Sharp with his surface franchise, has fought
stubbornly. earnestly. persstently for the ar
cade system of transit in this city He saw the
growing demands of New York. and he has en-
deavored to gain control of what he deems the
one great, vital, valuable artery in his system Of
| transportation of passengers and freight from
when twenty-five years old. had become .
| member of the Minnesota Senate, yet
he gave up the certainty of political
preferment, local and national. when,
| on visiting New York, he had brought to his at
tention the possibilities Of this railroad system
and has since devoted his time. his energies and
his fortune to the promotion of this enterprise.
| It is not the intention here to discuss the sub
| sidiary interests which have, from time to time
| arisen; they have all disappeared, and to-day all
| cognate schemes have been absorbed, and the
one principal and important project remains that
| Of the Broadway Arcade railroad. From session
| to session Mr. Smith has been at Albany bat
| ting for his pet project; from year to year he
has talked it to merchants and miionares, who
| from regarding it as visionary and impractica-
Bile, are now backing 1t to the extent, 1t is said
| of $75,OO00O0. The Broadway landowners had
! to be conciliated, the merchants and trades
people generally had to be soothed, the gas,
| aud steam and water companies had to be salts
| fed; there were a thousand and one conflicting
interests and stubborn opponents who had to be
talked into acquiescence. And all these years
Mr.. Smith and his associates, who were willing
| to risk and lose all gain nothing have gone
| right on as though the plan was already decided
upon, and as though it was not necessary to get
| a charter through the Legislature (no easy job
and also convince Governor it was to the best
| interests of the State that the bill should be
| signed. For years disappointment was the lot
| of these Arcade railroad projectors. There
| were refusals to enact or declarations to sign
bills until others less hopeful would have given
up in despair.
But all the same the Arcade company main
| tanned offices here kept up big showing, and
| for years has been industriously engaged in Sc
curing just that kind of information which was
of most value to ia complete, accurate sur
| vey of the route it was proposed to traverse
There was not foundation stone in Broadway
that was not known, not an inch of soil that
had not been tested, not dip, angle, or trend
| of rock that was not familiar to the engineers,
not vault under the street that was not put
down. not detail as to the cost that was not
| figured out SUCH engineers as the late General
George B. Mcclellan were engaged, and he in
particular, was employed several years on the
work. The outlay has been enormous already,
but those who were enlisted in the undertaking
have put up their money without winking or
kicking once, and Smith himself has expended
something like $3.50 600 to back his pet project
Finally 1t began to look SO feasible, the de-
mands OF the city were so great, and the surface
and elevated roads were so apparently unable to
keep up with the yearly Increase Of travel, that
capital lent an ear to the arcade managers, and
began to that 1t might be to its advantage to
put in some Of its surplus and idle dollars. With
this new force behind 1t, and the accretion of
others from month to month, the Arcade railroad
has at last been enabled to convince the Legsla-
| ture and Governor OF its value But, of course,
this has not been secured without concessions on
contains sofne radical changes, and imposes
some additional burdens upon the company in
the form OF penalties for failure to perform the
work undertaken.
| The roadway is to be forty-four feet in wild,
which will about take up the space from curb
| curb along Broadway IN its lower part, or,
| might be said, from the Battery to Fifty ninth
street The entire space will be cut out and
covered with metallic Roof, forming the arcade.
and this roof will form the road bed for surface
traffic There will be four tracks laid Of stand
| ard guage, so that regular surface steam ears
may be run over the line. 1t is the intention
| finally to take cars Of this kind over the road.
A passenger from Chicago, for instance who
wants to 60 to a downtown point in New York
| can remain in his sleeping-car until he reaches
Union square, the post-ofdce, or the Battery,
| just he wishes. The stations will be at regu-
| lar intervals. Through trains will stop only at
1nv Aiota SO y.
street, Twepty-third street, Fortysecond
street. Fifty-ninth street, and so on. At
/! Madison square the line is to bifurcate, one
branch extending along Madison avenue to the
| Harlem river. The main llne, of course, will
| run on along Broadway. and from Fifty-ninth
| street will extend through the boulevard, oyer
| Washington Heights, to the Harlem river. This
will not interfere with the elevated road. and will
give the western side of the city OF transit
| they have never before had. The road has the
right to three hundred feet each lateral street
| along the entire length for sidings etc. It will
be ventilated and lighted, as far as practicable,
| at every cross street. Inside the lighting will
| be done by electricity. The trains will be oper
ated by electric motors it being claimed that a
motor has been found which will operate salts
factoriy The road will have capacity to
| transport 1000, 900 passengers day.
| The company will pay per cent of its net
| earnings to the city of New York, and will be
obliged to deposit SO, 000 900 as guaranty of its
intention tons, to be forfeited in case the project
is not pushed through in the specified time. The
| road will cost about $4,000, 600 mile, or, say
sec. 900, 600, for the main line and the branch
through Madison avenue. Provision is made for
placing all the water, gas, steaEl and other sup
ply-pipes along Broadway in receptacles under
| the tracks. Telegraph wires are TO be similarly
protected along the insides Of the arcade.
1t is expressly stipulated that there shall be no
| delay or 1mpediment to traffic the surface
| while the road is being constructed. For this
| purpose bridge covering has been patented
| to cover each section as it is being excavated
| and this, on completion of the section and the
placing In position of the permanent roof, will be
| pushed along to cover the next section.
| The Missouri Republican says: "Coal cinders
| cost nothing. are to be had about every machine