The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-02-07

Rapid Transit from the Ferry TO Jersey
gity Heights.

500 ~@~N
City Heights.
The elevated railroad. from the Hoboken
Ferry to Palisade avenue on the Heights,
which was opened for travel last week, has
already proved boon to the travelling
public who rush to take advantage Of its
Accommodations. The road is owned and
was built by the North Hudson County
Railway Company who began railroad
building in Hoboken in 1860 when the
place was little village, In those days
the company did not have paved streets in
which to lay their tracks but were COM
PEELED to blast rocks IN order to get good
roadbed, particularly was this the case in
laying tracks on the hillsides. In 1868
dummy engines were introduced on the
road, but these soon proved q failure owing
to the steep grades ard to the danger of
running them on the streets.
From this time on the cars were run on
the old plan of hiteking two extra horses
to each car and drawing the car up the
hill, where the extra horses were detached
and travelled back to the foot of the hill to
wait for the next car. BY this method
extra men and horses had to be employed,
besides it would take car twenty
minutes TO 60 from the ferry to the top Of
the hill. About 1873 the company con-
suited engineers as to the best method of
| drawing their cars up the hill The outcome
of this was the building of the elevator
| which at that time was considered fully am-
pie for all purposes. By this method the
| time from the ferry to the hill was reduced
| to twelve minutes. Several years ago it be-
| came evident to the company that some
| thing would have to be done to accommo-
date the increased travel. The first. idea
was to build another elevator, but after
| many plans had been considered it was de-
cided to build an elevated railroad Ac-
cordingly work was begun on the structure
about two years ago.
| Mr. John J. Enders, who had planned
and built the elevator, was engaged as en-
gineer in charge, and it was under his SUI
perintendence that the road was built.
Along the entire route of the road it was
found necessary to drive piles for the foun-
dation. In some cases these piles were
driven so feet before solid bottom was
reached. On top of these piles a large piece
of bluestone, ten feet square, was fastened,
while on top Of the bluestone brick piers
are built, to which are riyeted the sockets
in which the upright iron columns are set.
The higher part of the structure does not
rest on single uprights, but on four iron
| posts in the form of towers, so feet square
at the bottom and ~ feet square at the
top. The tracks are heavy steel rails laid
on white oak blocks, which are bolted to
iron plates riveted in between two upright
bars, which not only add strength to the
structure, but act as guard rails At the
ferry the road is at an elevation of 8 feet.
gradually rising until it reaches Hudson
street where it is Is high. 1t then contin-
| ues level to Monroe, where it begins to rise
at the rate of feet to the 100, 40 per cent.
more of grade than on the Brooklyn
Bridge. There are two curves on the road,
oHe near the ferry and one at Monroe
street. AS it would be almost impossible
to get engines powerful enough to operate
the road, it was decided to make it cable
road, the cable being of steel one and one
half inches in diamater. The motive power
is situated in the brick building adjoining
the station on Palisade avenue, and consists
of four large steel boilers and two 500-horse
power Corliss engines. The main shaft is
i Is inches thick.
AT present the cars only run between the
hours of seven and ten in-the morning and
three and seven in the evening, and only
take passengers to the top of the hill. If
they wish to go further they must pay an
extra fare. As soon as all the arrange
ments on the hill are ready, five cents will
pay for ride on the elevated road and
transfer on the horse cars. As soon as
possible three new stations will be built in
Hoboken at the following points Willow
street, Madison street and at some street
yet to be determined on. If the road should
prove success it will undoubtedly be ex-
tended to the Court House and the north.
ern part of the county. It is estimated
that the road has cost, including stations.
rolling stock, &C., nearly one million dol
lars.