Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-09-20
A WHEELLESS RAILROAD.
udRs PROPELLED AL0NG TRACKS
NJ WATER POWER.

4 Great speed AttainabIs BY the new
System - Hardly Any Motion Felt
when the Train - DrIvea nc Tts
Hizhest Rate--Tiow the Motive Power
IL Supplied.
A dispatch from Paris 10 the London
"Daily News" gives an account OF q
prose- Wow Of Tie so-callod "Chemln de
Fer Gissant," or "slide railway" on the
EsplanadO dee Invalldes within tho OK
position. "The now invention, says the
correspondent, "is singularly original
3onttivance for enabling trains to run,
oy means Of water power, at speed
hitherto undreamed OF Arriving there
without any intimation as to what a slid
ing railway might be / at first mlstook
L Tor an OvergTOWn switchback, with the
humps smoothed away. The train con-
sisted OF four carriages, a1ording room
Tor about 100 passengers, The carriages
had no wheels being supported at the
corners by blocks Of Iron Of size some
what larger than brick which rested
Ipon double line of iron girders. In
,he middle OF the line at regular inter-
rails iutted out tlrregularly shaped pillars,
no use OF which was not yet apparent.
Having taken our seats and the slg-
gently for the space Of a few yards,
Khen suddenly We gathered speed two
Or three tugs were felt and we we're fly
ng on at the pace Of an ordinary train,
mt as smoothly as a boat on river.
There was a clicking noise on the rails,
lut this, ] was assured, was due to de-
ect in the construction OF the slides and
would be remedied. The absence OF any
5ibration, shaking or tail motion was
Funderful A slight jerk there was at
pgular intervals, but then again l was
old that 1t was due merely TO the short
1ezs OF the eourse and the inability 20
seJ M proper pace. In n hydraulic car
| layellug al full speed-that is to say at
Ue rate OF 10 TO 200 kilOmoteTs or 81 20
% milos m hour-there would be almost
10 consciousness of motion. The jour
! ley down the esplanade only occupied
ew seconds
Upon our safe return Mr Pilter
chairman OF the company which owns
ue invention, gave full account OF IT.
The sliding railway was invented in 1865
.v an engineer named GiTard. who was
aied iu tho FrunCO-Gcrman war, and 1t
aas been improved to it's present state
9y ono OF his assistant engineers, Nj.
jarre. AS has already been mentioned
hose being replaced Dy hollow slides
tting upon fiat and wide rail, and
ruJyed on the inner surface. When
9 is desired TO set the carriage In motion
water is forced into the slide or skate Of
he carriage from a reservoir by COM
pressed air, and seeking to escape 1t
spreads over the under surface OF the
'lido, which ii rises for about nalle
thickness above The rail.
Tho slides, thus resting not on the
nils, but on a film of water, are in per-
bstly mobile condition; in fact, the
pressure of the fOreGnger Is sufficient to
lisplace a carriage thus supported. The
3ropelling force Is supplied by the pillars
which stand ut regular intervals on tho
me between the rails. Running under
lea i every Carliago Is an iron rack,
lbout six inches wide, fitted with pad
lies. Now, as the foremost carriage
passes m front of the pillar tap on the
attBr is opened automatically, and
streasp of water at high pressure is di-
,seted on the paddles. This drives the
rain on, and by the time the last car
'iage has gone past the top, which then
| closes, the foremost one Is In front OF the
| next tap, the waters action thus being
continuous. The force developed Is al
uOEb llEIGulplts lutIo 10 bOllb bDluEu-
ng on the rails at the start, but this di-
ninlshes the faster the train goes. To
stop tho train the small stream Of water
hat feeds the sides is turned of, and the
after coming in contact with the rails
he resulting friction stops the carriage
almost instantaneously.
"a water train running at over
100 miles an hour could, was told,
% pulled up within thirty yards; could
climb up gradients of sixteen inches In
Inc yard, descend them with equal safety
and run ON curves of forty-four yards
radius. This system would seem pecu-
iarly adapted for elevated railways In
titles, being light, noiseless, smooth,
Without smoke, fast and thoroughly un-
Ter command The danger of running
off the rails is reduced to a minimum,
;he center of gravity of the carriages be-
ing scarcely more than a couple OF feet
from the rails. The cost Of the metro
politan system would only be a third of
one on the old plan, while in the open
country it's cost would be somewhat
higher than the ordinary railway, but M.
Barre tells me the expense would be In
France an average of $4,000 a mile.
When no natural water supply Is ayalla-
ole a propelling machine every twelve
miles or so would be sufficient to keep
trains going at full speed. The consump-
tion of coal per passenger would be ono
ka,aAh ItF ~ lan 1ol on anti tfKy