The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-11-21
A REAL AIRLINE RAILROAD.
EnsA-ssr IL VANS Proposed systen Of Pnes.
matte Trains.

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E.sA-ser Il vaa's Proposed systen Of Pass.
matte Trains.
From Philadelphia to New York In
twenty minutes That is what w.
Barnet LIE Van. the we'll known en-
gineer of Philadelphia. proposes shall
be one of the first accomplishments OF
the twentieth century. It is to be
done by means Of pneumatic tubes ten
feet in diameter run in as near an air.
line as possible between the two cities.
the cars to be propelled by exhausting
the air in front of them.
Mr.. LIE Van first enuuciated his
system in an address before the Frank
lin Institute in January, 1882. at which
time it met the appreciation and in
dorsement of the practical engineers OF
that body. Since that time Mr.. LIE
Van has given much further thought
to the matter, and developed the
system into much more perfect shape.
The principle OF pneumatic propul-
sion has long been in active operation
in the transmission OF packages and
other materials. There is a pneumatic
freight road in London which has been
In successful operation for many years
past It shoots the cars five miles in
side of seven minutes. A friend Of
MIR. LIE Van, who took a trip over this
road, said that the only inconvenient
sensation was being in the darkness,
which would, of course, be obviated in
passenger road. The pneumatic
tubes which carry money and small
packages through the big stores Of
the city are on the same principle as
Mr.. LIE Vans proposed line to New
York.
In describing his system recently
Mr.. LIE Van said there should BE- two
perfectly round tunnels between the
cities, one for up trains and the other
for down trains. They should be Of
brick, finished smooth on the inside
and ten feet in diameter. This would
be the case when the tunnel runs un-
derground. In passing over rivers and
cuts the tunnel would be of boiler iron
or steel.
The cars would be cylindrical, made
of steel and made to fit air tight In
the tunnel by means of leather or rub
Der packing Any number OF cars
could be used, as there would be no
need for couplings on the train. In
going down an incline the first car
could not leave the train without Gre
ating ii partial vacuum between it and
the next car for the reason that each
car has its packing between it and the
tube. The plan for operating the road
is to have stations located every five
miles, at which would be placed large
exhaust fans of precisely the same
pattern as is used in drawing foul air
from mines. These would withdraw
the air in front of the trains and de-
liver it behind them, thus providing a
double propelling power, both pulling
and pushing.
ut would only take pressure of
one pound to the square inch," said
Mr.. LIE Van, Ito propel the cars at a
rate of $50 miles an hour, and this
could be easily attained. The distance
from the public buildings in Philadel-
phia to the city hall in New York is
eighty-one miles in an air line, and
this could be covered in twenty min
utes. There would be no necessity for
trains to stop at any station unless it
was so desired, for balance gates
would be provided which would open
automatically for through trains.