The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-09-18
a cTYs WATER SUPPLY IN TANka,

Novs, Scheme to Convey Water rom
Lake Ontario to Rochester
Rv far the most novel suggestion that
has vet been offered for supplying
Rochester with additional water Is the
following:
The proposal is, in brief, to bring the
wafer from Lake Ontario by means VI
tank cars running on a railroad.
In explaining the proposal the pro
;ector said: USince the idea first 90
curred to me have looked at S rom
all points, and the more l thlnk OF II
the better it pleases me. But wneunsr
Il will be found practical or not re-
mains to be seen. The engineers can
no doubt easily calculate the cost, ana
2bat is the only feature that am IN
fear about. As it is, after rough cal
cnlation I estimate that this plan Will
give this city and other places pure wa
ter at low price and in unlimited guam
Stv. The whole plan is to bring the
eater in a vessel made for the purpose
from a point in the lake SO far from
shore that there will be no chance Oh IL
containing impurities.
"The vessel would be somewhat on
the plan OF the floats used in New
York for carrying garbage out to sea
and dropping it in the ocean through
the bottom of the vessel. In the case
of INV ship the cargo, instead OF being
taken to sea, would be brought from
sea to shore, and in place OF entering
the hold through the matches would
come in through trap in the bottom.
When we had our vessel full of the pure
and sparkling water we would tow it to
the harbor by tug, and pump the
water into tank cars specially made for
the purpose and running like ordinary
freight cars on the common track. The
cars could be provided with trap doors
or valves through which to discharge
their liquid contents into reservoir
over which the train would run, just as
a coal or wheat car runs and drops its
load. This plan, of course, would only
be adopted where the system was to De
applied on a large scale. Where tho
idea was to be adopted as a temporary
expedient the water could be pumped
from the cars directly into the mairA
of the town.
"Now for some figures in regard to the
scheme. The railroads carry freight az
a profit for half a cent ton per mile.
A ton of water contains 2S5 gallons, so
that, allowing so gallons of water to each
person, the railroad would carry sup
DIV for family of five the distance OF
a mile for half cent 1t would coss
8 10 cents as freight from the lake to
Rochester, assuming that the distance
Is seven miles. Thirty tons is an ord:r
nary load of Goals on a gondola car.
and locomotive would have no diff
Guilty in drawing train of twenty cars
or 600 tons, holding III, 900 gallons. ~
one train made twelve trips day
moderate estimate for run of seven
miles-we get 2, O52, 900 gallons of wa
ter. You see there is virtually no limit
to the amount of water you can bring
to town in that way, and the plant re-
1uired is neither expensive nor difficult
20 make.
1.-Two or three steam pumps of kind
that can be found ready made, the ship
for carrying the water and the tank
cars are the principal novel features OF
the whole, and any good mechanic can
rig them all up in short time. The
plan, l tell you, is entirely practical,
and when l have had chance to con-
suit with some ship carpenter as to the
cost of the vessel, and with the railroad
managers as to the best rates they cali
give on freight may give you more in
relation to it.
"Just fancy" continued the pro,
jector, "how easy it would be to estab.
fish reservoir in the vicinity of Burke
park, and keep it full of water by a
train of tank cars running to and from
Charlotte.
: "If the cost of carrying the water by
rail should prove too great" the pro-
iector added, as though he had caught
another idea, then 1 shall figure on
the expediency of bringing the water
from Lake Erie in canal boats. All we
want in that case is fleet of boats that
we can run into the lake, fill with pure
water, tow down here and pump the
contents into the reservoir. l intend to
call the attention of the Chicago people
to the plan of bringing water in ships
, from beyond the sewage line. "-Roch-
ester Post Express.