New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-11-23
A SHORT LOOK AHEAD.
FROM NETWORK TO SAN FRANCISCO IN
THREE MINUTES
THE FIRST TRIP THROUGH THE PNEUMATIC
TUBE MADE YESTERDAY AND THE ROAD
WILL BE OPENED TO THE PUB.

noon, and this morning It Will he opened for the ac-
commodation OF the public. The first trip with pas.
sergers In the made I'm few seconds moro
than three minutes and the regular trips thereafter
were made in precisely three minutes EACH The
men who had charge of the ponderOus machinery
were trfe nervous during the first trip. ana con-
sequently a few seconds were lost. The ear nae
been sent through the tube q dozen times early In
the day, but then ones life depended upon tho
success OF the trial. When there were dozen
people In the the owners and operators
Of the road appreciated that any sort OF failure on
the trial trip would work them rreparable injury and
superintendent Modern said after IL WAS over that he
believed he grew year older during the three minutes
and seven seconds which the occupied In making
the first trip.
All Of this gigantic machinery, which moves car
weighing several tons nearly 5000 miles in three min
utes controlled directly by man. although there
are of course several hundred men who take care OF
the various parts of the powerful electric engines when
force the air into the tube. This one man sits IN
room entirely apart from any kind Of distraction
There is absolutely nothing In the room except the
apparatus with which he works the road and the chair
in which he sits II would have startled our ancestors
IL they could have known THAT in this year OF our
Lord such an enormous amount Of power could be
produced from manipulating lever which is no larger
than an old time telegraph key. Besides this KY
there Is dial which shows the movement Of the car.
Cat the operator knows to within half mile where
1t Is during the entire journey.
He is completely shut Off from the outside world.
the being arranged so that not sound OF any
sort reaches him while he Is duty. The door In
his room leads hall and at the end OF the hall
there is another door, before which watchman IL
always on guard When the car Is all ready to 60 ON
its journey a small bell rings in the room and this
signal is answered by the operator. Then the answer
ing signal back to show that the first was not
a false ALARM and within less time than II takes 70
tell It the car is OF its long tourney-ong only In
the number of miles travelled. because three minutes
cannot be considered long time even in this exceed
ingly swift age.
In the car yesterday dozen newspaper men,
B. Swift the president Of the road, and Mr. Modern,
the superintendent. The station at this end OF tic
road has already been described In The Tribune. 1t
more like the drawing Of private house than the
dusty and fousmellng stations which our ancestors
were obliged to use. In going from the waitingroon
to the car descends easy flight OF stairs, richly
carpeted and enters the car from door In the end
The car Is perfectly round fifty feet long, with row
of seats on each SIDE There seats for fifty PERSONS
twenty-five each side, thus allowing the space OF
twenty four inches for each person. The seats are
sumptuously upholstered with head rest and foot
STOOL
When the fourteen persons above mentioned were Ia
the the door closed noiselessly few seconds
afterward the vibrating Of the great engines could be
heard ndistinctly, they gathered power enough ID
shoot the through the tube at the rate OF sixteen
miles second for $50 consecutive seconds. Mr..
Swift side of the with three reporters
each side Of him, and Superintendent Modern sat
the other side, fanked in the same way by three
newspaper men each side of him. Mr. Swift took
out his watch. The second hand indicated that II
lacked only fifteen seconds of IL O'Clock.
ave start precisely at twelve" lie remarked. and
before the words fairly out Of his mouth Kissing
noise heard and before VIC knew it VIC were Off
our long journey
faIa lang u,of To do-r iba fha fnNa
of the next three minutes. After the first little
jerk which indicated that the had been started this
only way In which those inside could tell that 1t wan
in motion was that there tendency to make them
lean back toward the rear end Of the car. This was
explained by the fact that the gained momentum
very rapidly the tendency described was, Of course
only natural. 1t all passed away, however, within
twenty or thirty seconds, and then not sound was
heard except the ticking OF the watches. Mr.. Swift
had his watch in his hand, and he never turned his
eyes away from it until the journey was at an end
The Tribune man sat next to him and looked at the
watch also The hand showed that forty seconds had
elapsed since the car was started.
"We're past Chicago" muttered Mr.. Swift
Within the next twenty seconds the reporter ob.
served that the car was lighted BY daylight, and
not by any artificial means At about the place
where the head Of person OF ordinary sizo
would come while sitting in the seat there was An ex-
ceedingy fine and very thick plate-gass window The
sunlight streamed into this window, but upon looking
out everything seemed TO be in tumble. Occasion
ally one could catch sight of landscape, but 1t was
so heetng that it could not be seen distinctly. This
mystery explained later.
At every mile in the tube there Is fine plae-gass
window, twenty feet long. The car passes through
the tube such rapid rate that the spaces between
the windows although nearly mile wide, are nos
noticeable. This be readily understood by making
little mental calculation. The car travels at the
rate OF about sixteen miles second. Thus 1t will b
seen that in one second the passes sixteen OF these
twenty foot windows, and as the windows on the
opposite sides of the tube placed alternately 1t is
easily seen that the is freshly supplied with Light
thirty-two times in every second. This means that
there Is light in the practically all the time.
otherwise you lose sight Of the spaces for the same
that you cannot see the spokes in wagon wheel
when the waSOa is %oy1 W a Wai Closely scanning tho
hands of his watch and at one minute past IL he
Ne are not lar from the Mississippi River
The hands of the watch seemed TO creep during the
next minute at the expiration OF which Nj swift again
that were the Rocky Mountains.
Now came the critical moment. 1t was well under
stood by those in the car that the crucial test was to
come when the TO be stopped. Would the car
go out OF the end OF the tube and land us in San
Bay or SSr@ ts aa e na eaHs d ne
ma1ged bodies be s taken out by Mn
the operation? These and thousand other thoughts
reporter derived a little grim satisfaction from the
last words Of the managing editor, who BY way OF
consolation had said TO the reporter when he gave him
the assignment:
"NOw. B., you may come out OF this thing alive!s
The Tribune does not allow the use Of the word
" very, except on occasions, but the reporter
thinks that he is justified in saying this occasion
in the meantime the car se was on he
faces of those in the during the last twenty sec
OF the journey cannot he described By either pen
or tongue The gradually losing speed.
Ten seconds more and what! Five seconds
Time Is UP, but still novel We
expect the crash but still the watch
ticks Off the seconds. one! Two! ThrceI Fonr Five!
We are stoppingr almost shouts Mr. Swift, and In
two seconds more the comes to standstill. In
than two seconds more the door Is thrown open,
and the officers OF the road and score OF newspaper
men rush In to congratulate The Journey Is safely
and the greatest feat OF the age has been accom-
plished.
Many wealthy business and professional men OF this
city have already bought homes In California. They
y to town every morning and return home ~
night The difference Of three hours In time between
his city and san Francisco makes 1t a little incon
,enient for them because they have to arise at a. m
n order 20 reach their Offices by 10 O'Clock. On the