New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-11
AN AMBITIOUS SCHEME.
PLANS FOR AN UNDERGROUND GRAVITY
RAILROAD.
A SUGGESTED SOLUTION OF THE RAPID TRANSIT
PROBLEM-A COMPANY INCORPORATED.

A SUGGESTED SOLUTION OF THE RhflD InANoAA
PROBLEM-A COMPANY INCORPORATED.
new rapd-tra scheme for this city was brought
tn light yesterday by the filing In Albany oil arceS Oh
! association Of the IIenning Rapid Transit COMPANY.
Benjamin s. IIenning, who has Office NJ NO 30
Walls is at the head OF the movement and he holds
the patents which it is proposed 10 use In tns latest
scheme for quick transit in this city His plans rest
upon the principle of gravity roads, which IS exempl-
fed with good deal of clearnes in the toboggah sdes
at COney Island and other resorts about the country
rho stations are be a level with the street When
the has It's load Of passengers the brakes are
loosened zzz.lp. you go down the incline and up on
the other side and there you are Nothing simpler
I'm The world.
The principle is easily understood but in working
out the details many ObjectHs and difficulties sug-
geSted themselves. The plans Of the company as SCI
forth in the articles of association are exceedingly
ambitious ones and proposed road from point
in the vicinity OF the Hamilton ferry, Brooklyn. under
the East River in a tunnel the Battery then uptown
TO Westchester County. with branch line AT inc
intersection Of Onchundred and fifty -fiflhst' anu
Eghave. II Is not proposed to carr yout inc "nolo
of this however. The tunnel under the
East River will be matter for after conSoerauon' a.
will also the road from the Harlem River to West
chester County. The main point is road from the
Battery the Harlem River.
that line it is proposed To run cars winch Hhe
twenty six stops and make the distance In tweny-oho
minutes. That time VIII snnice TOT inc p'cSoh'' ''
promoters think and when the uptown districts become
more thcky populated so that through traihc VIII
paw another road can be built which will have FEWER
stations and over which much better time can DE maze
The promoters have the details all calculated to
mathematical nicely. They began by hgurnH .'c
average distance between the stations on inc eleNacu
railroad They found that there was on an average
one station every 1850 feet Then they empIoSeu
men to ride over the different lines OF the elevated
railroad several times and calculate precisely how
much time the trains occupied in stopping ana Starting
at the stations. at all times OF DAY suu hS"''
From thi, plan they learned that the elevated
trains consumed. an average eAactp t"cNo
seconds to allow the passengers to get of AMI on
Then they found the distance from the Battery 10
the Harlem River Just eight and two-thlrd miles
There you are again. These are their figures. Now
then.
with stations at the same average distance apart
a. those on the elevated railroad namely l'oo ieet'
there mus, be almost exactly three stations 10 mie-
on an average With eight and two third miles OF
road and station at every third OF miie So"
have twenty six stations Now how quickly can
car De- sent from one station another Again the
engineers figured it out and found that to SINK the
track to a depth Of 100 feet they would get speed
enough 10 send the from station to the ohet
I'm forty five seconds.
They We're more liberal In allowing time Tor the
people to get on and Of The ears than the elevated
abroad pcoplc are In fact they them three
Second, better and will allow their passengers fifteen
second, to get and oil the cars. There Son nave
il again forty five seconds between stations and fifteen
second, ~ stations make one minute Tor e''h
,tatlon-twcnty xix stations twenty-sM minutes
simplicity itself, But they wanted Ia 20 httle
quicker than that so they decided to make the incne'
a little sleeper and five minutes on
the whole rutc. Five minutes rom '"ehS ga
make, twenty one minutes. the time finally s"ttlcd
upon Of course the will not 20 entirely 10 the
top Of the incline. after gaining momentum going
down the other side and that defect to be remedied
either by cable or an ecctrlc mo"' 10 pun ''o ''
t. the station.
The next qccst!on was one OF safety. The trains
will be run by a block system train VIII not he
allowed 10 start from station until the signal comes
that train h,, departed from the next station beyond
Consequently train will start from station nhle'
i, Ina. Am absolutely free track in front Of It, suppose
a wheel or an axle should brcakl Well. II 1t shond
the car would simply drop down on ways
op cib.r side and slide along until tho
friction stopped it. Naturally the shock would
not be great with such an arrangement ~
the car would only drop inch or two. II The ~.
cidn 10 the machinery were serious one the ""r''
thing fhat could happen would be that the passengers
would have 10 get ont and walk I" the heN station
Their, would be no danger whatever Of collision for
th. r,.a.,,, tina, Their. would only train allowed
AT once in each section between the stations
Another difficulty suggested Itself. The stations
d,vniovn must necessarily b" much closer
together than thos, uptown. Would not t'
train, downtown II run upon the block N'-
ton mentioned have 20 wait at the sta
lion, mill the trains travelling the longer
u.tonco between the stations uptoVnl Al urS'
g,ncc ye, hut that difficult, obviatcd In this wise
rre ,nctn. Of the track between the stations uptown
h. much sleeper than il {, downtown. 50 the trains run
f., , greater speed and the time consumed Is the same
he,vccn all the stations with this arrangement the
greatest speed the train ever a'iainS Is INV two miles
All hour That 0, comparatively slow, considering the
speed with which modern railroad trains travel.
The only ground which will have 10 be bought VIII
he fo rod. ON each side II the stations and for the
stations thcm-clv, The remainder of the distance the
road viii lee 80 far under ground that II viii not inter
ters With The ,rsr, buildings. These were the plans
a. "a plalnrl 10 Iluuc reporter by Mr. llennihs yes
t,.riay The corporators Of tho company are Hen
l,nin = pcuulug tirnuel Burt, Of Warwick, y. y.
IN, prcsd.ut If the Lehgh and Hudson River Railroad
.,mpauy. Andres R stone. of No. $50 West Fifty
ninth Il Richard Nh er Of No. 467 Broomest. + y.
nicter-on Of 80 - East Thirty fourth st.. Conrad ~
t,rdan ~ EugrwoOd y. j.. Hugh l.. Cole. of No. l47
E,.t Thirty sixth st.. ono Andrcal. IT,. Of No. -
Nerc,r 4 william T.. Bond, OF New Canaan, Conn.
who MANAGE, william Walter Phclp,s affairs and
william :, 0pdylr, Of 80. 10 West Twelfth II.
The capitL stock al present Il only $4,000, the
minimum amount at which the capital Of such com
pnny Gun b. placed under the existing laws. The