The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-04

at Yonkers, P%eekskill, ~Poughkeepsie and
other towns. At each Of these points fully
a minute and a half IS lost from the time
the engineer shuts dow till his machine
returns to its normal speed. If we did not
have to reduce speed between this city and
Albany we could probably make the run in
two hours and say twenty minutes, and
that is pretty fast time for LA miles l can
tell you.
"Now as to bridges and c~ulverts and their
relation to speed and safety, Mr.. De-
pew"
"Well, they too must be improved on to
help along greater speed. There should be
no woode culverts in the railroad OF the
future, and bridges should be made of iron
and stone. This will do away with destruc-
ton of life and property by fire and greatly
increase the safety of travel. Now with
stone and masonry for road beds, iron and
stone for c~ulverts and bridges and with a
track straight as existing stations will per-
init, running through cities in viaducts, we
can talk about running our engines at n
greater rate of speed and with greater even
ness of notion"
And now what of the rolling stock and
motive power?"
eyes, l suppose improvements will be
made in rolling stock, although to look ut
some of the great limited trains to the west
with their magnificent cars one can hardly
imagine anything more ~commodious Or
comfortable. The only improvements in
cars that l anticipate will be in the heating
apparatus, and by reducing the weight at
the same time retain the strength. 1t can
hardly be predicted that there will be no
change over the present system of heating
by steam. While steam heating was a great
advance over the car stove yet it 10 likely
to BIZ bettered. It is useless to speculate
on what device will bring about the change.
Something new is turning up every day.
III nkn I'M 10 tnct fhn raU r.,a~
lions and harmonize them with
their surroundings, Before their utility
ban be determined they must be tried un-
der all the conditions to which they can be
subjected. The American sleeping car
weighs about forty-two tons. while the
relative position to our sleeper will average
bnly ten tons. The ordinary passenger or
hay coach will weigh about ten tons.
Handicapped by the weight OF cars | think
}xe make eveh better time than the English
always where the average speed is fifty
ike the Western limited. will weigh with
tx sleepers, baggage cars and the usual
lumber of coaches, fully four hundred tons.
n similar train TO accommodate the same
humber of passengers on an English road
Fill weigh not more than $50 tons. So the
uture speed of our trains must depend
fter, of course, the road bed is in first
lass condition, almost entirely Oh the
Feight of our trains. What we must do is
educe the weight of our cars and at the
anne time retain tho strength"
What inventions have been made in this !
mop
There have been quite a number sug-
ested. The steel car Ia perhaps the most
nportant OF these, and l would not be in
ne least surprised to sec steel passenger
nd sleeping cars run on our fast lines in
msrica in IA few wears. Mr.. Buchanan,
pc superintendent of motive power, has in
ind a steel car, which Ia shaped like a
gar.
81 building your car cigar-shaped and of