Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-03
STEAM KNOCKED OUT
By an Electrician Who Wants
to Build a Road From
St. Louis to Chicago
FOR WORLDS FAIR TRADE.
His Trains Would Run 100 Miles an
Hour, and Stop for Nothing.
A GIGANTIC SCHEME OUTLINED.
An Airline Road That Would Stop at
No Obstacles at ALI.
FOR WORLDS FAIR TRADE.
A GIGANTIC SCHEME OUTLINED.
fLANs OF THE PROPOSED INNOVATION
,spEcrAL TrLEGRAM TO THE pIsPArcH.l

rsPEc1AL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.l
NEW YORK, June AT the Electric
Club tonight DR.. Wellington Adams, an
electrician of Chicago, explained to an
audience that was interested, astonlshed,
and, as some frankly admitted, rather In
credulous, the details of an electric rail-
way that is about to be built between Chl-
cago and ST. Louis. 1t is to follow an ar
line, paying no attention whatever to OBJ
structions. 1t is to run cars at speed OF
at least 100 miles an hour 1t is to be
in operation by the spring of 1898.
DR.. Adams had stereopticon and screen,
upon which he projected plans Of the rail-
way and OF the machinery. He first pro-
duced map of the State of Illinois, show
ing the city of ST. Louis. Across the map
was drawn a straight line between the spots
marked Chicago and st. Louis, respect
lively.
''That," said DR.. Adams, 'is the line of
our railway-the Chicago and St Louis
Electric Railway-suryeyed as nearly to
straight line as the instruments could do it.
This road is 24S miles long, or 35 miles
shorter than the shortest railway line now
operating between those points. 1t runs
and the line of the Wabash Railroad.
Ready for the Worlds Fair.
1--WE intend to have this road in operation
by the opening of the Worlds Fair, and we
EXPECT to make twice the cost of it before
the Fair closes. The plans have all been
made, the contracts are arranged for, and
the cost will be about Sc, 100000 The fare
of the round trip from Chicago to St Louis
will be S. The schedule time from ST.
Louis to Chicago will be two hours and
half, as against eight hours and half, the
quickest time at present.
'First, as to the roadbed For 200 miles
of the way the country is naturally as level
rs billiard table. The grade on the other
4s miles is per cent. We propose to build
at first two tracks, and each will be put
upon an independent bed, with a drain be-
tween the two beds and a ditch at
either outside The roadbed will be OF
unusually solid construction, and the rails
will be California rails, which overlap and
practically continue without fshplates or
any devices of that kind. The road will
thus be secure against many OF the accl-
dents which ordinary roadbeds cause.
Description of the Cars.
"Between the two roadbeds will rise
series of poles supporting a cross arm, to
either end of which will be strung the wires
along which the trolley will work. The
cars will be low, heavily weighted, and the
front end of each car will be sort OF inclined
plane, SO that the least atmospheric resistance
will be got There will be two trucks, with
pair of slx-toot wheels and pair OF 81
inch wheels to each truck. The part Of the
car in which the passengers will be put will
be partly down between the two trucks.
1--WE will have two central stations, one
at Wilmington or Fairbury, 60 miles from
Chicago, where we can get water power
free. the other at Edinburg, 18 miles south
east of Springfield, where we own 500
acres of coal land, which is now mining.
We will sell all our coal, as now,
and the dust which We now pay TO have
carted away we will use to get our power.
Each section of ten miles of the road will
have in the midst of it a station for the
storage and transmission of power to the
mines.
''The operating of the road" continued
Mr. Adams, "will be very simple. You buy
your ticket at the station in Chicago. The
agent there tears it out of his stub book and
hands it to you. You 60 to the place where
the car is waiting. There is no conductor,
only the motorman, who has no engine to
watch, and therefore has time to take the
coupon of your ticket, which is check on
the agent You get into the car, and when
all is ready the motorman steps aboard,
closes the doors, and lets her go. The car
does not stop or let up its speed-for the
track is fenced in all the way-untll you
get to St Louis, where you give up your
ticket to a gateman as you pass into the
street.
Through without q Stop.
'There may be two cars coupled with
their straight ends together, If the traffic
calls for it But all the cars will 60 through
without stop. We will in turn build spurs
from the main tracks to the larger towns
that have been cut off because of our
taking an air line. The car from
each town will run straight from that town
to Chicago or st. Lonis, as the case may be-
without stop or let up. In the course Of
time we expect to build two more tracks
and run accommodation trains on them
stopping at stations erected mile apart. y
When DR.. Adams sat down, Prof Crosby,
who, with DR.. Bell, wrote work on elec
trical railways, arose and expressed some
grave fears as to the practicability of the
road. He said he hoped DR.. Adams en-
thusiasm was we'll founded, but he feared
there were some difficulties still in the way
Prot. George Forbes, to whose writings OF
electric railways DR.. Adams confesses {
great obligation, delivered himself al
length. Prof. Forbes, who is q Londoner
said that only two men in history had de
parted from the orthodox method of laying
our railways.
Zone of them," said he, ''was the Cza
Nicholas, who used a map and ruler j.
making his surveys, and the other is DIR
Adams Listened to him with enthusiasm
but must say not without misgivings.
Prof Forbes said he regretted that DR.
Adams had not been more explicit as to tn
way the electricity was to be applied, a
without knowing that none could discus
the scheme. DR.. Adams then explained
that be would be most happy to do this
had it not been that these matters were q
present secrets of which he feared be has
already said too much.
Man ut the Bottom OF 1t.