Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-06-22
TIE HIGHEST SPEED.
Improved Bearings and Brakes Needed to
 Attain One Hundred Miles an Hour.
oclAI N0rrcspOndence


 Attain One Hundred Miles an Hour.
 Special CorrcSpoudence.l
 ALBANY, Juno lS.-"If you know any one of an inventive turn of mind and de- sirc to let him know how he may make fOrtunC,' said a man who is connected with electric trolley interests to mo here yesterday. start him to experimenting with bearings or journals and brakes for railroad locomotives and cars. For many years steam railroad men havc been work ing steadily at these things, and now they havC brought the present forms nearly to perfection. For some time, however, thcrc has been little improvement Eighteen or twenty years ago a 50 mile rate was so rarely attained as to bc thought worthy of much blowing of trumrrts and exploitation, and such thing aS running a train rcgularly above 4o miles an hour was unhcard of in America. Since then ruadbcds have becn gradually improved, the old type of jour nal has hc,'n brought nearly to perfection. the airhrakc has come in. and the engines have been made heavier. so that today therr are several railruads over which cer- tain trains arc rrgularly run at an average speed of 30 miles an hour This means that during a portion of each trip the train must n2"Nr nt much higher rate, say 6n, 70 and sometimes even so milu,S an hour.
 
 highest of these spccds for a considerable stretch, but as sonn as more than so miles is rrarl!Cd the hearings get hot Despite the almost CcaSt'lrsS thought that has been devoted to the problem of producing a bearing that shall run cool no matter what the speed, il has sO far proved an in soluble one. Until it is solved the speed of railroad ears, whether propelled by steam ar electricity, cannot ErWtly increase. Aft or itS solution railroad sprrd will surely take an amazing jump. Even with no other improvements save the hCttCrng of the tracks in some instances a moro per feet hCHrinE would prulmhly raisr the aver aEH sTr,d 25 per cent and the speed of the 50 mile an hour train t0 70 perhaps. should not like Ia name tho ratr at which think electric motors might hc run with perfect bearings They could surely be shot along the rails much faster than I would care tn ride. But for the imperfect bearings steam railruad trains could even n"w hr propelled lt the hundred mile rate rrEularly. rcoNidnE the tracks were str:iEht"r"d hrrv and there and the hCavi- est grades drnr away with. Thcrr arc Srv- cral l"NpnntiNr, Eow in service on Amcri- can railr,aGs tlAt can tlu that speed for short di>tanrrS and are only prevented from maintaiIilu.< il for l:'ng runs by the fact that wh,u lh,ir massive drivers begin [" spin at such rat" the h,arinGS heat. Nc. ""2, the famous machine that daily huulS the Empire :ItAt" cNpr,,>S over d part of the ii"" ivtwr,u New York and Buffalo, has H"t uH!lN been run for a short distance at a rate of ll2 mjIrS an hour, and l my self have repeatedly ridden over rather cx. tended strr;rhye nt An so ar 9O mile ratr within th" last two years,
 zone" the proper h,Hr,nE k invented, Whrthvr ii he a new form or a new ma trral d,N'S hot 1patt,r. all other obstacles hut ":.r tn gr,.u iHcrras, uf speed will soon di>arp,n". rr,u'l~ can he made more scld. bridges can hr >trngthrntt. lines can be Straichtrnvd, and cars. engines and meters be made str'12Err hv the simple cx- pondnur' "f muuCy. But there iS one thing in the way of increased speed, and that k thr inadoQuary of all present brakes.
 ''With thr very best existing appliances for StupPir'; trains ur cars it would be i'm possible tn control them at higher aver age of speed than 5o or i0 miles. IL would be actually out of the question to stop heavy train. running 100 miles an hour, within srvimS distance of q danaorr signal. ordinarily sprakinE, no matter how per feet th" airhrakcs or how instant their rcsp"nSr to thr lever. All brakes arr at present C0n>trurtCd on the principle of stopping th" motion of the wheels, and the h,>t brakes &rC now so efficient that they will stop tho revolution of every wheel under n long train within a ear length, but thIt iS nut enough to stop the train. I'll" II. mrnium of such an Cnor, mou$!y ht,.NN ln3~~ "~ n locomotive engine and long tr.!iH i~ ,.n r1,'at when moving rapidly th"t wa.H ,.:r "a 'tivu of is wheels k tHn >ll1lt!, ~. ..;Y. '%d tl"y slidr over the !, ,I I"!ut 'f r',.'...'; }V,1,Crn each wheel and tlr rail l. .N >llAt |" Hrr'~t tl.r move m"ut f :l" . A train in a >hn7t d!>tarcr. and unt'l st ne u!.'t, ,.n! If C ing this is di~, '>,- i' " D. | ',' :.lfr t.l :~9,,itlv in C"y3>rt' F.. "'g ;''" IL l. trt!r that >iI.-:" '..'.. ,~ln lr' >trVjv llurh I''' k.rt' l ns t~.t~ If heavy steam c@7~. @nd il I.i ''I'..v "t t',,, in ny i!''g. nri,', Il. ~'~,l s, ,'-l.In it'!i rove +: h: | .: .'I, ir ci,t'ri, motors n.r r.. >.'l ,. E.. <, NFl rurri> Il >t ..:'H it' 1'' T ui i | .s'IhaU-h G,>.ntoI | l; 'in,' n','y.',.i, cI-s !...,, ,.v, B., -,.!,.rlr v.!.. ,., l.. .ts the t.., ,. , ,.-. ..}>
 ''T..rl.. :.. ,..:, .,y .! ' tc ia>,n;- >lrS j !i :.' =. .i If .l - ~ s l:.! !,S in stead oi nN .,I h...':r--l..,, t. l!I.' per trH ton ,',' .} ..:,.. ,:. l., iit!l A shoe "r lat, 's,'," ',L i,.; l.,:g ,,,n r.. l,,; down upon t!.'' i,,'.>. IL!~ would inSl,c2 a much greater 'I, ,r' than l!r.t nT"r,,rd hy the prvjphrii 'i thy W ..tS u' "l lac rails ai present. Al S:tu .;e.:c!>,,o they stop their str,r, trolley c,.r> I!:t:rh ,lui Ter than they can l." e,tI, =! hy any other means by the CNp,>,i"..t a: lowering "A laHk sh!rId two frot wi0" tH tl '" r..ils Ny tliiS means tho car Can El >' ,t.A in l,>S tkan Its own loncih, CNr:l vH>!. vH,.Tia.' aJ Inc rl:o Of 10 or l9lu.l,>. an hour, aAd thrs,, ,,r,, ret railrn:td n4rn who think this dc, lee when properly Tcgivr.''d, will save lnup, lives than all thc frnd,'rs in the world"