The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-13
A PULLING SUBJECT.
Speed of Trains as Affected by the
Revolution of the Earth.
From the Railway Gazette.

From the Railway Gazette.
It is as far from Buffalo to New York
as it is from New York to Buffalo, yet if
we are to believe the reasoning of Mr..
Alexander Hogg, the railway run can be
made more easily in the former direction,
because the speed of the eastward-mov-
ing train being added to that of the rota-
ting earth the reduction of weight due to
centrifugal force is greater. We quote such
portions of Mr.. Hogg's letter as do not in
volve difficult mathematics
I'm 1891 the New York Central and Hud-
son River railroad ran train 43s1s miles
in AIS minutes and AZ seconds, or an aver
age of sixty-one and one-half miles per
hour. The weight Of this train was AGO.
900 pounds. The same company on Sept
II this year made the remarkable run of
the same 1864 miles in 407 % minutes;
this was an average of 6426 miles per hour
The New York Central, in starting both
times from New York city unnecessarily
retarded is own speed. From Albany to
Buffalo, due west, the train encountered
not only the prevailing west wind but the
force of the earth's revolution eastward
Owing TO the diurnal rotation of the
earth bodies at the equator press toward
the earth with 2SS-2S9ths of the pressure
they would were the earth deprived of
its rotation. IT, therefore, the rotation
OF the earth could be accelerated until IL
took only one-seventeenth of the present
sidereal day to make a complete turn or
revolution the centrifugal tendency would
be increased (seventeen) two-fold; that IS
it would be 2S9 times as great as now and
bodies at the equator would have no pres
sure downward, or as we say, would
weigh nothing. This rate of revolution
would not be sufficient to deprive bodies
anywhere else of their entire weight
Now let us apply this to railroad trains
A train running east at the equator would
be lightened as compared with the weight
on a sim earth If running due west the
result would be less. And the difference
of weight between the same train running
east and west with the same velocity
would be a certain fraction of its total
absolute pressure. Example: Take a
train running. say, seventy feet per sec
ond. or nearly forty-eight miles per hour:
this fraction would not be far from 1-l600
part; In running sixty miles per hour II
would be 1-1280th part and II running 100
miles per hour or 1H feet per second, it
would be greater and greater as both speed
is increased and still greater as both speed
and weight of the train are increased. The
train of the New York Central was SS7
feet long and weighed $4,000 pounds.
This calculation, II win be observed, as
said will be true for the equator. The new
YORK central train ran from Albany TO
Buffalo upon about the 42d parallel of lat
tltude and therefore, this
calculation should be corrected for this
latitude and would be about seven tenths
as great"
Other correspondents agreed with Mr.
Hogg In principle. though not accepting
all his mathematics. One OF them ends his
letter with the following rather jocose sug-
gestion.
1T is well known that when the moon Is
above us II draws movable objects away
from the earth, and when IL is on the op-
posite side of the earth II draws the earth
away from movable objects here thereby
causing the tides. 1t might be we'll to sug-
gest to the New York Central officers that
as the tides travel from east to west. they
may perhaps offset the disadvantages I'M
der Mr.. Hogg's theory by starting when
the position of the moon is propitous and
as they would keep in the tide while
going west, they may still be able to make
fast time going west, even II the engineers
or indeed the engines themselves. learn of
disadvantages of centrifugal force when
they are trying TO make Buffalo"
--Jakey Isaacs-vy dond you ged your
life insured, fadder?
Mr.. Isaacs-S hellup me ohracious, ia
would worry be t death, L tink l vas
livin'.--Puck.
Cut glass without a trade mark upon It.
is like solid silver without the name or
mark OF the manufacturer. See that the