The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-26
A RAILROAD UNDER THE SEA.
A Novel Plan to Be Put in Operation at
Brighton.

Novel Plan to Be Put in Operation at
brighton.
A railway which gives practically sea
voyage without the discomforts attending
seasickness is decided novelty. Such an
attraction is now in operation at Brighton.
The line is to be called the Brighton and
Nottingham Seashore Electric Tramroad.
The idea of running self-propelling car
on railway submerged in the sea origin
ated, it is said, with Magnus Volk OF the
electric railway, Brighton, and is believed
to be unique, although there is at st. Malo,
France, structure pulled across the har-
Dor by means of a chain distance of about
ITO yards.
Commencing at the eastern end of the
electric railway at Brighton, says the Phil
adelphia Record, the line extends dis
lance of three miles to the village of Rot
tingdean, a well-known resort. Here q
small iron pier has been erected for the
cars to run alongside, the pier being also
available for steamer traffic and promen-
aiding. AT the Brigton end of the line an
iron jetty has been erected, on which have
been built comm odious waiting-rooms and
offices. The rails are laid on concrete
blocks, spaced about three feet apart, and
mortised into the sound rock, the height
of the blocks varying with the irregular
tiles of the shore. The line consists of
four rails laid as two tracks, of two
feet eight and q half inches in guage,
spaced about eighteen feet, outer rails,
thus giving an effective guage of eighteen
feet, this being necessary to give the re-
quired stability to the cars. At high tide
the depth of water over the rails is fiji
teen feet. Although the most violent gales
experienced for many years occurred in
the winter of 1894-95 no damage whatever
was done to the permanent way, so the
fact that it posses ample strength to resist
the force OF the sea has been demonstrated
in a satisfactory manner. The line is now
nearly complete, but the work being tidal
has been greatly delayed by bad weather.
The car is a structure on sixteen wheels,
thirty-three inches in diameter, carrying
the passengers at height of twenIy-fou
feet above the level of the rails. The four
main legs are tubes of drawn steel, eleven
inches in diameter. At the bottom of each
leg is placed boyle truck, having four
wheels, the outside of the boyle being
shaped like double-ended boat to facili-
tate its passage through the water and also
remove any distractions from the rails.
The four bogies are firmly held together
by steel tubular thrusts. The wheel base
is about twenty-eight feet and the effective
gauge eighteen feet, giving great stability.
The tops of the main legs are firmly
built into lattice girder work. carrying
the deck, and the whole structure is firmly
secured by cross ties, and is of great
O1lCllAS UuI a SI161
surface to the force of the waves. The
main deck is carried out exactly as if for
a steam yacht and measures fifty feet long
and twenty-five feet wide. The center
space of the deck is occupied by the sa-
loon and the decorations are carried out
in a simple but effective.manner. The roof
of the saloon is rallied round and forms
promenade deck, seats being placed over
the glass dome and over the center of
the saloon. On this upper deck are placed
the controlling apparatus for driving and
stopping the cars. The total accommoda-
ton is for 100 to $50 passengers AS the
journey will be undertaken more for the
sea air than for making the trip quickly,
the speed will be kept between six and
eight miles an hour. The driving ma
chinery consists of two 80 horsepower
electric-motors, placed vertically imme-
diately over two of the main legs, one on
each side of the car, the shafting being
carried down inside and communicating
with tooth-gearing which aetuates the
wheels. The brakes are worked by rods
passing down the remaining two legs.
The current at 500 volts will be conveyed
to the car by means of trolley-pole and
overhead wire.