The sun., 1897-03-22
UNDERGROUND TROLLEY.
SIXTH AND EIGHTH AVENUES TO
HAVE 1T BY FAIL.

Cars VIII ne Run Each section ne It II
Compieted-The Congestion OF Tra,el on the
broadway Cable Road TO ne Relieved.
Having obtained the consent of the Railroad
Commission to introduce the underground troll
ley systom In Eighth. Sixth, Fourth, Madison,
md Amsterdam avenues and Fifty-ninth street,
the Metropolitan Traction Company will apply
this week to the Department Of Public Works
for permission to tear up these streets, and In a
very short time work will be begun. The line of
work laid out for the coming summer is very ex-
tensive. and will involve the expenditure of be-
tween $4,000, 900 and 81, 900, 900 and give en-
ployment to large number OF men. It Is tho
intention Of the company to rush the work at
the greatest speed possible, six months
only being allowed for tho construction of
the Sixth and Eighth avenue lines; and
for the larger fraction of that time motor
cars will be run over a part of the line.
For the past year and half tho engineers of
the company have been working on the prob
lam. and as a result not only are the plans COM
pctcd for all the work, but the greater part Of
the material is already in this city, stored in the
yards Of the company.
As has been said the motive power will be
electricity supplied to the motors by means of
an underground trolley, or feed bar, is now
used on the Lenox avenue system. The
with many other large street railway corpora.
tions, has been carrying on for the past year and
Il half extensive experiments with compressed
air as motive power, in the hope of reducing
its cost and increasing Its reliability to u point
where 1t could be used successfully in long hauls
such as are necessary in this city. Tho results
obtained convince the company that the use of
compressed dir for surface transportation was
still in the experimental stage, so the company
81
much needed improvements in its system. The
success of its underground trolley system was
such that 1t was considered TO be the best for
New York city use.
As the work has been laid out, the start to put
in the new line will be made in Eighth avenue
at the Harlem River. The line will be carried
directly down to Fifty-ninth street, where it will
divide. One fork will continue down Eighth
avenue over the present route to a terminus at
Canal street and Broadway. The other fork
will turn into Fifty yninth street and run to Sixth
avenue, whence 1t will 20 over the present route
10 West Broadway. At Fulton street it will turn
east TO Church street. and through Church
place. place. The Sixth and Eighth avenue @ , lines ls Gc
low Fifty-ninth street will be constructed stimuli
ished, it being the expectation to have thom
running from end to end by the middle Of the
owners own n along lon these lines have been @ oStsined
and nothing now remains but the formal permit
In I be
these viii be the Fourth and Madison avenue
practically been obtained for this line. which
vii follCw the Present resent route @ i from the Harlem
crosstown line. running from First to Tenth av-
enue, will next be constructed, and lastly the
hastSn a am avenue To sxtg%th % street, Fo Trough
sixty-tfth Sixty fifth street to Eighth avenue % or Central
will bn N ODeratiOn nv newt wipter
street railway men has been direct and easy
and
With the rapid transit on the proposed lines,
not only for the west side but for the east side.
will be solved. Cars coming down Amsterdam
street viii be sent down Sixth avenue to this
district. Cars coming down Madison avenue
To these lines, the improvements which
viii be made this summer, three other lines are
a part ot the Metropolitan Tractio. Company's
OF the prnsios Of the
tenn and it is only matter OF time when 1t viii
erty owners is being obtained FOR the introduc-
tion of electricity on this line. The other two
The building OF an underground trolley line is
not nearly SO complicated u problem as the
President vreeland that a large section Of the
road can be built in ten days, that is. from the
si time the 2a,s is torn Tr TO the time i 10
put in an UNDERGROUND trolley than for any
surface railway on which other than horse power
Is used. The modern. improved trolley car weighs
from seven TO nine tons, and adequate allowance
must be made to support this weight. First there
there Is tho tie, which is six inches more. and
under that. the bed OF concrete which it rests.
necessary. With the underground trolley; an
additional excavation must be made in the
who!e depth de- viii i Be- only I from % tWentyVe S to to
The plans ore to construct the road section
men in order to do the work quickly. Travel on
the roads will OF course, be more or less oh
pended; This viii he done advisedl5 70 avoid.
In the first Place any possible delay q the work
that with so NAVY parallel lines only a block
away persons viii be unwilling to use line
idsPs XreelSnd i SAID last night: '''s'''
f21 2p system Of fGSse fS th lines
make travelling conlfottabl for MI. Our cross
10. While important in their way. they are not
to be compared in importance With The line.
studied. 1t is our hope and belief that the
give 10 Rrosdway psG Proper C. hs s short hort
hauls. We arc conscious as well as any
nSs sacen sf or Se fssvss ased
y but IT, we .s9y csa9rry now as many passengers
shorter headway than we do now, and until we
Get relief from the new lines we can do no better.
We work our machinery at u breaking strain
now, and c,.n do no roore. II you look at figures
you vii! get 'omo Idea of what our cable roads do.
In Brooklyn there arc POO niles OF trolley
roads. on which aie opera tod 300 cars. All thos,
combined Carry practically the snne number Of
passengers In a year that the sew Gnteen miles OF
cEl'c road owned Ivy us carries. Look az our
traction system in New Jersey-2eo miles OF
road, with great number OF cars-yct that
whole system carries but two-thirds of the
numtGr OF l4-sengcrs that our ahle roads carry.
You hear aOout the magnificent street railway
system OF Boston and its suburbs. 1t is fno
system yet In a year the whole system Of Boston
and its suburbs carries 10000. 900 less pas
fcnsers than are carried annually on the metro
poiltan street railway system in this city.
When II is realized that d5O. .OOO. 900 persons
are carried every year by the surface and ele-
Nated roads Of this city the problem to he solved
can be appreciated. That number is carried In
scilit, SSS iIl =, On now, not very good one am
As O work thia a,,p,,,ar r.o,,Ita mill ha