The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1899-07-05
aEW SINCLE-RAIL ROADS.
A SHORT LINE NOW m OPERA
TON IN BELGIUM.
Fabulous Stories Told OF the speed
Which They Say May He
Made with the
One Rail.

Ever since the railroad became
necessity in the life Of civilized ma
lions the invention of a feasible plan
by which a railroad could be con-
structed and operated, using a single
rail, has been the hope Of many en-
gineers of the highest attachments.
Several single-ra.i roads have been
devised and some of them have been
tested with Indifferent success; but
cheapness in construction, rapidity In
the moving of trains and reduction in
cost of operation have made the sim
gle-rail especially desirable in solving
many OF the perplexing problems in
transportation. Since the greatly in
creased use of electricity as a motive
power the eXertions of engineers TO hit
upon safe, cheap and practical road
using one rail have been redoubled,
and il seems they have finally been
successful
The credit of this discovery, or in
vention, belongs to an Englishman
named Behr, who has put his plan
into successful operation In Belgium,
over IA short line of road near Ter
vuerne, over which he has moved his
trains at the rate of two miles min
ute, the cars being Of ordinary size,
capable of seating 100 passengers. The
Invention has attracted the attention
of practical railroad men TO such an
extent that line is TO be constructed
from Manchester TO Liverpool, dis
lance OF sixty or seventy miles, the
construction of which is to begin with
in the next two months. Fabulous
stories are told as to what may be
expected when the new line is built.
and ii is affirmed that 1000 miles in
twelve hours will not be more than
the ordinary speed OF trains Supper
in New York and breakfast in Chi
cago it Is alleged, would be the sched-
ule for trains between those two cit
les, with prOportionate increase for
longer distances.
From the rather condensed descrip-
lions of the new road that have been
published IL appears that the trains
run upon "A single rail, supported upon
a treStle some feet from the ground,
which avoids the necessity Of an or
binary roadbed of earth. The cars
are sixty feet in length. suspended
from the rail and kept in place by
guide wheels that bear upon the top
and sides of the rail. Each car has
four electric motors, weighing three
tons each, supplied by a contact rail-
laid parallel with the track. having 100
horse power each and capable of 800
revolutions, each of which would give
the car a speed Of 100 miles an hour
and this speed is capable OF being in
definitely increased. From the con-
tact rail electricity is conveyed TO the
motors in the car by copper wires The
cost of this mOno-railroad Is estimated
at from $4,000 to 100000 mile.
which IL considerably more than that
of the ordinary surface double-rail
road. but the inventor claims that the
greatly reduced expense Of operating
the former will far more than compen-
safe for the increased cost of construc-
ton. The invention has passed be-
yond the experimental stage. and
while all that is claimed for the new
system may not be Immediately real
lied there is little doubt that It marks
a very long advance in the solution
OF the problem of rapid transit for
long distances.