The Portland daily press., 1899-11-15
FIRST IN STREET RAILWAYS
the Amount of Tracks and Transport
alton Facilities.
(Chicago Inter ocean,

The October souvenir edition Of the
"5treet Railway Journal" issued In
honor OF the annual convention Of street
railway men In this oisy. contains several
papers on street railway practice In
America and abroad. These papers were
written BY engineers Of ability. and they
describe fully the principal features of
city transportation In the United States.
Germany. Great Biitain, Austria and
the Argentine. A summary OF the priD-
cipai points Of practice here and In other
countries shows o number Of interesting
differences.
Europe builds Its street railway road
beds with great masses Of conorets. aim
Ing at the greatest risidity and indestruc-
tibility. The drift of American practice
is toward elasticity. European rails are
lighter than American rails, and with
forms of sur face that make thsm less
safe for the passage Of oars. though secur-
ing greater ease OF travel In the streets
high COST OF wood, are built more largely
of iron than American cars an I are much
heuwisr These three points OF difference
have direct eject on the operation OF
cars In the two countries The European
road beds and cars nscessitate slow spsed,
since even with the hest springs rapid
travel would prove disastrous to both pas
sengers and rolling stock. American
roads maintain an average of speed OF
nearly double the average of speed abroad.
American motors, car-oontra ling ap-
paratus. power house machinery, and
overhead line construction have set the
standards fer the world. They are su-
periur to the types Tuads In European
countries. and are being adopted generally
abroad. In the matter Of brakes, how
ever. foreign roads are equal or superior
to the American roads since air brakes
are used to . far GREATER extent there
than here. The new mechanical brakes
developed In to Is country. and particularly
! In Chicago, however,, are considered
nearly as efficient. In the orpamsntation
of trolley poles also foreign countries are
ahead Of the United States
| A to the amount of track and general
transpoI tation facilities. American cities
are far ahead Of any othsrs Chicago
has practically /, leo miles Of surface and
elevated railway track for Its population
of 100. 900 London, with population
of S, SOC, Oo0, has only gag miles of street
railway track and Ia miles of under
ground railway. or a total Of 4i9 miles,
Paris has but. go miles of street raiiwa y
track, with 3. O65, QUO population. iuclnd-
ing suburbs Berlin has 212 miles, with
IL o O)0 population. Manchester. Eng
land, has is6 miles for 926, coo population.
Birmingham, with $50, 600 population.
has Il miles. Liverpool with 6ss, COO
population. has Q combined surface and
elevated railway trackags of 90 miles.
| In spite of the talk OF lower fares
abroad, financial statistics of the roads Of
| the various foreign countries show great
| er receipts per car mile than In America
Provided cars are not more crowded
i al than hara this means that The
| Iye-cent fare universal In this country ID
| in reality cheaper for the people than
the foreign system OF fares graded accord.
ing TO the distance travelled. In view OF
the many other public advantages OF a
universal fiys-cen. fare, this showing