The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-03
AMERICAN TYPE ADOPTED
Motors and Cars Used in London S
Underground Railway.
other Countries Follow the. Lead of
the United States in Construction
Rapid Transit Lines-The Utfliza-
uon of Gravity a Power.

While the United States PERHAPS leads
the world in the best systems of electric
underground railways. the other countries
! are beginning 10 follow suit by adopting
| the electric motor power for street IaiI-
| ways. In a recent communication on this
| subject to the State Department Marshal
| Halstead. Consul at Birmingham, wrises:
In a newspaper article dealing with the
Central London Railway, the new under
| ground electric road running from the
Bank to Shepherds Bush station, 1 To-
| ticed these two sentences;
The carriages which have been pro-
! vided excited a good of admiration. They
| are open from end to end, after the Amer
| lean fashion, though they were net built
in America, was stated yesterday, u
! in Manchester, by the Astbury Wagon
Company.
81 wish to call attention to the element
OF protection TO British home industries
+! III the necessity for explanation that the
| cars were lot built in America. This ex-
! PLANTATION was doubtless made at the re-
! quest of the underground railways c1m-
| pany's officials. who had been criticised
because they brought much of their
material abToad-thdt is, in the United
StateS-and have become sensitive on the
| subject. The formal opening OF the rail-
| way took place yesterday. The Times
account states that the time occupied N
/ the journey, about six miles was twenty
| two minutes. This was without iRterms-
date stops and without, excessive speed,
but the actual running time viii be long
| er, owing TO the twenty second stops at
the stations and the time lost in starting
and stopping. This, however, is redul ed
to minimum by the system OF making
each station stand, as il were, at the top
o. hill. that aeceleration at starting
is facilitated by gravity, while the nellie
aids in bringing the trains TO a stands i'll
In its description of the cars, the Times
said:
- The passengers are seated along the
side. ana each has a separate seat provid-
ed with arms. Some of the coaches, which
are all mounted on four-wheeied bogies
were cor tructed at a time when it was
intended to have two classes on the rail-
way. and naturally the fittings. and uphoI-
stery in those which were designed for pas
sengers of the superior class are rather
better than in the others. All however
are really as spacious and comfortable as
anyone can desire. They are exceedingly
well lighted by electricity, and the lamps
are so arranged that their light is free
from sudden Jerks and almost inapprecia-
bly, affected by alterations in the speed OF
the train
The following is a description of the
railway. taken from yesterdays Times:
- The opening of the Central London
Railway is an event which was originally
expected to take place much sooner than
has actually been fond possible. Parlia-
menIary powers for the scheme were OBJ
tanned as far back as 1882: but construction
did not begin till four years ago. and de-
lays of various kinds have hiudered the
completion and equipment of the line IN
til the present time For some mon his
past, experimental trains have beer run
ming, but matters have not until re.l-.9y
advanced so far as to admit of the formal
opening. the ceremony which is to be per-
formed this afternoon by the Prince of
Wales.
The engineers of the line are Sir Ben
jamin Baker and Mr.. Basil Mott, and the
contractors the Electrical Traction Com
pany. who for the sum of SIS, I54, 2S1 agree
TO undertake all risks and contingencies In
connection with its construction and to
hand it over to the company this month
complete and ready to be opened for pub
lie traffic
The railway starts from Shepherds
Bush. in the west. and running under Tx
bridge Road Tor, to use its new name. Hol-
land Park Avenue}, Bayswater Road, Ok
ford Street, HoIborn. Newgate Street. and
Cheapside. terminates at the Bank. An
extension to Liverpool Street which was
contemplated at one time is not being
proceeded with. In this distance of nearly
six miles there are eleven intermediate
stations. These, as a rule. are less than
half a mile apart but in three cases the
interval exceeds 1000 yards-between
Shepherds Bush and Holland Park 1,012
yards), Westbourne Park. and Marble Arch
Q,2SS yards, and Chancery Lane and the
all of very much the same type.
" The booking offices at the street level
are one-storied buildings OF terra Gotta,
designed in q kind of Renaissance style.
from them passengers descend either by
electric lifts or by spiral staircases to the
platforms, which in one case Noting Hill
gate) are as much as ninety-two feet be-
low the pavement. Practically distinct
station is provided for the up and down
trains, and sometimes as at the postoffice,
o-e is considerably higher than the other
Each may be described as a east-iron tube
q feet inches in diameter and over 3 900
feet long. The platforms of the two are
connected by cross tunnels, as is found
necessary, and the passages, etc. have
been arranged so that the streams of peo-
pie going to and coming from the trains
interfere with each other as little as pos
sible. The electric light is installed and
the walls are lined with glazed white tiles
The Bank station differs from the others
in being entirely underground and in being
complicated with elaborate subway ar
rangements,
g The trains in each direction run in
separate tunnels, which are generally side
by side, though at Noting Hill gate and
the postoffice one is above the other. They
are continuous castiron pipes eleven feet
six inches in diameter, bolted together in
seSments, For the greater: part of the
route they lie in the London clay but for
a short distance, near Berners Street, they
pass through the Reading beds The |
Greathead shield was used almost through /
out in their construction. Their average |
depth below the surface is about seventy |
feet; at the stations they rise somewhat |
nearer the surface than in the interme- |
date sections, and therefore an arriving |
train runs up hill to the station while |
departing one runs down hill. In this way |
both starting and stopping are aided by |
the force of gravity. and the strain on the |
motors and generators at starting is re-
ducej; at the same time the depth of the |
shafts for the lifts is lessened
The permanent way consists of heavy |
steel rails weighing 100 pounds to the yard. |
laid on longitudinal sleepers; the third
conducting rail necessary to complete the |
electrical circuits is of channel steel |
eighty-fve pounds 20 the yard, carried on |
creosoted wooden Insulators
" The trains Will be made up of seven |
coaches carrying altogether 1886 passengers
and drawn by an electric locomotive weigh
ing about foTty-five tons These coaches. |
which are all of the American type now
familiar on the other pIprfrir undoruro,,n5 |