The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-07-19
THE MONO-RAILWAY.


parliamentary committee 20 pass the ver-
dict proven" upon the preamble 10 his
DILL whereby powers are sought 10 con-
struct high speed electric railway be-
tween Liverpool and Manchester. With
out a doubt the committee was Influenced
by the evidence stronger every year. that.
instead OF leading the way. British rail-
ways have fallen behind those OF both
France and America. Speeds are medi-
ocre, and methods will not for a moment
compare with those OF railroad presidents
across the Atlantic. NJ. Behrs scheme
has never yet been tried with the com
pleteness which should now attend its In
auguration
On his Brussels line he claims 10 have
maintained a speed of ninety miles an
hour without undue vibration and with
out a particularly high voltage of elec-
tricity. If his anticipations are realized
In the present instance. IL will certainly
be time for directors to consider whether
tAe steam locomotive has not done its
work. Already the old "undergrounds''
find themselves threatened with a near
approach TO bankruptcy, owing 10 the
severe competition OF the tubes" and
the sulphurous machines that have
are likely. In the near future to be broken
up as scrap iron.
NJ. Behr claims that his line will not
injure the financial prosperity OF the
companies which at present cater for
the through passenger traffic between
Liverpool and Manchester lie declares
that by relieving the existing routes of
express trains he will be easing the goods
gIfh ba fraf a. M m
economy. This is hard saying. and IL is
difficult 10 escape the conclusion that
there Will be direct antagonism between
the new and the old.
The epithet "mono-rail'' is not quite ac-
curate I'm regard 10 the Behr system. for
strictly, there are i've lines of metal, but
the word implies that the whole weight OF
the train-it downward thrusts-rests
upon a single steel track, upon which the
car hangs like pack saddle on the back
bone OF a mule. The passengers sit side
ways. after the manner OF children on an
elephant at "A zoo. Just as the pack saddle
causes pressure, first on one set of ribs,
then on the other, so the car. oscillates,
being kept In position by two sets OF
wheels each side, To which correspond
suitably placed rails. In fact. the ma
chine runs along an inverted V. of which
the motor rail is the apex. and NJ. Behr
maintains that the arrangement places
derailment out OF the region OF possibil-
But, while conceding this, his oppo-
nents declare that the load-i. e.. the pas
sengers-will have to be equally ball
aHced, as between the left and the right
hand seats, as otherwise the strain and
friction would be excessive on the side
that Is weighed down. In any case, IL
is urged that the passage round curves
would break the fianges OF the centre
wheels. though probably the counsel OPP
posing the scheme are alone In their be-
lief that the so-called centrifugal force
will precipitate the. passengers through
the windows Such a form OF perma-
nent way can only be applied I'm the sim
plest system OF functions. In fact M.
Behr makes no provisions either for
branches or intermediate stations. And
II train were to break down. IL would
block the line. owing 10 lack of sidings--
But thre Is no reason 10 doubt the pos
sibility OF attaining an indefinitely high
speed by the use of electricity. A steam
locomotive has % TO carry It's own mech
anism; CD also its fuel and water; CD 10
make It's power as IL goes along. Obvi-
ously its speed is severely limited. But
the electric locomotive simply collects
with the iron hand the motive power that
flows in comparatively illimitable hods,
along "A cable at it's side. 1t merely re-
ceives and transforms power created at a
large stationary installation. The steam
locomotive Is therefore like man rum
ming by means Of his legs as fast as he
can, whereas the electric resembles
man carried along far more quickly, be-
cause he holds onto a moving rope Elec-
tricity enables a very big engine In one
place TO move a small train miles distant
such as to occasion almost any speed. For
instance, In Paris motor cars have been
made TO run. from a dead stop. more
than mile within the minute, all be-
cause they contained a tremendous store
OF accumulated electricity, the rapid dis
sipation OF which positively burnt the
motor to bits
And IL is electricity which enables NJ
Behr TO promise his ten-minutes' SER
vice. Each car has It's own locomotive
and therefore each car may be run sep
arately. Instead OF train OF six cars
every hour there is to be provided train
of one car six times an hour. The finan-
cial prospects OF the line are. IL must be
confessed highly speculative. Each side
swears by its own figures and the apostle
Of mere accuracy is left" NJ. Behr de-
clares that the companies at present
ney). The other side suggests 250o. Any
way. NJ. Behr will have Ii that eight pas
sengers per train-i e. sixteen cents per
train mile-will enable the line TO pay ex-
penses, and that twenty passengers per
train, or say $500 passengers a day, would
result in per cent. dividend on the
ordinary stock-this despite the fact that
the North Midland spends eighty-one
cents. the Midland sixty-seven cents. and
the Liverpool Overhead Electric railway
thirty-one cents per train mile. Whether
the extreme simplicity OF the line, It's
total absence OF intermediate stopping
places, and its Ingenious contrivances for
easy running justify this interested opti-
mism time alone will show.
One word about the safety regulations
The electric signals will be reproduced
in the engine cab itself-a notion which
might of course, be applied 10 our pres
cnt railways. There Is still difficulty i'm
an efficient brake. IL Is well
known that even with our present express
speeds the brakes do not grip properly
until the train has slowed down some
what Of itself The difficulty Is greatly
aggravated where the maximum speed
Is almost doubled.