New-York tribune., 1901-08-23
ursrTg ROARD AND TUNNEL.

HE4LTH BOARD AND TUNNEL.
An INSPECTOR of the Board of Health has at
last examined the Park-ave railroad tunnel
md has made a report upon Its conditon' Inc
renort contains much that was already known
and some facts which were not generallF Known
nv the public II shows the tunnel to De III HeeH
of radical reforms some of which, such rs pro-
yiding proper drainage, better accommodations
for the men employed there and more sups'an-
ttol flooring over sewers. are, as the report
saws. readily to be effected The chlef propieih
Of the tunnel remains 10 he solved. But one
Of the health commissioners. DIR. COSBY. SPEAK
ing personally and not officially, declares lhht
the railroad company must forthwith soFe It,
under penalty of having traffic through the tuh-
mel stopped. He does not assume to dictate all
tho details Of the reform which he demands,
cxceptIng that the masonry walls which now
divide the tunnel into three shafts shall be
taken out and replaced with steel columns ana
rirders thus throwing the three shafts into one
II is not certain that the measure which Dr
Cosby so strenuously demands is the most
Immediately desirable. If indeed II is desirapie
at ALL There might even he some advantage
in dividing the central tunnel with iohgl'u-
dnal partition. so as 10 make two of H. mat
IS because Il is much easier To ventilate tuH-
mel through which trains run In only one dlrec-
ton than one through which they run IN Doth
directions In the former the movement OF the
trains creates draught always in the one
direction which itself goes far toward Vehu-
lating the tunnel, while In tie latter there are
courter draugrts and eddies Of air which pre-
vent an atmospheric flushing of the tube IL
smoke and gas were abolished. so that there
would he no need OF special ventilation. the
removal of the dividing walls might be desir-
able for the sake of light and room. But so
long as the smoke and gas exist the removal OF
those walls would not solve the problem OF
ventilation We are not opposing the renoVal
Of the walls but merely urging that 1t would be
n mistake to suppose that would solve the prob
lem and that there other things when
should decidedly have precedence over that.
By universal consent the root of the evil lies
in the filling OF the tunnel with smoke anu gas
The important thing is then, TO get rid OF or 10
lessen the quantity Of those products OF com
bustion That IS TO be done either by devlsng
engines which will not emit gas and smoke or
better STILL by using electric traction. when
will also avoid the heat of coal burning engines
It has been said that electric traction is not yet
practicable because no one has invented an elec-
trio motor which will haul a train from New
York 70 Albany No; but not all trains, nor half
of them. need to be hauled to Albany. The
great majority of trains which run out OF the
Grand Central Station are local suburban
trains running on the Hudson River road 10
Peekskili or some nearer point, on the Harlem
TO Tuckahoc or White Plains, and on the New
Haven road to Stamford or to South Norwalk.
According TO n recent time table, there are
njnety-two Of these local or suburban trains 10
ONLY seyenty-two trains going beyond Peeks-
kill. White Plains and South Norwalk. 1t Is
not to he doubted that electric traction for these
suburban trains Is perfectly practicable at the
present time. Neither is it TO be questioned
that the reduction OF coal burning by more than
Sc per cent would materially ahate the nusances
Of the tunnel.
There really does not seem to be any good
reason why the abolition of those nlnety-two
coal burning engines should wait until the other
seventy-two can also De abolished. There Is
EXPERT authority for the belief that the subur-
ban trains might be at once equipped with elec-
trio traction That would remedy more than
half of the trouble at stroke. If those trains
were run exclusively through the two side tun-
nels their passengers would be wholly freed
from the evils of which they now complain. III,
moreover. these trains were thus run 3nio
subway. passing around loop under the pres
ent station and station yard, the whole present
surface area could be given 10 the through
trains which would then find siding room there
without having TO run back TO Mott Haven, and
the Suburban trains would make close and con
venicnt connection with the rapid transit sub
way in Forty-second-st. With the central tun-
mel and all the surface facilities surrendered to
the through trains these latter would be freed
from most of their present evils and the whole
problem would he satisfactorily solved. 1t Is to
be believed that by some such method, rather
than by merely knocking out partitions Of the
tunnel the ends desired by the travelling pub
lie. and Also as we must suppose. by the rail
road companies. 20 be attained
A committee of the Gillian Chamber of Dep
uties declines to grant the funds necessary for
ranresentation at the Pan American Congress-