The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-15
About One Hundred Persons the
Guests of the Company for the
Afternoon.
CARS ARE RUN AT HIGH SPEED
GUESTS ENTERTAINED AT A BAN
QUET IN sHELBYvILLE.
Construction of the Road Was Begun
One Year AgO-COnditiOn of
the

We've got a road tina Is equal to the
New York Central and we are equipped TO
run sixty miles an hour" w. n. Harding
startled the guests of Townsend, Reed &
Co. at the Hotel Ray in S~helbyville yes
terday with this statement The company
invited about one hundred guests, public
officials and stockholders of the Shelbyville
and the Lebanon, Frankfort & Lafayette
road on a trip over the brand new Shelby
Vile line yesterday and a banquet was
served at the Hotel Ray.
Mr.. Harding's remark was practically
made good on the return trip, when a
car containing about fifty made a run of
several miles between Shelbyville and Fair
land at the rate of ffty-five miles an hour.
Except for some kinks in the road be-
cause of its newness the roadbed is superb
and the motive power approximately what
Mr.. Harding described 1T to be.
The guests of Townsend, Reed & Co.
were from this city Including most of the
city officials and councilmen), Greensburg,
Lebanon and Frankfort. They assembled
at noon and were taken in special cars
over the line. When Shelbyville was
reached the guests found a banquet await
ing them. 1t was complete in every detail.
After it was concluded the guests sat with
their coffees and cigars and listened to
some informal speeches.
A HUMOROUS RECITAL.
President E. X. Adams, of Shelbyville,
explained in a humorous way the trials
of a president of an interurban road. He
told Of the old farmer (now an interurban
type who would give a thousand dollars
80 AA,v1 &LA -DoI 1917 ~Ao- hfo Dlnnnit and
who, when it did, asked double price for
the right of way; of the men who would
not take stock because they could sink
their money quick enough without aiding
sinking funds; of the men (and women)
who wanted positions, one of whom sent
flowers to the president and also indited
his demand for employment in rough
verses. Mr.. Adams said the work of or
ganizing and financing the Shelbyville road
was a difficult one and not particularly
enthuSing until Townsend, Reed & Co.
came along and agreed to build the road.
He said now the line was as nearly per-
feet as 1t could be made without the nee
essary processes of time and that there
was a large debt of gratitude due the con-
tractors for their faith in the investment.
w. N. Harding, who was. with A. r.
Hovey and G.. M. Cooper, one of the origin
ators of the road, and its chief promoter,
said he now enjoyed the distinction of be-
ing a railroad magnate. The line, he said,
was the best equipped of any in the State
and was built through a territory that ad-
mitted Of no grade higher than 3hz per cent,
which is Ave points below the average.
Then he startled the guests by the state
ment first quoted. I'VE will show you he
continued. Wen show you more. This
road will go to Greensburg, and will be the
line that will later furnish the route for a
trip from Chicago to Cincinnati, by way
of Lafayette" This was received with
cheers.
The guests were given an opportunity to
visit the city and power station at Shelby
vile. and were then brought back. Several
times the enormous power of the system
was displayed by high speed runs. The
special cars were wild" however, and had
TO yield much time to the regular service,
mand.
The construction of the S~helbyville line
was begun Sept. q. 1901, by Townsend.
Reed & Co., who received for their work
bonds and cash. The road is twenty
seven and one-half miles long and the i'm
mediate population it touches is m
at 226.OOO. including Indianapolis. 1t is
standard gauge throughout and has four
switches. 1t passes through Norwood,
Five Points, New Bethel. Acton. Brook
field. London and Falkland before reach
Ing SnclDyNlle. service WAS eStdDllSneQ
last Thursday, but the schedule time will
not be enforced until tomorrow, when cars
will leave the terminals in each direction
at 6 a. m. and continue hourly until III %.
m. The schedule calls for the runs in one
hour and twenty-five minutes.
The power station at S~helbyville con-
tains ar 500 horsepower engine and a 900
kilowatts generator. There is a 800 kilo-
watts transformer at the Shelbyville sta
ton and another of the same capacity at
a station near New Bethel. These trans
a uniform efficiency and the full use of
power was shown to be below the supply
by the fact that the car lamps were not
diminished in the least. The rolling stock
modern type.
The owners of the Shelbyville road are
enthusiastic about its future. A meeting
of the directors will be held this week to
discuss the extension of the system to
Greensburg, a distance of eighteen miles.
The present system is unique in one large
fact. When the underground subway is
built at the crossing Of the Belt Railroad
and the overhead bridge is built near Fair
land over the Big Four tracks, the line
will not ave a surface track to cross.
able Ii TO maintain the high speed CAL
culated and to make 1t one Of the fastest
interurban roads in the country. In this,
too, is the further hope that an extension
fact, this Is regarded as more than a pos
sibility by the directors, and the meeting
this week may advance that project far.
At any rate, there is little doubt of it's be-
ing extended to Greensburg, and grading
between Sheltyville and Greensburg may
begin this fall.
The Shelbyville road cost $675, OO0. and
opens for business with its system entirely
ballasted.
Townsend, Reed & Co. are now operat-
ing il. w. NJ. Moran is in charge of its
power stations, r. p. Woods is general en-
gineer and Thomas Forbes is superintend-
ent OF its overhead construction. The mo-
tive power is designed to operate from the
center of the system, and is guaranteed to
operate a system $50 miles In length in
this manner. AS the distance to Cincinnati
by the Greensburg route is los miles, the
use of this system will doubtless be
adopted. Townsend, Reed & Co. are now
at work building the Indianapolis, Lebanon
& Frankfort, and 1t is hoped to have ii
lone within a year.
First Cars TO-MOrrOw.