New-York tribune., 1902-04-27
NEW MOUNTAIN RAILWAY
AFFORDS READY MEANS OF ACCESS
TO THE SUBMITS OF THE BEA-
CONS NEAR FISHKILL-

A railroad with a grade Of 81 per cent, or more
than seven inches to the foot has Just been COM
pleted up the steep slope of North Beacon Noun
tain. near FfshkiIl n. Y. The road was construct
ed for the Mount Beacon Association, which has
purchased several hundred acres of land on the
gdes and tops OF the North and South Beacons. and
intends to convert the property into park ara sum
ner resort The association is composed largely OF
Manchester. y. H. capitalists, but some OF the
weather men OF Matteawan Fishkin Landing and
F,shbfu are financially interested in the enterprise
The Citizens Electric Street Railroad Company
which operates a trolley line from Ffshkin Land
Ing to Ffshdr distance Of about five miles, is
also said to be interested, and has already con-
structed spur from Matteawan to the elevator
terminal ct the foot OF the mountain but will not
begin operating Il until the opening Of the regu-
lar elevator service and OF the new casino on the
mountain top. on Memorial Day.
In some particulars the elevator road is like that
70 the Mountain House. IN the Catskis. There
is a long curve IN the track however. and the
Erade is much sleeper. The maximum grade covers
10 Tess than feet Of the 215O feet OF track The
road, like that up the face OF the Catskills has
nngle track with turnout half way up the noun
tain The power station is at the top OF the in
Zine and contains two electric Of 175 horse
power each The cars, the seats Of which will be
set at such angle that they will be level on
ghe steepest part the incline Will be attached TO
the ends OF the cable, which VIII pass once around
the grooved drum Of OF the motors and twice
around that Of the other The power is to be sup
piled by the Citizens Railway Company
The two cars viii each be thirty feet long and
have seating capacity Of sixty. The heavy trucks
are already the track, and viii receive their
superstructures there. They planned and
built especially for the road by the Otis Ele-
sator Company The safety devices regarded
extraordinary. and there are several novelties IN
the truck construction It is said that should a
car by any possibility become detached from the
cable on the steep part OF the grade it would go
to the bottom. even IL the wheels were locked To
prevent any such accident, there is a strong auto
matte clutching device attached to the trucks
On being released 1t would firmly a pair of
sharp toothed steel jaws into the guard rails on
zach side Of track. These guard rails. securely
boltec to the ties, would have to be torn away or
the whole roadbed torn up to allow the car 10
To permit the wheels to cross the cable at the
ends Of the turnout. where the ascending and de-
scending cars pass the wheel on the inside of each
axle is perfectly fat although it is to run on an
ordinary .'T rail. The wheel at the outer end
OF the axle is grooved straddle the rail, and
serves as the traction guide: In aodiuon 10 Ihls
steel emergency traction guides These straddle
10 touch It. They within fraction Of an
Inch Of the guard, however, and deraiment with
seven strands Of nineteen steel wires each. and Is
is q little more than that Of the railroad TO al
low for winding around the motor drums ana 1or
attachment to the cars. The motor drums are
eight feet in diameter. The cable runs on pulley
wheels in the centre Of the track as in other cable
In the construction of the road, which was begun
last October, peculiar ACCIDENT ndppeieu "A
rock, nearly rectangular in form and weighing
more than ton. while being handed by work,
under Superintendent Dooley, got beyond
control and rolled down the mountain about thir-
teen hundred feet. The ties and guard rails had
been laid, and the stone went straight down the
track in bounds of from foot TO q hundred
feet each. It demolished thirty-six ties and four
stringpieces in it's descent, and finally lodged In
fed some distance beyond the lower end OF the
road
From the SUBMITS Of the North and South Bea-
mountains the view is magnificent, cofnman nd
Ing the valley OF the Hudson for nifty miles IN
each direction II is said that in the cIearest
weather Nep-York City can be seen with a glass
from bare crag jutting out from the South Bea-
toward Cold Spring. Falls from this rock have
given this picturesque range OF the Taghkanics tne
name Of Breakneck Ridge. The North and South
Beacons take their names from the uses TO which
they were put in signalling by the Colonial Army
In the course OF the Revolution The Daughters OF
the Revolution several years ago erected smart OF
granite the highest point of the North Beacon,
to commemorate these uses Washington and his
army passed through the Fishktll Valley in course
Of the war. and ne is said TO have read many OF
the signals from North Beacon while his headquar-
ters were at Newburg from which the monument
s plainly visible. Storm King, the best known peak
OF the Highlands IS the opposite side or the
Hudson. and West Point is TO be seen in the dis
taIce down the river.