The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-14
RAILROAD NEWS.
Expends Two Millions to Save
One Minute.
Pennsylvania Makes Great Out
lay to Expedite Traffic.
COAST TO COAST CARS.
New York Terminal will Elm
mate Ferries.
Gossip and Matters of Interest
I'm Railroad Circles.
COAST TO COAST CARS.

New York, Sept. 14.-The construction
of the New York terminals of the Penn
sylvania lines includes tunnels under
the North and East rivers. a tunnel UNI
der the city OF New York. and a man.
moth passenger station. The Pennsyl-
vania set aside $4,000. 900 for the work
before It had begun, and the additional
$4,000, 900. which engineers declare will
be necessary. will be forthcoming when
called for. Scores of engineers have
been employed planning this monu-
mental work for the last three years.
and still more will be employed in
experimenting its progress. Thousands
of men will be employed in carrying out
the plans, while thousands more will
be kept at work preparing the material.
This undertaking gives an idea of the
value of time in these modern days, for
the whole work has been planned in or
der to save time. Estimating at the
highest. the time saved by means of
the tunnels and the doing away with
ferries, cannot be more than sixty min
uteS Tor a through train from Washing
ton to Boston, which would show that
these sixty minutes are worth spending
$50. 900. 600 for, or that one little minute
IS worth 81 ,O00. 900 in the railroad bust
ness But the probability is that not
nearly so much time will be saved,
possibly thirty minutes may be the
amount. so that it is fair to say that the
at 81, 900. 600.
While time is the factor that has
made the new terminals deSirab BILE, COM
forts and accommodations of much
value are achieved. One of the most
striking of these will be that a passen-
ger may enter a car in Boston when
the new work is completed and be
whisked away to San Francisco without
changing mis- car.
Work already has been started on
the tunnels The space to be occupied
by the passenger station has been
cleared, and the company to do the ex-
cavating has its machinery on the
ground The length of the tunnels will
be six miles and 1003 feet. They will
be circular in form and viii be built of
the best grades of iron and steel. They
viii be sunk below the river a suffi-
cient distance to prevent any proba bill
ity of accidents from the boats that
continually ply the river. Each tunnel
will contain one track.
At an expense of almost $50, 600, models !
of the proposed tunnels and passenger
station have been made, and are now |
on exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase |
exposition in St Louis. A full sized sec /
tion of the tunnel, which will be used \
In its construction. has also been built 4
and has been added to the railroad /
company's exhibit at the fair.
A passageway will be built within |
the tunnels. so that, in event of any /
accident, passengers can get out of the /
cars and walk to the tunnel entrances.
Provisions will also be made for con-
duits under the passa geway for tele-
graph and telephone wires To sup
port the pOnderous tunnel of iron, steel
and concrete, immense steel piles will
be driven into the silt between the
tunnel tubes.
The tunnels to be built under East
river are intended to relieve the inn
mense passenger congestion between
New York city and Long Island, as
we'll as to provide an eastern outlet for
the Pennsylvania railroad. For the
last five years il has been the desire of |
the Pennsylvania railroad to run solid
trains to Boston, and there are rea-
sons to believe that when the tunnels
are completed traffic arrangements
will be made with some eastern line
to carry these trains to their eastern
terminal.
The New York passenger station will
be 1.5OS feet in length, 712 feet in
width. and 2SS feet in height, and every
Improvement in lighting, heating, and
for the expediting of business and
feature of the station will be the meth
Cd of boarding trains. Instead of ap-
the station on a level with
the waiting rooms, the trains, coming
into the station through tunnels, viii
pass under the station. Passengers,
therefore, will descend to the subway,
where the trains will be waiting.
To provide materials for this work
the steel and iron companies of the
have submitted bids. and in
some instances contracts have been
awarded. For the North river tunnel
section alone, more than 5000 tons of .
bolts will be required. For the East
liver tunnels. more than twice that
amount will be needed. The amount
IF structural iron and steel for the ter Z
ninal is estimated at 400. 900 tons. About !
coo barrels of material for concrete :
Will be used in the tunnel sections, and !
hese contracts will be awarded with }
n the next three months. :
GRAIN TRAEETC