Evening star., 1905-10-29
VERY RAPID TRANSIT
A RAILROAD MANS GLIMPSE
INTO THE NEAR FUTURE.

Three hours from Washington to New
York. remarked prominent official OF
one of the big trunk lines that center at the
capital as he chatted in his private car TO
a Star man.
-Four hours, you mean" was suggested
with incredulity. ''and a long time off. too.
THE irreducible minimum Of railroad
time between the queen of the cities of this
continent and the king of It's population
centers is three hours-when the present
plans are carried out and the machinery OF
traffic is we'll oiled and in easy and COM
plete working order. Now, listen and let
The Star tell 1t, for. though this highly de-
sirable result seems an impossibillty, II Is
already within the bounds of consideration,
and will in less time than will be believed
be evolved into an actuality.
"Iu admit" continued the official, 1T is
sufficient to cause the shade of l. Enfant to
sit up and wonder when 1t comes to eating
up railway rails and ties at the rate per
minute suggested; of sbimming over mead
Ows and plowing through intermediate
towns and cities at the average and con-
tinuous rate of seventy-two miles per hour.
including all stops, slow-ups, block signal
setbacks and other hindrances and halts
Incidental to and a component part OF rapid
railroad flight.
Continuous Maximum Speed Necessary.
SeNenIy-tWO DllleS hH nOuT
continuously between two points 227 miles
apart. as Washington and New York, for
three consecutive hours every day in the
year. sunshine or snow, presents problem
10 railroad men that they are attempting to
bring to perfect solution today. though
seventy-two miles per hour over short dis
tances of hard-bottom level track not sus-
tained for a given time between two given
points doesn't present any problem at all.
m n yEh
] mean time table schedule tlme-between
New York and Washington at present Is
run at the average rate of about forty-five
miles an hour. Yet 1 know the popular
supposition is that 1t Is at the rate OF sixty
miles hour. but 1t isn't. To cut down
the running time to three hours, the actual
speed per hour must be raised and main
tanned twenty-seven miles per hour addi
tional, or close to double the average run
ming time of today. When IL is borne in
mind that the average record time per hour
per trip in this country Of what are known
rs the record d-breaking limited expresses
between New York and Chicago over sew
oral OF the roads averages from fifty-one to
nfty-three miles, approximately, per hour.
and the best European record time OF simi-
lar trains is about fifty to fifty-one miles
per hour. Washingtonians will family per-
ceiye what is intended when We say that
the time Is not far distant when space will
be gobbled up between here and the me-
sropolis az seventy-two average miles per
hour"
What 1t Means to Washington.
There are few questions OF greater local
Importance than the one covered by your
statement" said The Star man. why
Cont you do it now?"
Because" responded the official, 'it
=, onn't be done today. The real fun of an
nihilat ting time and distance between New
Hosk and Washington will begin when all
lfhe kinks and curves are taken out of the
lfoadbeds. heavier bridges over certain wa
lterrays have taken the place OF the pres
eni structures viaducts span cities and
towns, grade crossings disappear tunnel
pieTres the mud and rocks beneath the Hud-
lgon and the companies can laugh at the
ICity and town ordinances which restrict
iereed through their limits.
TO get over the last and one of the
worst hindrances to put distance and time
lpui OF business between the two cities huge
IBrunite viaducts costing millions have now
pbeen finished and are in course of construc-
tion Or already planned high over the streets
pf every city and town OF importance be-
fveen here and the metropolis. The foun-
lQnffons for the heavy bridges are already
laid AS all know, the insufficient terminal
ifac1itfes at Washington which greatly eff
tEec4 the point under discussion are In
IecfRse of eradication, while the river tun-
,he1 IL progressing.
| cAnd thus reduce the question to
schedule time. Four tracks will replace
iths double. You see. 1t is the 'slow-ups'