Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-01-03
AUTOMOBILES ON RAILWAYS.
This Use of Them Becoming Extern
sive Both Here ard Abroad.

Automobiles are now being used on
railroad tracks to an extent that is
not only unknown to but not dreamed
of by most persons. Ordinarily it is
considered that the noise and smell of
gasoline motor car are sufficient to
keep persons informed of its where
abouts and progress, but the gasoline
automobile has been steadily extend
ing its sphere from the highway to
she steel track with a subtlety that
has almost completely concealed the
fact. How much progress in this new
field the modern unit of motor trans
portation has been making has re-
NAMED to be revealed from trade
sources-the manufacturers of them.
When, last September, Charles J.
Glidden, of Boston. with his twenty
four horsepower touring car, complet.
ed his run of 1900 miles on steel rails
from Minneapolis to Vancouver. B. c.,
in sixty hours, at an average rate of
thirty miles an hour through the
mountains, it was heralded as a feat
revealing the revolutionary POSSIBLE
ties of automobiles for railroads. 1t
was in one case predicted that the
twelve hour trip from New York to
Chicago was thereby shown to be near
at hand. 1t was known, too, at that
time that President Underwood, of the
Erie Railroad, was experimenting on
the track rails with an automobile
fitted with Hanged steel wheels, and
a few persons realized that possibly
something might come OF these doings
in the future. Yet all the while and
before these leafs various automobile
manufacturers were busy supplying
specially constructed cars to railroads.
One American manufacturer alone
has built and delivered more than 100
cars that are now in use on railroads
for various services. The pioneer rail
automobile of this maker was a four
and one-half horsepower affair that
was tested to 5000 miles on the rails
of the Michigan Central road. Now
his special rail automobiles are in use
for inspection cars for division Off
Gals, for switching purposes and even
for passenger service on spur line
in Utah. For switching the gasoline
automobile is said to show marked
economy and gain of convenience over
the switching locomotive. The auto
mobile costs much less than the loco
motive, it's maintenance is less, it does
not need to be fired up, but is always
ready, and one man is fireman, engi-
neer, brakeman and conductor.
In England steam motor coaches
have been in actual passenger serv-
ice on the unit basis since 1898. In
France, Austria and Italy there are
gasoline automobiles in regular rail-
way service, and some interesting sta
tistics concerning them are to be re-
ported to the French Government next
month.
For supplementary passenger serv-
ice there would seem to be big field
for individual automobile rail coaches
on trolley lines. In some of the small
err cities where night traffic is not
large the trolley companies complain
that it costs them dollar head to
carry passengers after 1 o'clock in the
morning, as they have to keep their
enormous power plants running in or
der to keep the few cars III commits
sion. This expense would he saved
by the use of cars that furnished
their own power from a gasoline en-
gine.-New York Sun.