New-York tribune., 1905-06-09
TO VENTILATE SUBWAY.
Tould GiUe Fresh Breeses Pure ar
and Garry Asoay Dust.

Two men walked into the Brooklyn briose
station of the subway yesterday morning. oH'
was a prominent consulting engineer ana inc
other a member of the board of management
of one of the new rapid transit roads AS lHes
shifted the foul air the engineer said TO ms CUM
panion:
..you,u have to do something mighty quick,
o,d of all the plans presented that one OF
C9eist's. of pumping out this miserable air we
are now breathing. seems TO be the most feasible
of all thus far presented
And the other consented.
Regarding his plan of ventilating the SUBWAY
Mr Geist said yesterday to Tribune reporter
With three-foot exhaust fan placed between
every two stations there will be enough ols :
placement to completely change the ar III liz
subway every three hours Of the day
place your fans down here within two feet OIL
the ground Cut holes through the masonry Oh
one side Then slide in the exhaust fans;
Now comes the proposition what to do win
rhe air when YOU have got it into your pipes
GET the right to build passageways through cel-
H.rs aSiacent to the road Carry your iron pipes
up the back wall of the building; no mater II Al
be big or little, little back yard or an lmposLs
court the same principle will apply. carry the
eir m the top of the building and let it escape
You needn't construct these ducts IN any cut
and dried shape. Make the form SUIT the con con
,-sr;a,,re of vollr immediate environment. some
will have to be broad and fiat. others round ana
stflI others square and triangular. 1t makes no
difference what the shape so long dS 'iies O1ii'
One thousand dollars will include the cutting
s1vsv of the masonry, the blower. the FANS ue
galvanized iron ducts and the labor Ior e8oiA
The draft will not be strong enough to pick
I'M ANYTHING from the ground. but II VIII carry
off the dust with the bad air
IF YOU place fans on both sides of the track
xI,1I viii be obliged TO buy twice as many prop,
ertv rights And. besides the currents created
- the massage of the trains are sufficient to stir
I'D the air and the draft will carry it from ooIa
sides This will carry of the ar at the rate ~
-z-TI1 7Gh
the fanhole apertures at the rate or say Iuvo =!
feet minute or sixteen feet a second. That IS
about equivalent TO what Is techhcaHy hlIo"h
There is another advantage here Your atmos-
phere will be changed rapidly enough Tor you
10 get the benefit of the quick changes OF tenn
rerature. such we had yesterday, Tor IN
stance.
As for islands Of safety. With all due regard
10 my friends amendment, do not see Where
they can be placed in these busy streets Of ours
T-rfoyxn YES They would be ideal in upper
Broadway. But look down 4th-ave What chance
would you have for islands Of safety there You
might put them the curb, and make believe
they were lampposts. But these posts would be
altogether too small for the amount desired, and
Won would be forced 10 make smaller apertures
nearer together. and the cost would be proper
greater
Of the exhaust fans. But these will not create
the draught that the fans will
OF course the ideal way would be to have fire.
Quent, small openings and 1t Is only from an
economical point Of view that have suggested
the more infrequent and larger passages.
Now. word about the heating Of the subway.
As Mr. Wolff truly says. in winter this system
with any other, would so chill the
subway that there would be no comfort in it.
But this opens up such tremendous field that
its solution needs deeper thought and investiga-
ticn than have been given TO il.
Better then put into operation a system that
will give immediate relief when it is most needed
and let the natural conditions take of
themselves IN large measure when the cold
weather returns.
What we need to-day is relief from this per-
nicious air breathing and rebreathing
every time ride in the subway. The ques-
tion has resolved itself to this Shall we rectify
the evils that now exist below stairs or ride
above ground in safer atmosphere. if at a
slower rate?