Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1906-08-16
CARS FOR THE NEW
YORK CITY TUNNEL
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AN
NoUNcES THE DEVELOPMENT
OF VERY COSTLY COACHES.
Special to the Herald.

ture passenger equipment of the Penn
sylvania Railroad will be made OF
steel. The necessity of providing non
collapsible, absolutely fireproof pas
senger cars for the New York tunnel
has simply fastened the day when
this transformation must take place
The car of the future must be as safe
as engineering science can make it.
Such was the declaration authorized
today by a high official in the motive
power department of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. 1t followed examination of
reports which have been made on the
cost and performance of the new
Pennsylvania coach, No. 1861, the first
all-steel passenger car to be built in
the world. This car has been placed
temporarily on one of the Company's
regular local runs, and most minute
reports are being made as to its work
The future passenger equipment is
to be of steel, therefore, not only steel
frame and box, but steel and non-com-
bustible material in every particular.
This will involve very large eXpendi-
ture of money, but the management
feel that no expense should be spared
to remove the danger from fire and
collision in future railroading.
The decision now definitely reached
will call for about 1000 unburnable
railroad company cars to be ready
when the New York tunnel is complet-
ed. 1t will also call for some 500 Pull
man cars which must also be of COM
pletely non-combustible construction.
At the request of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, the Pullman Company is
now building the first all-steel sleeper
ever constructed. 1t will be inspected
by the Pennsylvania officials at a very
early date.
Railroad officials and travellers gen
orally have been keenly interested in
the result of the Pennsylvania eXper-
iment with new car. Other so-called
steel coaches have been built-nota-
bly, for the New York Subway-but
they have been only partly of steel.
The first car TO be built anywhere
wherein the main object has been to
secure the elimination of every parti-
,sIe Of aon.combus In IlsatSiiiIl' is No
1851, the reports. " llA.sware just
now in shape to make it possible to
base definite future action upon them.
The new car weighs 109,550 pounds
against $4,000 for the standard wood
en- coach, but it is found that the add
ed weight very greatly reduces the
vibration and adds to the comfort of
the passengers. No inconsiderable
part of the additional weight is due
to the great burden involved in carry
ing storage batteries and battery box
es. All the new cars are to be lighted
by electricity, and the Pennsylvania
will carry no gas illuminated cars of
any kind into it's New York tunnel
The electric wires in the new cars are
all thoroughly insulated in heavy met
al conduits, thus adding to the safety.
Motive power officials believe that
the weight of the present car can be
still further reduced, although it will
always be heavier than the wooden
coach Coach No 1861 has a small
quantity of combustible material and
in the effort to remove this absolutely,
it may be necessary to add weight in
slight particulars.
The new car is absolutely non-col- |
lapsible. 1t could stand any load or
any collision. It's hidden frame is like
a cantilever bridge, suspended on the |
trucks as piers. This safety against |
telescoping is secured by the use Of |
enormous steel Orders, the principal |
feature in the body of the car being a |
central box girder "a inches wide by |
10 inches deep extending throughout |
the length Of the coach.
In the past, railroads have found |
that when trains collided and the body |
of one car rose above the body of the
next, there was a tendency for the
underframe of the first car to sweep |
the superstructure Of the second car
off it's underframe. In the new equip |
ment this is prevented by the extraor-
binary strength in the door and vesti-
bule end-posts, which are, Of course,
of very heavy rolled steel.
To show something of the effort |
made to make this car absolutely fire
proof. it is only necessary to state that
the flooring throughout the car and |
platform. consists of an imitation Of
stone spread while in a plastic state
over the steel plates of the car. The
framing above the windows is com |
posed of steel plates. The doors are
composed of steel plates pressed into
a shape initiating the wooden doors
used in other cars, and filled with cork
to deaden the sound The roof is con
structed of composite boards covered |
with copper sheathing The inside lin
ing consists of composite boards Gov
cred with firaurpof ugiut