New-York tribune., 1906-06-17
WEAR OF CITY TRAFFIC.
Maintenance and Repairs on B. r. T..
Lines Cost 81 800 900 annually.

For the last three years work of considerable
Importance to the travelling public of Brooklyn
has been in progress on the elevated railroad
With traffic on the lines increasing as 1t Is now.
at the rate of % per cent a year. it Will not be
long before more tracks will be needed 10 ac-
commodate it, and with the increased size ana
weight Of the rolling stock has also come the
necessity of a stronger roadbed The same en-
gneers who constructed the terminal Of the
Wabash Railroad in Pittsburg at work
reinforcing the elevated structures throughout
the entire borough. From engineering stand
point the task is no easy one, but when it is
finished the structure will be able to sustain any
load which modern improvements in transporta-
tion may impose upon it,
These demands have become steadily greater
in recent years the substitution Of electricity for
steam being largely responsible for the change.
The old fashioned steam locomotive on the ele-
waited railroad weighed, roughly. twentyeght
tons; the motor cars in weigh, each,
fifty tons. and in a fve-car train there are three
motor cars Electricity with the greater control
it gives to the notorman, has also increased the
speed of the trains, and consequently the strain
upon the structure The factor of safety-the
surplus strength which engineers always give to
work of this character-is of course ample to
meet the additional requirements, but IL is not
good policy TO reduce markedly the factor Of
safety, and, furthermore there is no reason to
believe that these requirements will not con-
tinue to increase year after year.
Once raised TO the desired strength, however,
the elevated structure gives little cause for
worry. Properly painted, its life is almost ever
lasting. Occasionally it may be necessary to
tighten few bolts, TO make some trivial re-
pairs OF one kind another. but with ordinary
care the steel lasts indefinitely. The painting,
however, is no inconsiderable task in itself To
paint mile of the elevated structure costs
$4,000, and as the work has TO be done over
again every five years this item of maintenance
is estimated at 81. 700 year a mile.
Compared with the expense of caring for the
rolling stock OF the road. the maintenance of the
elevated structure and the surface roadbed is
unimportant. According TO the last annual re-
port of the company, in the year ending June
30, 1909. S6l6,2i5 30 was spent the latter
item; on the maintenance of the equipment re-
quired, $l,6o3,622 62 was, next to the wages Of
the tlainmen, the largest single item in the
years budget. In the old depot of the South
Brooklyn Railroad. at 39th street, now con-
verted into big repair and reconstruction shop,
a thousand men employed, and there are
about two hundred and fifty more in the repair
shops at East New York, besides those work
in the smaller shops at Both street and Ridge
wood. At 39th street IN the last three years
every on the elevated road has been brought
up 10 standard process which in many
cases involved almost complete reconstruction,
in addition TO great deal OF work upon surface
cars, and at East New York every car is in
spected twice week.
Although a trolley under the most favor
able circumstances is not expected to last much
longer than twelve years constant care is neceS-
sary to protect its life this long The semi
weekly inspection is supplemented by a thor
ough overhauling once every sixty days. when
the trucks are removed from the car body the
motors taken out and examined. the armatures
cleansed and the whole machinery thoroughly
tested.
What all these renewals, inspections and re-
pairs amount to in the course of a year is shown
in the last annual report OF the company.
Practically S2.5OO,OOO was spent on maintenance
more than a quarter of the total expense OF
operating the big traction system of Brooklyn.