The Washington herald., 1907-03-17

A cOterie Of Cleveland men has should
cred the task Of building a railroad to be
operated by electricity between the cit
les Of Washington and Baltimore with
an offshoot 10 Annapolis which will cost
when completed about S5,000eo0. writes r.
F. Duncan. in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In these days Of Sl0o00. 600 and S2J.0000J9
combinations OF electric railway lines d
s5.oo06o0 enterprise may not look impress
sively large. There are however. GER
tain features surrounding the building Of
this line that bring il into prominence
as possible maker Of history in Amerl-
can transportation methods. And as 10
the extent OF the undertaking, il must
be admitted that # is relatively as big
Il task for few Cleveland men To tax
their resources to the extent Of $4,000
as II Is for the United States TO dig the
Panama canal
With this IN mind, it is tr'Iiy remark
able how little fuss and noise is made
over the achievements Of private capital
/ while so much is heard Of the stupeudoUs
task Of the government in the peninsula
I The latter Will take eight or ten years
TO complete its work while a few CIeve-
year ago what was 10 them just IS stu
I peHdous piece Of work. expect 10 COM
Dlete their labors within another year,
! Advance i'm Construction.
This new electric railway will be a dis
tlnct advance IN electric railway con
[ stFuction and operation. If il is the
success expected OF il. the Washington,
Baltimore. and Annapolis Railway will
( lead the trolley into new fields and a
/ higher plane Of usefulness.
/ Cleveland's captains Of industry have
+ always been in the foreground ia the de
/ velopment Of electric transportation
methods, and the Cleveland people who
Z are Tisking S5001000 in this new enter
+ prise confdentiaIly believe that the Wash
/ ingtOn-Baltimore line will open the way
I 10 new era Of trolley building
/ II viii be the first electric line built
I between two large American cities To-
{ Gated as these two are. about forty miles
1 from center to center, and between which
I the passenger traffic Is so dense as 10
furnish the most profitable imaginable
/ business for the steam roads. Il viii be
/ the first direct test between steam and
I trolley in a field where the traffic IS
/ densest and competition the keenest.
/ II will be the first real locking Of horns
/ Of the two giant forces which supply the
( energy Of propulsion in the transports
I ton world, and it Will go q long way in
/ determining just how far electricity may
/ go. or may not go. I'm supplanting steam.
/ The trolley has established itself in all
manner Of urban, suburban, and inter
/ urban passenger traffic. without actually
/ oefying the steam roads along their
/ choicest highways. The bulk Of the enOr-
nous business they have worked up has
/ been on single track roads. and is busi-
I ness that the steam roads do not pdrtic-
dlarly want
First Direct Competition.
The Baltimore line viii be
the first direct competition between the
highest type Of electric railway ever built.
and in direct competition with steam
roads in territory where the passenger
traffic has been developed to its highest
| possible efficiency.
This Is why this effort of Cleveland
traction builders is unique. in railroad
building in this country. and Il explains
why steam railway experts are watching
il with as much interest as are the cleo
trio builders This IS not. because they
fear the opposition. but because steam
railway builders themselves have long
since recognized the value Of each ad-
I vance OF ettCtI4Clt- @Ll are ever on Ile
alert for an actual demonstration that
viii show when. where. and how it viii
be safe for themselves 10 substitute the
motor FOR the locomotive.
The last great advance made By the
motor was when il was adopted on the
/ terminals Of the steam roads in large
cities. The next step IS 20 determine how
far this electric terminal service is to be
extended. many being OF the belief that
il will take the place Of steam I'm all fast
passenger service except on the extreme
long hauls. AT any rate the Baltimore
Washington line viii 90 a long way to-
wards solving the problem.
Traffic Is Dense.
The trafhc is so dense between these
two cities that the Baltimore and Ohio
and the Pennsylvania run trains every
hour Of the day The electric line Will
operate on a fifteen minute schedule,
with four cars or trains each way every
hour al fifteen minute intervals The
trolley cars viii be operated singly for
the ordinary service, with special limited
trains OF two or three cars at intervals
during the day when traffic is densest. \
cafe car will be a feature of the service.
The cars TO be used will Dc the longest
ever built for regular service on electric
lines. They viii be sixty feet in length,
and probably the most costly in use on
any interuTban line in the country. This
will not be on account of luxurious fur
nishing, but because the alternating cur
rent system 10 be used requires a very
heavy and expensive motor equipment.
An initial order for twenty-five cars has
been placed. each TO cost ST coo. the mo-
tor equipment in each costing $1,000
Tho mill !,
tween Washington and Baltimore with A
per cent grade which viii permit OF a
maximum speed Of seventy-two miles an
hour and an average Of sixty miles an
hour between terminals.
To get a perfectly safe roadbed for this
fast service an enormous amount of ex-
cavation and filling In of grades is neces-
sary. 1t is estimated that fully I.290e70
cubic yards of earth viii have been moved
In the preparation Of the grade for the
rails.
For Speed and safety.
To conserve speed and safety over the
terminals is always the monumental task
in the building OF a railroad IN entering
Baltimore the Washington, Baltimore,
and Annapolis has erected an immense
steel viaduct and bridge, carrying the
road over the several main and branch
line tracks OF the Baltimore and Ohio,
and the Pennsylvania.
All Of the highway and railroad cross
ings are under OF over grade with con-
crete sbutmeuts. and the trolley cars Will
have an absolutely clear right of way
from city to city with not single cross
ing at grade to impede the high speed de-
sired.
The builders Of the road expect a great