The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-28

front. The abolition of the smoke ana dirt nuisance has been one of the con" alterations which led to this action' but there is another important con sideration. Besides its own lines, those of the Big Four and other important roads enter the city through this ter minai. and conditions are becoming rather crowded. As there is no room on any side for expansion. the termi. nal being hemmed in on the east by Lake Michigan. and on the west by city' owned property. all chance to spread out has been eliminated. There fore the question has Seen one of get- ting the naxinnun of train-handling facilities out of the present space. ft Is this that has led to the decision to electrify the terminal.
 Some careful figuring has been done in the premises. It is calculated that the expenss of electrilcation will be less than s$,G0o.00. while 1t is expected that the added earHing power of the terminal will bring new revenue more than sufficient to pay good interest on of the Illinois Central. running through the very heart of the fashionable part of South h-side Chicago, has eight tracks from Kensington in. and over these tracks more than 300 trains pass every day.
 The eleetrincation of this terminal will make the fourth great terminal of the country to be electrified. The first movement in that direction was the Baltimore and ohio tunnel electrifica- ton. In Baltimore, extending from the Mount Royal Station to Camden Sta ton, beneath the heart of the city i. This experiment was a success~ from the beginning. and was regarded as proving the feasibility of tunnel eIec. trifcation, beyond a doubt. The next step in terminal electrihcation was that of the New York Central and tho New Haven. out of the Grand Central Sta ton. The results of this work have been summarized. and they make . showing far beyond anything dreamed of by the advocates of eieetrffcAtion.
 To begin with. 1t has reduced the net expenses of operating the terminal about 14 per cent, affd at the same time has increased its facilities one third. It has wiped out, almost en- tirely, the smoke nuisance below the Harlem River. and has eliminated q large portion of the deadhead runinng of trains between the Grand Central Station and the Mott Haven yards. It has made the Park Avenue tunnet . habitabie place for the passage of trains instead of a stifie-box where dangers from collisions always
  come sufficient to meet the interest on the extra capital required for the elec- trihcation work, the reports show a decrease of operating expenses of up- ward of i2 per cent. Tn addition to this it is figured that the outlook for increased business is such as to war rant the expectation that the saving az A result of identification will be beyond the most ambitious hopes of the liroaa
 The Pennsylvania is preparing to electrify its New York terminals be- tween NewarlS N. J., and Jamaica, l.. l.. in conjunction with the Long Island Railroad. Nothing like the ex- haustiveness with which the Pennsyl- vania experimented 10 determine the best type of electrifeation has ever mine the question, it built a five-mile stretch of track on. Long Island. It erected a structure on this track to simulate q tunnel and made it's ex. periments under as nearly operating conditions as 1t could attain on an experimental line. Then 1t tried all kinds of electric engines, among them the single phase, and the direct cur rent, finally choosing the latter. which means a third rail system under New York.
 It Is predicted that within ten years every terminal in asld around New York will be electrified. It is & significant fact that in not a single instance has the identification of steam line, eith- CT in part Or in the whole. been fol- lowed by unsatisfactory results. and the increased favor with which the trayeling public look upon an slec- trifed terminal leads is to patronize the road having such a terminal in- stead of the ty-smole-begrimed one of the unprogresslve road. This has led the Lackawanna and other Jersey roads to consider the electrthcati0n of their urban zones, and favorable de- cistons are expected to be the outcome in each instance.
 In this connection 1t is interesting to note with what facility a railroad may hold one view for one purpose and view diametrica1ly opposite for an- other purpose Washington has long wanted to be free from the smoke nuisance. The untold millions which the Government has spent to give the city buildings commensurate with the dignity of the nation, and the growing prBponderance of marble and fine granite utilized in private building construction has made 1t particularly advisable that the smoke nuisance should be entirely abated. Senators and Representatives thought that In view of the fact that Congress had given several million dollars in money and concessions toward the erection of the new Union Station. the railroads ought to electrlfy the terminal. Bus notwithstanding the fact that the Bal timore and Ohio was at that very mos ment operating its Baltimore tunnel by | electricity with marked success. and that the Pennsylvania Railroad had ale ready decided to electrify its New York l terminal the officials of both roads stated to Congress that identification l was in the experimental stage and not | to he considered Congress took their word and the washington tunnel is aI- ways sTnoke-b efouled, fact which has been responsible for several serious accidents, and Washington must stiii put up with the smoke nuisance.
 On the other hand. railroads setooHi ret sufficient credit for the enormous | expense to which they go in providine s hie citv terminals. A few years ago q nartv of European capitalists WerS ! figuring on building q trunk line from New York to Chicago. They had competent engineer estimate the cost He found that terminal In New 1ork would cost them at least $loo'Ooo.- OOO This would mean eapitaliza- t,o,, of si00. .oO0 a mile for the whole | iins with not a shovel of dirt turned west of the North River. The engineer was promptly informed that 1t would ba unnecessary for him to make any | further investigation. and the project was abandoned.
 Many railroads have found electricity I particuiarIy valuable in the operation | of tunnels. The Grand Trunk has elee- | trified It's line through the St. Clair
 tunnel. out of Port Huron. Mich. They are now able to put a thousand ton | araStufftaH aasfAnr fH