Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1910-03-09
HUMAN MOLE RUNS
UNDER CHICAGO
TUNNEL SYSTEM AccoMPLlsHEs
WORK WHICH WOULD NEED
THOUSANDS OF TEAMS.
HAULING FREIGHT ABOVE
GROUND LEssENED TO
ENORMOUS EXTENT.
HAULING

Forty feet below the downtown
thoroughfare of Chicago is another
busy system of streets. Here, I'M
thought of by the hundreds of thous-
ands who hurry along in the sunshine
above. is a small army OF men work
ing to keep the freight traffic of the
city in circulation. Little cars, oper-
ated by electricity, run back AND
forth under the streets, darting from
time to time into the sub-sub-base-
ment of a skyscraper and into an
elevator that lifts them to the freight
terminal of a big railway system
There are 5000 of these cars and
900 motors to drive them over the
tracks that are laid in the go miles or
tunnel. Or rather there will be when
the recent order for 1000 new cars
and so motors is filled.
The trunk lines of the Illinois Tun-
mel company are II it. 9 in. by IA IT.
and the tunnels range from this size
to a bore just large enough to permit
the passage of the freight cars and
caring for the electric wires, tele-
phone, telegraph, etc. The smallest
tunnel is 71a it. by 6 it.
The 60-mile system honewcombs
the wholesale and retail district, con-
Meeting all of the freight railway
terminals with the merchants and
manufacturers. Its business is stead
lily increasing and it now handles
every day freight that would require
1000 teams to haul through the
streets.
Practically all of the skyscrapers
are connected with the tunnel system,
route and get rid of their ashes by
the same means. A number of The
large wholesale and retail houses,
warehouses, furniture exposition
warehouses, etc., also have connection
with the freight tunnel. The system
has Is tunnels running under the
river. According to c. o. Frisbie,
assistant 10 the president of the
company, the business has increased
% per cent since July and an in.
crease of 800 per cent is expected
within a year.
The original purpose of the tunnel
system was to install an auto
matte telephone and telegraph sys-
tenn. The purpose was gradually en-
larged, however, to the present scope.
The company has several thousand.
automatic telephones installed in the
downtown district, but has devoted
most of its energies to the freight
transportation question in the last
few years.
In the construction work 100000
cubic feet of dirt were removed and
dumped into the lake to form Grant
park, the new downtown park. The
tunnel company has removed a great
deal of earth taken out in the excava-
tons for new buildings. Instead OF
hauling the dirt through the streets,
it is dropped through a chute into
the cars in the tunnel and hauled
underground to the lake front.
ne COnIpduy LIDS al authorized cap
ital stock of $50,000,000 of which
$40,000,000 have been issued, and
this figure probably represents the
cost of construction Under its
amended ordinance and franchise
granted July Is, 1903, the company
cannot do any passenger business,
and shall furnish the city, free OF
charge, space for its wires for tele-
phone, telegraph and electric light.
The city has the right to purchase the
property at the end of 20 years at a
fair value, plus 3 per cent, no allow
ance being made for earning capacity
or franchise value. The company
shall pay the city the following per
cent for the first 10 years; per
cent for the second 10 years; II per
cent for the remainder of the 5O-year
grant.
The territory covered by the tunnet
system extends from Chicago avenue
on the north to 18th street on the
south, and from Halstead street on
the west, to Lake Michigan. The tun-
nels are concrete lined. The rails are
&C pound, laid on cast-iron chairs and
steel ties. Electricity is the motive
power.