Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-08-29
HIGH SPEED TRAINS
George Westinghouse Says 8o.MiIs
Trains are Impossible. 81

s Trains are Impossible. M
Shortly after the elevated railway
system Of Boston was equipped with
electricity and the elvated system Of
Manhattan and Brooklyn adopted elec-
tric energy there was discussion In
which a group Of capitalists participat-
ed about the commercial practicability
Of constructing a true air line between
Philadelphia and New Yor kto be OPP
Grated by electricity. It was asserted
In these discussions that It would be
practicable to build a line Of this kind
about ninety miles In length Of the best
modern construction which could be
operated for through trains at the av-
erage rate Of mile and a quarter a
minute, perhaps little more. a.
George Westinghouse. at the time
this project was under discussion, stat
ed that there was nothing in roadbed
construction or In the utilization of
electric energy for operating trains In
the way Of success Of the proposed
plan: motors could be built and elec-
tric energy furnished capable Of haul
ing a train considerably in excess Of
sixty miles an hour But in his opin-
ionion an insuperable obstacle was the
impossibility of constructing any sig
nal system ,eevn upon perfectly
straight line, which would enable an
engineer to stop his train when run
ming at the rate Of 70 miles an hour
within safety distance.
He himself had caused careful ex-
periments to be made to show how dis
tant signal must be set II 1t were to
come within the range Of an engineers
accurate vision. These tests proved
conclusively that nc signal could be
brought within the range Of vision Of
an engineer at a distance sufficient for
him to stop his train within safety lin
1t II the train was running at a speed
In excess Of sixty miles an hour. tAu-
tomato signals might be devised which
would bring train to O halt within
safety distance, but at the time Mr.
seemed to have no great
confidence In the reliability Of an au-
tomatic system. ,g
Mr.. Westinghouse has always been
opposed to the operation Of
trains mt a speed averaging In excess
Of about fifty miles an hour. The dan
ger, in his view, lies In the fact that
even with the best kind of emergency
brakes a train running at the rate of
eighty miles an hour would still be 60
ing sixty miles an hour at q point
about LOO feet from the place where
the brakes wre put on. In his view, the
risk of accidents is greatly increased
when speed In excess Of sixty miles an
hour is obtained. and he doubts wheth-
Or any kind Of automatic signal win
secure safety.
Mr.. Westinghouse, In view Of the re-
cent accident at Stamford, onn., Is
satisfied that there should be authority
'or the limitation Of the maximum
speed Of trains, and he believes furth-
sr that locomotives should be fitted
with speed Indicators or some record
ng apparatus which will tell the engi-
1eer b va glance of the eye exactly how
'apidly he Is running and would, In
act, furnish indisputable evidence to
'ailroad officials of what the maximum
speed really was.
Mr. Westinghouse has, therefore,
made the suggestion that the manag-
.rs of the railroads upon which trains
ire now operated at very high speed
IhGuld seek to cooperate with the in
erstate commerce commission, so that
here may be exhaustive investigation
If the entire question Of what Is really
afe speed, taking into consideration
modern equipment and modern safety
appliances. He Is convinced that the
Interstate commerce commission can,
n this way, prepare an authoritative
eport which may dc much to restrain
he prevailing demand for very high
peed of trains operated between some
Il our larger cities.-Holland, In Phil
Idelphiay Ledger.