Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-12-16
HAS
SUBWAY OF A
UNIQUE . NATURE
Great Many Business Con-
Germs Make Use 81; Under
ground Freight Service.

ChicagO5 Dec. 16.-Forty feet un-
foreground Chicago has one OF tile
Q unique subway systems in the
world: Devoted entirely to the haul
ing OF freight, it keeps the congcsted:
loop district comparatively free Of
heavy traffic vehicles. Officials OF the
tunnel company estimate more than
5000 trucks would have to pass
through loop streets daily to dupli-
cate he work done by the subway.
over so miles of narrow gauge
track, 1872 electric. locomotives and
5000 freight cars hauled 100000
tons of merchandise and 100000 tons
of coal last year.
Scores Of downtown office Auild-,
direct from the railroad depots via
n subway Their O comes by the
same route, and at night the ashes
are hauled away through the under
oun tunnels, to be dumped on the
lake front, where acres Of land are re-
claimed yearly. The ground on which,
the, great new Field Museum, at the
south end Of Grant park, is Built, was
q rev years ago a part of the lake.
ashes. ~.
another unusual service is the re-
moNal of dirt from building
tons. A shaft is sunk from the
building site to the tunnel level under
slhe street. Workmen with wheel
barrows' dump the dirt down the shaft
where 1t falls into cars of a waiting
train, to be hauled to the lake front
disposal station.
+ For handling merchandise, coal and
ashes, electric elevators lift the SUBJ
way cars from the tunnel level to
stores n office buildings, whereEthey
are emptied and refilled. and then
lowered again to the tracks below.
Covers % Blocks.
The subway tracks underlay every
street In the loop district, covering
a district 70 blocks long and nine
DOCKS wide, and in addition the net.
work Of tunnels extends north under
the river to the warehouse and rail-
road district along North Water
street, and west of the south branch
OF the river for six blocks through
the railroad and factory district OF
the near west side.
SIDE Of the loop gather incoming mer-
chandise for delivery to downtown
buildings, and distribute outgoing
packages For truck hauls to other
parts of the city. >,
Every railroad station but one has.
connections and freight and express
billed one station to another is
~ Wy l1lC" SUBWAY. III auUl-
ton every Station but one has trans-'
ferred by the subway. In addition
every station but one has connections
Tor sending mail to the p%ostotiice.
Special trains of steel mail cars carry
the sacks through the tunnel.
The freight cars used are four feet
wide and twelve feet long, while the
chandise cars have n capacity of six
tons; ash and dirt cars hold three and
one-half cubic yards; aud the coal
cars ha0 a capacity of four tons. Ap-
proxtmatey 1000 shippers use the
subway system.
n entire operation is electrical.
A train /. dispatcher and telephones
At every outlet to a downtown build
ing an employee is stationed to oper-
ate the lifting elevators, receive and
dispatch cars, 4nd act al. agent for the
company. The company, employs
more than 600 men.
One of the advantages of, the tun-
mel. particularly in the ~tnansporta-
ton Of refrigerated and other perish
able products is said to be the even
Temperature, which remains constant
at S. degrees the year around. Ven
tilating apparatus keeps q constant
flow of fresh air circulating through
the system! while 70 elctric pumps re-
move what water seeps in.
Elaborate precautions have been
taken to prevent flooding Of the tun-
mel when fires break out in one Of
the connecting buildings. Water
tight doors shut off the elevator
shafts SO that the tons of water which
firerlen pour onto a fire 'cannot reach
the main system.
!. The. subway was started in 1901 and
completed in, 1909. Thirty stores,
thirty Office buildings, three public
buildings, six mail connections with
mail order. houses, branches to ~
railroad stations, four public freight
Stations two coal yards and the ref
use disposal outlet are among, the
connections served.