The New York herald., 1921-01-24
Automatic Freight Trains.

what would be virtually an endless chain
conveyor.
Automatic Freight Trains.
The eight car automatic electric trains
would be sent from the joint freight yard
to Manhattan by means of either or
both of parallel tracks that pass under
the Hudson River to about Forty-seventh
street. turn southwark far below the sur
face to avoid the rapid transit subways.
and finally return to the joint yard via
another set of parallel tunnels near the
Battery.
Along the route in Manhattan will be
twelve terminals with approach sidings
When a dispatcher at the joint yard
throws an electric switch the eight car
train starts automatically. speeds up to
thirteen miles an hour and runs to the
desired terminal. on the approach siding
of which it automatically comes. to rest.
Return trains start from forwarding sid
ings at the terminal when a switch Is
thrown, proceed to the joint yard and
come to rest The cars then proceed sin
gly to the transfer platforms. the trucks
bearing outbound freight are removed
and they receive new inbound loads and
continue in the cycle
At the terminals the cars are lifted
singly by elevators to platforms at or
near the surface where their loads are
discharged and they receive new ones.
The platforms are on two levels, to sep
arate inbound and outbound drays. Rev
enue producing warehouse floors are
provided above.
The belt line system the commission
recommends includes joint marginal belt
lines along most of the navigable water
fronts of the port serving steamship
terminals or Industrial developments; !;
belt lines further inland in both New
Jersey and New York connecting the
railroads and their yards and providing
thoroughfares. and line encircling vir-
tually the entire western half of the dis
trict running from Piermont above the
Palisades to Bayonne, Staten Island and
Perth Amboy, passing west of Paterson
and the Orange Mountains. Connection
between the New York and New Jersey
systems is proposed first by car ferry
across and ultimately by tunnel under
the upper bay.
How Sections Are Served.
Brooklyn and the East River section
Of Queens are to be served by the Long
Island-New York Connecting Railroad
from Bay Ridge to He'll Gate. and by
marginal lines, not necessarily contin-
uous, but reached by float bridges or by
spurs from the Bay Ridge-Hell Gate
line, from which spurs are to run to
Jamaica Bay and Flushing Bay.
Marginal lines are to skirt the Harlem
and East rivers. in The Bronx from
Spuyten Duyvil to Throgs Neck and
other lines are virtually to encircle
Staten Island Yonkers and the COM
munities north are to be served by Joint
car float stations reached from Pier
mont
Existing belt lines are TO be inn
proved to serve the Hudson River and
upper bay waterfronts in New Jersey
New lines along both sides of Newark
Bay and the Hackensack River, the west
bank of Arthur Kill and the north bank
Of the Raritan River are to serve New
ark, Jersey City. Bayonne. Elizabeth
Perth Amboy and other communities.
Both sides OF the Hudson River are
expected to benefit greatly by the belt
line system. With the removal of many
opera tions from the railroad terminals
in New Jersey and Staten Island, states
the commission, the waterfront will be-
come well adapted TO steamship piers
with direct rail service. The belt lines
connecting all of the trunk railroads will
stimulate development on both sides of
Newark Bay and make the Hackensack
meadows available for large industrial
developments. The outer belt line be-
yond the present congested areas will
afford great possibilities for industrial
developments with direct connection to
steamship and Barge Canal terminals
On the New York side Brooklyn. Long
Island City. Flushing Bay, Jamaica Bay.
Staten Island The Bronx and the COM
munities to the north are expected to
derive some benefits of universal rail
service
The commission thinks the food dis
tribution problem can effectively be
solved by creating food receiving sta
tions at the joint automatic electric