The New York herald., 1922-01-15
GASOLINE RAILWAY
CAR ON SHORT RUNS
New Haven Road to Use Them
to Compete With Trolley
Lines.

The New York. New Haven and Hart
ford Railroad has begun experiments
with gasoline driven railroad car
which it is believed will go far toward
solving the difficult problem of econom-
ical passenger service on branch line
railroads and enable the latter success
fuiiy to compete with parallel trolley
and motor bus lines
The car was designed to serve short
Lines from five to forty miles in length
where the traffic density is so low as
TO call for not more than two or three
round trips day Built on a standard
motor truck chassis with iron wheels
Hanged to fit the rails, the new car
provides seating and Baggage accommo-
dations for from twenty-five to thirty
one passengers. 1t would also carry
mail, parcel post and express and was
cesigned 70 operate singly withou,
trailers.
On branch lines where they may be
round OF use freight service and through
passenger service on long runs would
continue to be provided by steam trains.
Trains That Do Not Pay.
The need of railroads for a CARRYING
unit of the new type arises from a long
reriod of Improbable operation of
Passenger service on branch lines where
travelling is very light. The thirty short
lines on the New Haven system where
the passenger traffic is so small the
operating expenses of one round trip
steam train service day cannot be met
are multiplied many times the country
over
On such lines where service has not
Deen abandoned entirely the general
practice has been to operate a small
steam train UP in the morning and back
at night. These trains ordinarily con-
sist OF small steam engine and one
or two eighty-one passenger coaches or
combination baggage and passenger
cars, representing capital outlay OF
from $45,000 to $4,000.
Their costs Of operation, particularly
tie items of labor, fuel and maintenance.
are so high as to admit of no return
on this investment. They required a
crew of four to six men who were idle
during the long wait between runs and
steam had to be kept up all day long
for the return trip.
The gasoline driven rail car calls for
an initial investment of no more than
$4,000, and it is estimated they can
be made to pay for themselves within
a. year. Their operating cost will prob
ably be from 80 per cent to so per cent
less than that of the steam train.
Advantages Summed Up.
Other advantages OF the new car may
be summed up as follows:
Frequent and speedy service at low
cost.
One man may serve as operator and
conductor
The usual terminal facilities, such as
coal storage. water tanks and ash pits,
are eliminated.
The necessity of operating mixed
trains OF freight and passenger cars.
with attending delays to passengers
while freight is being handled. is re-
Their weight is one-tenth of the steam
train without lessenng safety of opera
tion.
The New Haven Railroad has one OF
the new cars in service between Derby
and New Haven. making two round trips
a day. Two others will be put in op-
GRAFTON on other lines within few days
Other steam railroads which are con-
sidering the application Of automotive
practice on some of their branch lines
include the Chicago. Rock Island ana
Pacific, the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific.