Year: 1879

oEssITY FOR LOCOMOTIVES ON THE RAILS


DOING AWAY WITH SMOKE. COAL GAS AND
| ASHES


To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-


The system OF elevated railroads has become .
matter OF vital importance to the welfare or this
city. viewed both matter of public convenience
and measured by the destruction of the value OF
property that has been encountered in carrying it
into successful operation As it is at presen-f all
that is made by the railroad to be measured by
the loss that people compelled to suffer by its
passing in front of their houses. the Inconvenience
of the noise and the loss of light-the amount
woald in all probability be more than the cost Of
the road Thus it becomes a matter Of unmeasured
importance to know what must be done to Ineet the
public convenience and to from destruction the
property before which the road passes.


All uust see that now arranged. with the un.
ceasng noise and smoke and sparks and steam that
thrown into tho windows by the locomotive in its
passage one can suppose 1t possible that it can
be endured in its present shape. And now it be-
comes question. What and what must be done
to so improve the methods OF rapid transit as to
the advantages to be derived from it to over
balance the injury that property has to sustain by
its passage?


For one have taken great deal of pains to ascer
tain how the difficulties encountered might be





lshed. directed to Mr.. Ogden, of Westchester
county, man very largely interested in having ele-
waited railroads. by reason OF the increase in the
value OF his property, well as for public motives
Unfortunately he rendered unable to give it any
attention in consequence Of his being paralyzed and
he finally died from the inHiction. directed my
letter to him in the hope that he would give it atten
tion he had SO large an interest involved in the
of the road or in its failure that 1t could
be accomplished in manner that would render 1t ut
least tolerable. In that letter showed how easy
and practicable it would be to transport passengers
without locomotives. the noise smoke, gas and
sparks that unavoidable in the of the loco
motive. by propelling all the cars with endless
chain.


10 accomplish this it is only necessary to arrange
railroad very similar to the present construction
and not requiring than half it, strength to be
equally safe This IL in consequence Of getting rid
OF the of locomotives entirely aud substituting
stationary power in it's place. That power would
make it necessary that all the stopping places the
line should be equally distant from each other so
that all the cars propelled by this endless chain
would have to stop at the time in their proper
places. There should also be proper arrangement
of the rails with elevation at each stopping place
sufficient to take up the momentum that would
otherwise be lost by the stoppage of the and





tion when required.


1t will be that such arrangement will cause
as much weight to be constantly going down hill as
there is going up hill, to reduce the whole
power of the machinery to be more than required
on perfectly smooth level All who are able to
calculate the force Of moving bodies will that
they can be moved on perfectly dead level with
less than half the power that is necessary to carry
them the present elevations, which they are
compelled to encounter between the Battery and
Harlem River. 1t will be that FIVE SIX times
the power is needed to prope the engines these
elevations that would be required. provided all the
trains fastened to endless chain and had as
much weight going down hill there was being
drawn up


Other great advantages will be seen to grow out of
the fact that such arrangement puts end to all
possible collision or to car running forward and
destroying others. One stop at place is equally
stop ut all the other stopping places the line,
that therel no more time lost in stopping than
there would be for train. With q proper tele-
graph line the word of command can be given
throughout the whole chain well 1t could
through single This would enable the second
stories to become business places from end Of
the line the other wherever it required. They
would be valuable for many purposes than even
the lower stories There could be sidewalk made of





where 1t has stood for twenty years. and is to-day
good as when first put down. This sidewalk could
be always kept clean and free from the objections
found on the lower sidewalk. A great advantage of
this arrangement would bo q relief from the neces-
sty of awnings, this glass sidewalk giving light to
the sto and sheltering all below from storms.


The cars would be propelled by an endless chain
of wire rope, fastened to the centre of the side of
each car, aud made to pass around large drum of
some hundred feet in diameter at each end of the
i'm w o frou
the Battery to Harlem could be communicated
through these two large drums; and any amount OF
speed convenient, and not enough to throw people
off their seats, could be used in stopping starting.


The great advantages all told that would result
from the application of such method of rapid
transit would allow the structure to be at least one
half lighter than now and equally safe; and the
than onethird the power at present necessary.
That power would be underground. out OF the way
and where 1t would be a nuisance to nobody.
regret exceedingly that my labor and pains have
been lost in trying to attract the notice OF those
| parties who have projected and carried out the
present rapid transit railroad to fix their atten
ton the plan that thought indispensable to
| it to the best advantage, and which would do the
injury to the property before which and through
| which 1t passes, / have myself property which
suffers great deal by the passage Of the 'L road
1t now does with its noise. steam. sparks and gas.
| This property Is reduced now to almost half its
| value. Houses that rented for $4,000 year
now rented TOR SlGOD as consequence of tho
could have been avoided IL could have prevailed on
the parties interested to adopt plan that would ad
NIT OF such saving being made and such advantages
secured.


In order to make q entirely free from noise
ii il possible have the rails arranged that
car shall have smooth passage over the joints OF
the rails and not be compelled to drop into the cracks
found at the end of each rail- which are to
allow for the expansion of the rail from heat and its
contraction from cold To obviate that dificulty 1t


necessary that the chair that holds the rail should
clamp 1t hrnily, according to plan suggested by
| gentleman whose name l cannot recall The chair
enveops the rail in cloth of indiarubber, leaving
portion of the iron outside a level with the
| nf RAJ pnr GhnII nat
have the opportunity OF dropping into the
! little crack at the end. thus obviating that
| humping noise occasioned by the wheel
greatly the injury of the rails and the inconven-
fence OF all who travel To make cars free pos
| sible from noise the wheels may be constructed
to have groove the whole face except little
rim outside up to the hango that rubs against the
side of the rail. This groove the face OF the wheel
should be filed with hard guttapercha. 80 that the
wheel may roll, making very little impression; but