TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS IN GREATER NEW YORK BY CONTINUOUS RAILWAY TRAIN, OR MOVING PLATFORMS. ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF EQUIPPING THE EA§T RIVER BRIDGES, AND CONNECTING SUBWAY * TO BOWLING GREEN, MANHATTAN, WITH MOVING PLATFORMS, PREPARED FOR SCHMIDT & GALLATIN. NEW YORK, 1903. t£x IGtbrtB SEYMOUR DURST When you leave, please leave this book Because it has been said "Ever thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned book." Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library Argument in favor of equipping the East River Bridges, and connecting subway to Bowling Green, Manhattan, with a continuous railway train or Moving Platforms. Twice each day the cars of the elevated railroads and trolley lines in the larger cities of the United States are taxed to their utmost capacity. This is due to the com- plete separation which exists between the business and residence quarters, a condition which has caused nearly all of such cities to become notable centres of congestion. New York ranks foremost in that respect. Of the many subjects of great public interest, possibly none appeals more forcibly to the citizens of New York than that of interborough communication, and, surely, none is of greater importance at the present moment. At the terminals of the Brooklyn Bridge there occur daily what are conceded to be the greatest congestions in the history of passenger transportation. These conges- tions and their removal have been for many years the sub- ject of study on the part of expert engineers, and of con- troversy between them. The City is building at present three new bridges across the East River. Of these the Williamsburgh Bridge will be completed in one year, while the completion of the other two will require from three to five years. The City authorities are now wrestling with the problem of how to provide these bridges — and especially the Williamsburgh Bridge — with transportation facilities of such scope and magnitude that a repetition of the dis- graceful and dangerous conditions which exist at the Brooklyn Bridge cannot become possible at any of the new bridges. A number of projects are before the City, prominent amongst which are the following : 1. The opening of a street from the Williamsburgh Bridge plaza in Manhattan to Cooper Union. 2. The widening of a street from the bridge plaza to the North River. 3. The construction of a subway from the bridge plaza to the North River. 4. The establishment of a connection between the three bridges by an elevated railroad. 5. The establishment of a connection between the three bridges by a subway. 6. The equipment of the Williamsburgh Bridge with Moving Platforms, and continuing the same by a subway, connecting the two other bridges, to Hanover Square or Bowling Green. It is the purpose of this treatise to invite attention to the last of these plans, and to lay before the public such facts and figures regarding the Moving Platforms as will assist those who desire the information to an understand- ing of what the plan is and can accomplish. The Apparatus. Moving Platforms for the conveyance of passengers were recommended by Mr. Horace Greeley thirty years ago. They were successfully operated, first, at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, where 2,700,000 people were transported. In 1896 they were installed at the Berlin Exposition, and again at the Paris Exposition of 1900, where they carried over eight million passengers. Few persons know what Moving Platforms are. From the face that sometimes they are called " Moving Side- walks," it is believed that they must be some sort of a pavement on rollers, on which it is difficult to step with safety and maintain equilibrium. The Moving Platforms are to all intents a railway, operated like other railways, propelled by electricity, with cars, seats, motors, passenger stations, ticket booths, guards, electric lights — in fact, everything belonging to a first-class railway. Where it differs from the ordinary railway is that the From Harper'l rYttkly. Copyright, luoi, by Harper d' Brothers. CONTINUOUS RAILWAY TRAIN OR MOVING PLATFORMS IN PROPOSED SUBWAY CONNECTING WILLIAMSBURCH BRIDGE WITH BOWLING GREEN. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/transportationofOOschm 3 cars, or trains, are not running at intervals, but are coupled up continuously, so that there is no interruption of traffic at any time, but a large seating capacity at all times. It differs also in the construction of the cars, which are mere flat cars, provided with seats placed crosswise, and so ar- ranged that all rmssengers face in the direction of motion. Each of these seats may be made wide enough to accom- modate one, two or more persons. The most approved plan is to provide seats on one side of the cars only and leave the other for passengers to walk, thus giving them an opportunity to further accelerate their speed if they so desire. The cars are joined or coupled up so as to present a con- tinuous line of car flooring, without openings, which fact, no doubt, caused the device to be called a "Sidewalk." The mechanism permits the turning of sharp curves, and, being endless and self-balanced, admits of much steeper grades than ordinary railways. The continuous train of cars runs in a stationary hous- ing, which, in case of a subway, the subway itself supplies. The cars, therefore, do not carry their housing along, as is the casein all other methods of transportation. As the train is in continuous motion, means must be provided by which passengers may board the train and reach their seats with ease. The method employed is simple and effective. Parallel -to the train run one or more lines of platforms called "stepping platforms," much narrower than the train and devoid of seats, but so arranged that the speed of each successive platform is less than the previous one. A passenger, in alighting from one platform to another, therefore, gradually stops his own speed until he rests at the station. On the other hand, when ready to board the cars, he gradually increases his speed until he rests on the train. The multiple speed of the stepping platforms is obtained by a simple mechanical device, which involves no novel or untried principles, all of which are correct. 4 Advantages. Continuous railway trains or moving platforms have a number of distinct advantages. At the time of the Chicago Exposition they were summed up by a newspaper correspondent, as follows : " A railway without weight, noise or smoke; without cin- ders, smells or jars ; where crowding and waiting is unknown ; on which passengers cannot be knocked down by cars, or have their legs cut off by wheels; on which there is no switching or obstructing of tracks, no delay at stations and on which col- lisions are made impossible, but which provides seats for everybody, while nobody can get left, or lost, try as he may. All these advantages can be obtained by the simple effort of learning how to step on a platform moving at less speed than a walk." Divested of newspaper language, the plain and practi- cal advantages of the device are : 1. Absence of congestions. 2. Great carrying capacity. 3. Small cost of operation. As to the first point, the absence of congestions, it must be clear to anybody understanding the single duties which the Moving Platforms perform, that there can be no congestions where they are used. They are, to all in- tents, the continuance of a busy street on which great throngs walk in safety. As such streets are made impass- able by the sudden stopping of the throngs, so will an ordi- nary railroad station become congested when passengers are waiting for trains, with a multitude pressing behind. The Moving Platforms require no waiting, and the throngs pass on. As to the second point — the carrying capacity of the Platforms is limited only by their widths and speeds. Thus, the smallest type of two speeds, provided with a single seat only, has a seating capacity of 10,560 passen- gers per hour. At the speed of ten miles and with 5 seats accommodating four persons, placed three feet apart, they can transport 70,400 seated passengers x>er hour. During the rush hours at the Brooklyn Bridge, the maximum capacity of all the bridge trains and trolley cars combined is about 36,000 passengers per hour. Of these about 16,000 are provided with seats. The trolley cars carry about 17,000 of the 36,000 and seat about 5,000. The Moving Platforms can, therefore, accommodate with seats as many passengers on one track as the trolleys can accommodate on fourteen. The third point of advantage, tlie small cost of opera- lion, is not so clear. It would seem, in fact, that it would cost more to operate continuous Moving Platforms than ordinary railroads, or trolleys, where cars run at inter- vals. This, however, is an error. The chief expenses of operation, in either case, are : 1. Maintenance of Roadway. 2. Maintenance of Boiling Stock. 3. Transportation expenses. The expenses of maintaining the roadway and rolling stock increase directly as the weight and speed of the trains, which operate on the track. The principle under- lying the Moving Platforms is, to combine light weights, and continuous motion, at moderate motor speeds, with great carrying capacity. They are operated without the use of engines or heavy motors rotating on tracks. The necessary traction is secured from the platforms themselves. Collisions are impossible. The roadway is covered ; the elements do not reach it, nor can it be interfered with maliciously. Under the head of transportation, the chief items of expense are for labor and motive power. As regards labor, the Moving Platforms do not require motormen and conductors. On the Brooklyn Bridge, during the rush hours, 240 trolley cars, with two attendants each, or 480 in all, operate per hour. This does not include ticket 6 sellers and guards. The Platforms could be operated with ten attendants, outside of the regular force of ticket sellers and guards. As to the motive power, the weight of the Chicago plat- forms was 500 tons empty, and 800 tons when loaded with passengers. It could seat 4,300 passengers, but at times many walked, so that it carried 6,000. When thus loaded, it weighed 925 tons, but an average of only 150 H. P. was required to run it. This small amount of power, to move 6,000 passengers, can only be explained by the fact that there were no stops and starts, and that the platforms were light and coupled up continuously, thus impelling each other by what may be termed continuous contact. Safety. Much has been said as to possible interruptions of traffic, and the safety of passengers while in transit or stepping on and off the platforms. From what follows, it will be seen that ample provision has been made to insure perfect safety and that the chances of accidents, or interruptions of traffic, are in fact less in this system than in others. A number of marked improvements have been made in the apparatus since the platforms were first operated in Chicago. In the present device, a majority of the parts, compos- ing the mechanism, are stationary. Thus all motors, wheels, gearings and axles are fixed and can be inspected while the platforms are in service carrying passengers. The wheels do not rotate on a track but are geared to stationary shafts like wheels of stationary engines. The axles revolve at the extreme low r rate of 105 revolu- tions per minute. Hot boxes are therefore unknown and the possibility of breakages is reduced to a minimum. The motor unit is low, not exceeding 10 horse power, so that even if several motors should give out simultaneously, which is not likely to occur, the traffic is not interrupted thereby and the system cannot become deranged. 7 The platforms themselves constitute the only weight in motion ; they have no parts which cannot be made perfectly secure, and the dropping off of anyone of such parts does not affect the running of the train. The train is endless, that is, pull and push is neutral- ized. The platforms are, therefore, not subject to jolts and jars, which in the ordinary cars result in the loosening of parts and cause accidents. The couplings between the platforms are reinforced by safety chains, so that they cannot become separated. The motion is smooth and easy, much more so than is usual on street and trolley cars. This is due to the ab- sence of stops and starts and the fact that the platforms run on rubber tires. Safety switches, or circuit breakers, are placed at every station, two blocks apart, within easy reach of the guards and the whole train can be brought almost to an immedi- ate standstill, owing to the low axle speed. If, however, from any cause, the platforms should stop, while in transit, the worst inconvenience to which passen- gers can be put, in place of waiting in a crowded car, with- out exit, except on the track, will be to leave their seats and walk on the platforms, which are unobstructed by trucks, vehicles, third rails or live wires. As regards the ability of passengers to step on and off, the technical papers closely watched the performance of passengers in that respect at the World's Columbian Ex- position. Extracts from articles published by such papers at the time will therefore be of interest. From Electricity, December 2, 1891. "The inspection made last Wednesday fully convinced all present of the practical value of this interesting device and of its perfect safety. It occupies very little space, and, being continuous, accommodates an immense number of passengers at once. The whole arrangement works very smoothly, and there is entire absence of any dangerous element, in fact it is difficult to see how an accident could possibly happen." 8 From the Street Railway Gazette, December 15, 1891. " It is the first practical demonstration of a plan which the promoters have good reason to believe will solve the problem of moving safely and expeditiously large masses in the con- gested business streets of the largest cities. As every one knows, it is the stoppage for passengers to board or leave a train that makes a long time-card for even a rapid speed. The plan in question contemplates slower car speed, but absolutely no stops. When the passenger wishes to get off, he walks across the slow to the stationary platform, thereby stopping himself instead of the car. Ladies have no difficulty in step- ping on to the platform after the first attempt and, as in all new appliances, the public will learn by experience, although the new experience will not be costly, as in cases where damag- ing accidents can occur. The proverbial obstinacy of falling under the wheels is rendered impossible of display by this method and no doubt the timidity of the feminine world will be overcome with great rapidity. Altogether the device is one to excite amazement in the crowd and to call the attention of thoughtful men." From Railway Age, March 18, 1892. "The carrying capacity of this railway is enormous, far greater than that of the ordinary railway with the heaviest equipment and the most frequent trains. It seems to be ad- mirably adapted to the safe, comfortable and cheap carrying of the multitudes who will visit the World's Fair, and the same principle also appears to be entirely practicable of appli- cation to moving elevated sidewalks over crowded streets of great cities. " From the Electrical Engineer, June 14, 1893. " To sum up, the feat performed by this device is that 6,000 passengers — representing a dead load of 519 tons, or only 175 pounds per passenger — can be transported continu- ously by expending not more than 200 H. P. It may be safely stated that no other known device of transportation offers advantages in motive power and the distribution of weights so extraordinary as this, and the results that will be obtained at the Exposition are deserving of the most careful attention of all who are interested in passenger transportation." From Street Railway Review, November, 1893. "The great crowds carried without a single accident have, with one acclaim, voted the moving sidewalk the most satis- factory enjoyment of the Exposition. The cheap fare and long ride, the comfortable seats, the safety, and the ease of mount- ing and dismounting, conspired to make it the Mecca of tired humanity at all hours of the day. "As an exhibition of the carrying capacity of this remark- able device, we are confident that no heavier stress could have LOOP AT WEST END OF LINE. PASSENGERS ALICHTINC ON CURVE. MOVING PLATFORMS AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, 1893. PASSENGERS IN TRANSIT. 5 P.M. — MANY SEATS ENGAGED. 9 been placed on any method of transportation than was put upon the small length of the moving sidewalk on Illinois day, Chicago day, Swedish day, and the last heavy crowds of Chi- cago. The fact that on less than a mile of sidewalk 160,000 people could be carried everyday, without crowding and seat- ing every one, illustrates the capacity of the sidewalk and its applicability to the sudden gorge of humanity at any one point, such as bridges, viaducts, downtown districts and the like." From the Railway Supply Journal of London, England. We are always getting something new from America, and so surprising are some of the inventions and novelties that come from that land of enterprise and marvelous contrivance, that we scarcely feel any astonishment when we are told that some new miracle has been achieved. After what we have already seen, we are almost ready to believe that all things are possible. If, however, anything could excite a thrill of surprise and fresh admiration, it would surely be the newest thing in railways, of which we have now heard much and are certain presently to hear more. " Referring to the ability of passengers to get on and off the platforms, Mr. George S. Morison, Civil Engineer, last June testified before the Rapid Transit Commission as follows : " The only novel feature of this device, which it was felt required the test of a trial, was the ability of passengers to load and unload themselves on the series of moving platforms without accidents, and this has been established at the expo- sitions where the device has been used. A personal examina- tion of the operations of the moving platforms at both of these expositions has shown that no difficulties exist in this way which a little practice will not overcome. It must be re- membered that the question at issue is not how to provide a method of transit which all classes of people can use without difficulty, but how to provide a method which will avoid the dangerous congestion which now exists, and enable the pas- sengers who now struggle in this congestion to reach their homes safely and comfortably. It is perfectly true that inva- lids, cripples and many old people might find difficulty in using the moving platform, but the difficulties and dangers which would be encountered are insignificant compared with the diffi- culties and dangers in the crush which now exists. There are other means of transit for people of this kind. The question at issue is the provision of the best and most capacious means of transit for the able-bodied people, who form more than ninety-nine per cent, of the whole traveling public. No other method has been shown which will relieve congestion to the degree that moving platforms will, and this relief should not be . jeopardized for the benefit of the very few who cannot use it." 10 Eminent engineers, railroad managers and specialists have given their opinion, most of them in writing, as regards the usefulness of the moving platforms. Among them are men of such authority as Alexander von Siemens, William Sooy-Smith, Sir Wolfe Barry, C. L. Strobel, S. G. Artingstall, D. L. Barnes, George S. Morison, Con- sulting Engineers William Forsyth, P. A. Delano and L. W. Wakeley of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Co., Aldace F. Walker and W. F. White of the Atchi- son, Topekaand Santa Fe Railroad Co., William H. Trues- dale, President of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Co., I. R. Sloan, Chief Engineer of the South Side Rapid Transit Co., all of whom, without exception, un- hesitatingly state that there is no mechanical difficulty to be overcome in constructing and operating this system regularly and efficiently, and that there is no physical difficulty in stepping from a iixed platform to one moving at a low rate of speed which will not yield to even slight experience, except in the case of infirm persons or cripples who never largely patronize elevated or depressed roads. Extracts from some of these letters are given herewith : JFVom Mr. F. A. Delano, at present General Manager Chicago, Burlington