CHAPTER IX
At 15:42, as Rawolle named it, but at 42 minutes past 3, as Cobbpersisted in calling it, their arrangements had been completed and theywere at the front entrance to the Occidental.
At the curb stood an elegant four-seated carriage of very lightconstruction, with a driver upon the seat. There were no horsesattached to the vehicle, which was very low in build, and with wheelsof fair size. The driver sat in the rear, on a sort of raised singleseat, with a small wheel, like a tiller-wheel, in front of him.
It was an electric drag, with the storage batteries underneath theseat. There were many passers-by at the time, but, thanks to Rawolle'scare, none knew who were getting into the carriage, else there wouldhave been a crowd in a few minutes.
Taking their seats, the driver started the current, and the carriagerolled rapidly down toward Market street.
"What do you think of this for a carriage, Mr. Cobb?" asked Rawolle.
"It is a most decided advance upon anything we had in old days," theother returned, looking admiringly over it. "This is, no doubt, anelectric carriage?"
"It is an electric drag, and the style of all the first-class carriagesin the city, except those which are used for hill travel. Thesecarriages run up grades of three hundred feet to the mile with ease."
"Are they expensive? and how long will their batteries last?"
"No; far less expensive than horses. The batteries, or accumulators,are very small, but with great power. The weight carried by such acarriage as this, in accumulators, is about fifteen pounds, and theenergy is the equivalent of two horses for six hours, or a greaternumber of horses for a less time. The accumulators are charged at therate of about fifty cents per set, which is a six-hour run. The greatsaving is that when the carriage is not in use, there is no expense."
The carriage was going at a good round gait, but the motion was easyand steady.
Passing into Market street, Cobb was astonished at the magnificence ofthe buildings. He could not remember ever having seen a single buildingthen standing as being there during his time. The architecture wasgrand in the extreme; beauty was not lacking, but was combined withstrength.
He saw horses, electric motors, and cable cars, but the latter nolonger ran upon tracks on the street; the trucks were all underneaththe roadbed, while the cars were held aloft by thin but strong steelsupports. The cars, moreover, were lighter built and set closer to theground.
He saw no horse-cars. The pavement was everywhere of the samematerial--clean, smooth, and elastic; and he rejoiced to think that atlast mankind had awakened to the fact that it was not only cruel, butcostly, to cause horses to run upon cobble-stones, and pavements ofsimilar construction. He did not have time to note all the many changeswhich had taken place and then in view, ere the carriage stopped at thegate of a most imposing edifice.
Alighting from his seat, Rawolle assisted him down, saying:
"Here we are, Mr. Cobb."
Having gotten out, they all went into the depot, for such Cobb wasinformed it was. He was surprised at the grandeur of the building. Itfar exceeded anything he had ever seen for similar purposes. Rawolletook him around and showed him the various waiting, toilet, dining, andother rooms.
The depot was on the site formerly occupied by the old station, at thecorner of Third and Townsend streets.
Passing into the main hall, he perceived a stream of people comingfrom the left. The interior of the depot, after passing through themain hall, was a vast space with a great arched roof. The ground waspaved with marble slabs, and divided by iron fencing into five largecompartments; the first running from side to side of the building,while the others were set at right angles to it. Each of the fourdivisions had a great slot or opening through its floor, of about twohundred feet in length by twelve in width. The last opening was filledby a train which had just arrived.
The people were flocking out, and through the gates into the main hall,or, as Cobb called it, the fifth compartment.
His attention was riveted to the train as it stood upon the track. Itwas so different from anything in the railway line that he had everseen before, that he was most anxious to learn something about it.
It was a train of five cars, each about forty feet long, and ofcircular construction. It rested upon innumerable little runners, andwas set quite close to the ground. The end of each car was a hugecircular disc of a diameter a little greater than that of the car, andhaving an elliptical opening of some seven feet in the long diameter.Along each side of the cars was another set of runners, while two moresets were upon the tops.
There were no windows to the cars, and they looked plain iron cylindersof vast size, set upon a lot of little iron legs.
Standing there a moment, Cobb watched the last passenger leave thehall, and soon heard the guard cry for the gates to be closed. Almostimmediately the gate of that compartment was dropped, and he saw thehuge train sink into the opening and disappear from sight.
Turning toward Rawolle, who had been watching him with a curiousexpression, he exclaimed:
"Rawolle, tell me what kind of transportation is this that I havejust seen? It is something that beats my time, and I am at a loss tounderstand its working."
"I do not wonder at your expression of astonishment, my dear boy;"then pointing toward the third opening, and looking at his watch, hecontinued: "You will see a similar train soon come up; watch carefully."
Cobb did as directed, and in a moment saw a train of cars, in allrespects similar to the train which he had seen disappear through theleft-hand slot, rise from below. It came up gradually, and at laststood, as its mate had stood, flush with the floor of the room; but,unlike the former, it had no passengers to disembark. There it stood,silent and empty.
As the train reached the level, a placard was dropped from the top ofthe gate, bearing the words "Omaha, 16 D.," in large letters.
"That is our train, Cobb," said Rawolle, following the eyes of theother to the sign. "Let us get our traps together and get aboard."
Approaching the gate, which had by this time been thrown open, andthrough which many people were passing, Rawolle showed the tickets,and the three men passed in and proceeded along the train to thesecond carriage. Curbing his impatience to learn more of his peculiarsurroundings, Cobb followed Rawolle and Lyman into the car.
The car resembled the sleepers of former years, except that it wasdecorated in a grander style and had no windows. It was lighted byelectric lamps, which made it as bright as day. The seats were somewhatdifferently constructed from those of the old kind, but the generalappearance of the interior was quite the same.
A porter met them at the door, and after seeing their tickets, showedthem to their section.
Throwing down his grip and coat, Rawolle said:
"Come, Cobb, there are a few minutes before the train leaves; let meshow you about."
"All right; I am at your service."
"Mr. Cobb, I think you will find this train a most decided improvementupon those used in your day," remarked Lyman. "Of course it is old tous, but I can imagine your surprise at many of the improvements you seeabout you."
"Right you are," returned Cobb; "there are so many new and peculiarcontrivances around me that I am like a man who has just awakenedin a land of fairies. I am not going to be too curious, but awaitdevelopments, for I have no doubt that I will be satisfactorilyinformed concerning them all at the proper time."
"This is the pneumatic train," continued Lyman, motioning toward thetrain on the track.
"Now, hold on," interrupted Rawolle, quickly; "all in good time. Itis better to explain all this to Mr. Cobb in detail. Let him firstsee what there is to be seen, and then we will explain it to himafterward."
Passing into the first car of the train, Cobb was shown the smoker; andhere he found a hundred little inventions which had been made with atendency to increase the comfort of the traveler across the continent.
"This is the Central Pneumatic, or Continental Express," said Rawolle,"excepting
the baggage-cars; they are below, receiving the baggage asit arrives."
At this moment the sound of a deep-toned gong was heard, and Rawollesaid they must hurry back, as that was the signal for the gates aboveto be closed preparatory to starting.
A moment later, they were all standing on the platform between thecars, and an instant afterward the whole train began to sink, andsoon had left the opening far above them. The train rested upon asort of hydraulic lift which came to rest as soon as it had reached alevel some twenty-five feet below the floor of the depot. They werein a subterranean chamber, or rather a series of chambers, which werebrilliantly lighted by electric lamps.
There were many tracks in every direction, with moving trains upon them.
Leaning out to the side of his car, Cobb saw an engine, or what he tookto be such, move up and couple to his train, and soon he felt it beingrapidly hauled away.
This subterranean labyrinth of roads was similar to the yard of agreat railroad center. Men were in every direction, turning switches,coupling cars, clearing tracks, etc.
Their train was taken about a mile underground, and then run into agreat iron tunnel. A peculiar sighing sound, like that of a great storma long distance off, now fell upon his ears. Turning inquiringly toRawolle, he asked the meaning of it.
"Air--sucking air," was the answer.
"Yes; I presumed as much," Cobb returned, piqued at the brevity of theanswer.
"Observe all you can, Mr. Cobb, for you have but a few minutes more. Iwill explain it after we are in the car," noticing the impatience ofthe other.
The tunnel in which they then were was, like the great lower chambers,well lighted up. At one side, and opposite to where they stood, wasa recessed chamber containing what appeared to be very powerfulmachinery. Cobb saw the motor disconnect from the train at this point,but he was not permitted to notice further the working of this mostremarkable invention, for the guards ordered them into the car, and thedoor was closed and bolted.
Going back to the smoker, they lighted their cigars and settledthemselves comfortably among the cushions.
"Now," exclaimed Rawolle, sending up a cloud of smoke, "now I am atyour service."
"Then, tell me all about that which I have seen," Cobb impatientlyasked. "Don't you see how anxious I am?"
"Very well. Let us commence at the beginning: In the first place, thisthat you have seen is the pneumatic railway. Its official designationis 'The Central Pneumatic.' There are, in the United States, quitea number of these roads. From San Francisco run three, as follows:one to the north, one to the south, and this one to the east. Hereis a map showing all these roads in the country;" and he took fromhis pocket an official railway guide, and handed it to his listener."As the word implies, air is the motive power--not compressed, butatmospheric pressure against a surface, on the other side of which apartial vacuum has been created by exhaustion. This is the method inthe tunnels only. After the trains leave the great tunnels, they aremoved about the yards, which you saw were all underground, by electricmotors. Hydraulic lifts take them up to the station and lower themagain. Everything is underground until the train rises through itsopening in the floor of the depot. When the guard ordered us intothe car, and bolted the door, we had been pushed into the receivingsection of the main tunnel. The main tunnel is a complete iron andstone structure, extending between San Francisco and Salt Lake withoutbreak. At Salt Lake are the engines which exhaust the air from thistunnel, the pressure of the external air being the propelling powerto move the train forward to its destination. The tunnels are twelvefeet in diameter, and the rear car of the train carries a shield, orend-piece, which almost fills the cross-section of the tunnel; in fact,there is but the hundredth part of an inch between the edge of theshield and the interior side of the tunnel. The engines, as I said, areconstantly pumping out the air, but this is carried to such a degreethat the external pressure on the tubing of the tunnel is always underone pound per square inch. A series of valves at the end of the tunnelfarthest away from the engines, permits ingress to the air which actsagainst the rear end of the train to move it forward. The train isfirst placed in a movable section of this tunnel, and, everything beingready, this section is moved upon rollers into connection with the maintunnel--a sort of valve action. The instant this is done, the air ispermitted to enter _in front_ of the train, and then gradually shutoff until, the train having acquired its normal speed, the valves areclosed altogether, and the air permitted to enter the tunnel _behind_the train only. It is very simple, and works to perfection. There areinlets through the rear shield of the train, to which are connectedtubes running to each car. These are the air-tubes of the train. As thepressure of the air against the rear shield is one pound per squareinch, a like pressure is exerted at the orifice of each tube; but, asthere is no resistance to its ingress, it passes through into thecars, causing an internal pressure of the atmosphere of nearly onepound per square inch. Valves opening in _front_ of the rear shield,and at a pressure of a little less than one pound per square inch,permit of the escape of the vitiated air into the tunnel _ahead_ of therear shield. Thus a steady stream of pure air is maintained throughoutthe whole train. The trains are received at their destination uponcompressed-air receivers, and gradually come to a stand-still. AtSalt Lake, forty five minutes are allowed for this train to transferpassengers and for supper, and then the train starts onward for Omaha.At that city the train is again made up and starts upon its new coursefor Chicago, New York, New Orleans, Minneapolis, or other point, asthe case may be. Now, our train was placed, as I said, in an auxiliarytunnel, which was, by simple mechanical means, brought into positionas the segment of the main tunnel. You, of course, noticed that eachcar was fitted at its end with a circular disc, covering the whole endexcepting the door which leads into the next car. Well, this circulardisc covers the end car completely. When our train was brought intothe main tunnel, the pressure upon its end-section would have been, ifsuddenly exerted, so great that we would have started off with a greatshock, but the air is allowed to enter behind the car gradually, as Ihave explained. When the full momentum is reached the full pressure ofthe external air is allowed to exert itself against the end of thetrain."
"And how long does it take to gain this full momentum?" Cobb asked.
"But a few moments. Are you aware that you are now traveling at therate of two hundred and forty miles per hour, or four miles per minute?"
He smiled at the look of incredulity which his words evoked. Cobb wasloath to believe he was in earnest, for he felt no shock of starting,nor did he experience any motion such as he would naturally associatewith such a terrific speed.
"Such a rate must make the wheels spin," from Cobb.
Lyman looked at him, while Rawolle burst into a laugh.
"I do not see anything to laugh at," the other retorted, a littlenettled.
"No, no, Mr. Cobb; do not be displeased. We really meant no discourtesy;but your remark is not what you would have made had you thought amoment, for we know you to be a man of education. We do not use wheelson the pneumatic roads. These trains run upon the many little runnerswhich you saw under the cars. Were we to use wheels," he continued,after a pause, "centrifugal force would tear them into pieces in notime. Take the case of a wheel four feet in diameter: the circumferenceof such a wheel is a little over twelve feet. At the rate of four milesper minute, it would have to revolve 1,760 times. No wheel that canbe made would stand such a test. It would fly into fragments inside ofthe first mile. A wheel of the above dimensions and at that rate ofrevolution would have a centrifugal force equal to 1,000,000 pounds.Now, as the centripetal force is the tensile strength of the materialonly, and that of the best steel wire only 160,000 pounds, it willreadily be seen that the centrifugal force would instantly cause thewheel to fly into fragments."
"You are right," Cobb answered, going over the figures in his mind."Wheels would never do; I can see it plainly."
"Even were we to use a smaller wheel to decrease the centrifugal force,w
e would have to increase the number of revolutions, so there would beno gain in so doing. Our trains run upon two peculiarly constructedrails, and the runners are flanged to exactly fit the rail. There is,in addition, on either side of the tunnel, another rail of similarshape, while upon the upper part are two more. The car has runnersfor all of these rails, and the position of them is such that the carcannot jump the track, or swing or sway from side to side. It travelsas if in a groove, and the little runners, separate from one another,conform to the curves of the tunnel."
"It must take powerful engines to exhaust the air from such a longtunnel, does it not?"
"Yes, very powerful ones. But what is different from any other mode ofpropulsion, the same engine can do as much service for a line 2,000miles long as for one of 200 miles in length, rate of speed being thesame. The reason for stations at intervals of about 500 miles, isbecause more trains can be kept in motion on medium short lines than onvery long ones. There are at Salt Lake, at the receiving end of thisline, fifteen engines of 5,000 horse-power each; ten at work all thetime, with five in reserve."
"A pretty strong set of engines for a single railroad, I would say; anda costly motive power, too."
"Not so costly as you would think," he returned. "If you take intoconsideration that these engines are worked by electricity, and not bysteam, and that the electricity is furnished by water-power, you willperceive that they can be worked quite cheaply."
"Give me some of the statistics, please," said Cobb.
"Certainly. The tunnel is twelve feet in diameter, which gives it asuperficial area of 17,712 square inches. Now, at a pressure of onepound to the square inch, a train has a pushing force at its end ofthe same number of pounds. A train weighs 50,000 pounds. The heaviestgrades on the line are some of two hundred feet to the mile. The powerrequired to push this train up such grades is 2,000 pounds, for thematter of friction is not taken into consideration, being, by ourarrangements, reduced to the minimum. Thus the pressure in the tunnelis always sufficient to move eight trains. If a train moves four milesin a minute, then the volume of air in the tunnel to be displaced isequivalent to the area multiplied by the length, which gives 2,600,000cubic feet; but, under a pressure of one pound, this volume becomes3,000,000. The pumps at each station are ten in number, each of thirtyfeet diameter by ten-foot stroke, with a volume for each of 7,060 cubicfeet. These pumps make thirty strokes per minute, which is equivalentto sixty single strokes. Thus the volume of air displaced by the pumpsis 7,060 x 60 x 10 = 4,236,000 cubic feet, an amount far in excess ofthat required."
"Then, judging from your remarks, there is practically no limit to thespeed which can be obtained by this method of propulsion?"
"On the contrary," Rawolle returned, "the limit is reached when thefriction on the runners generates such an amount of heat that theybegin to disintegrate. At three hundred miles per hour they becomevery hot. As it is, we have to use a very peculiar kind of alloy forrunners, and during all the time of running, keep a stream of oilflowing just in front of each runner."
"But," asked Cobb, "does not this oil congeal upon the rail in coldweather?"
"It does, most certainly; but there are little scrapers just in frontof each runner which cut away the congealed oil to the merest fractionof an inch from the rail. These cutters must, by the train runningbetween its upper and lower rails, always be just so far away, and nofarther, from the rails."
It seemed to Cobb that he could advance nothing but what this man hada ready explanation for its action or cause. It was, indeed, a mostmarvelous invention. Here he was traveling at the rate of two hundredand forty miles per hour, and scarcely felt the motion.
"Where is the electricity for these powerful engines generated?" heinquired.
"For the Central and Northern, as well as for the Pacific Pneumaticand Mountain lines, the dynamos are at the Shoshone Falls, in Idaho.These falls furnish an immense water-power, estimated at over 300,000horse-power. The current is delivered at the station in great cables ofpeculiar construction, and well insulated."
"Do you have any accidents on the roads? At such a rate of speed, anaccident would be fraught with frightful consequences," Cobb continued.
Rawolle smiled as he said:
"During your time, accidents were not uncommon--in fact, I might sayquite common, judging from the old chronicles; but we have never had anaccident yet upon any of our lines. There have been, of course, breaksand delays; but as each train is in communication with each other,and with each end, and with the chief of the exhausting department,everything is known at all times regarding the position of trains andtheir condition."
Striking a match, he continued:
"No train could run into the one ahead of it, for the reason that therewill always be a cushion of air between them; and further, were anyordinary number of runners to break at one time, the train would not beaffected by the loss."
"How wonderful, yet how simple!" exclaimed Cobb, lost in admiration."But I am at a loss to understand why the people of my time did notdiscover and put into operation the same project."
"Perhaps someone did discover the principle, but had not the means totest his theory," Rawolle returned.
"How long has this system been in operation?"
"About thirty years," he replied, after a moment's thought.
"Tell me one other thing," said Cobb; "has the pneumatic railroadsuperseded all other kinds?"
"Oh, no; by no means. There are railroads all over the UnitedStates, and very much the same style of your day, excepting thegreat improvements which have been made, and also the one other mostimportant fact, that all engines are run by electricity. The pneumaticlines are through lines only, and are for rapid transit between verydistant points, and only for passengers, mail, and express. All freightis sent by the other roads."
"Then, the towns, excepting the great centers, are connected byelectric railroads for inter-transportation?"
"Yes; the pneumatic is only an auxiliary to the rest of the roads--ameans only of overcoming great distances quickly."
"And what is considered good speed for the electric roads?"
"Seventy-five miles per hour for passenger trains, and fifty forfreights."
"Then, they must be very differently constructed from those of old,"exclaimed Cobb.
"They have very different roadbeds, and, of course, different engines.But enough for the present," looking at his watch. "It is 18 dial, andwe had better get into the sleeper and prepare for supper, for we arealmost at Salt Lake."
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