Track Bonding
The track rails are 33 feet long, of Standard American Society Civil Engineers' section, weighing 100 pounds a yard. As has been stated, one rail in each track is used for signal purposes and the other is utilized as a part of the negative return of the power system. Adjacent rails to be used for the latter purpose are bonded with two copper bonds having an aggregate section of 400,000 c. m. These bonds are firmly riveted into the web of the rail by screw bonding presses. They are covered by splice bars, designed to leave sufficient clearance for the bond.
The return rails are cross-sectioned at frequent intervals for the purpose of equalizing currents which traverse them.
Contact Rail Guard and Collector Shoe
The Interborough Company has provided a guard in the form of a plank 8-1/2 inches wide and 1-1/2 inches thick, which is supported in a horizontal position directly above the rail, as shown in the illustration onpage 113. This guard is carried by the contact rail to which it is secured by supports, the construction of which is sufficiently shown in the illustration. This type of guard has been in successful use upon the Wilkesbarre and Hazleton Railway for nearly two years. It practically eliminates the danger from the third rail, even should passengers leave the trains and walk through a section of the tunnel while the rails are charged.
Its adoption necessitates the use of a collecting shoe differing radically from that used upon the Manhattan division and upon the elevated railways employing the third rail system in Chicago, Boston, Brooklyn, and elsewhere. The shoe is shown in the photograph onpage 114. The shoe is held in contact with the third rail by gravity reinforced by pressure from two spiral springs. The support for the shoe includes provision for vertical adjustment to compensate for wear of car wheels, etc.
In determining the electrical equipment of the trains, the company has aimed to secure an organization of motors and control apparatus easily adequate to operate trains in both local and express service at the highest speeds compatible with safety to the traveling public. For each of the two classes of service the limiting safe speed is fixed by the distance between stations at which the trains stop, by curves, and by grades. Except in a few places, for example where the East Side branch passes under the Harlem River, the tracks are so nearly level that the consideration of grade does not materially affect determination of the limiting speed. While the majority of the curves are of large radius, the safe limiting speed, particularly for the express service, is necessarily considerably less than it would be on straight tracks.
The average speed of express trains between City Hall and 145th Street on the West Side will approximate 25 miles an hour, including stops. The maximum speed of trains will be 45 miles per hour. The average speed of local and express trains will exceed the speed made by the trains on any elevated railroad.
To attain these speeds without exceeding maximum safe limiting speeds between stops, the equipment provided will accelerate trains carrying maximum load at a rate of 1.25 miles per hour per second in starting from stations on level track. To obtain the same acceleration by locomotives, a draw-bar pull of 44,000 pounds would be necessary—a pull equivalent to the maximum effect of six steam locomotives such as were used recently upon the Manhattan Elevated Railway in New York, and equivalent to the pull which can be exerted by two passenger locomotives of the latest Pennsylvania Railroad type. Two of these latter would weigh about 250 net tons. By the use of the multiple unit system of electrical control, equivalent results in respect to rate of acceleration and speed are attained, the total addition to train weight aggregating but 55 net tons.
If the locomotive principle of train operation were adopted, therefore, it is obvious that it would be necessary to employ a lower rate of acceleration for express trains. This could be attained without very material sacrifice of average speed, since the average distance between express stations is nearly two miles. In the case of local trains, however, which average nearly three stops per mile, no considerable reduction in the acceleration is possible without a material reduction in average speed. The weight of a local train exceeds the weight of five trail cars, similarly loaded, by 33 net tons, and equivalent adhesion and acceleration would require locomotives having not less than 80 net tons effective upon drivers.
Switching
The multiple unit system adopted possesses material advantages over a locomotive system in respect to switching at terminals. Some of the express trains in rush hours will comprise eight cars, but at certain times during the day and night when the number of people requiring transportation is less than during the morning and evening, and were locomotives used an enormous amount of switching, coupling anduncoupling would be involved by the comparative frequent changes of train lengths. In an eight-car multiple-unit express train, the first, third, fifth, sixth, and eighth cars will be motor cars, while the second, fourth, and seventh will be trail cars. An eight-car train can be reduced, therefore, to a six-car train by uncoupling two cars from either end, to a five-car train by uncoupling three cars from the rear end, or to a three-car train by uncoupling five cars from either end. In each case a motor car will remain at each end of the reduced train. In like manner, a five-car local train may be reduced to three cars, still leaving a motor car at each end by uncoupling two cars from either end, since in the normal five-car local train the first, third, and fifth cars will be motor cars.
200 H. P. RAILWAY MOTOR200 H. P. RAILWAY MOTOR
Motors
The motors are of the direct current series type and are rated 200 horse power each. They have been especially designed for the subway service in line with specifications prepared by engineers of the Interborough Company, and will operate at an average effective potential of 570 volts. They are supplied by two manufacturers and differ in respect to important features of design and construction, but both are believed to be thoroughly adequate for the intended service.
200 H. P. RAILWAY MOTOR200 H. P. RAILWAY MOTOR
The photographs on thispageillustrate motors of each make. The weight of one make complete, with gear and gear case, is 5,900 pounds. The corresponding weight of the other is 5,750 pounds. The ratio of gear reduction used with one motor is 19 to 63, and with the other motor 20 to 63.
200 H. P. RAILWAY MOTOR200 H. P. RAILWAY MOTOR
Motor Control
By the system of motor control adopted for the trains, the power delivered to the various motors throughout the train is simultaneously controlled and regulated by the motorman at the head of the train. This is accomplished by means of a system of electric circuits comprising essentially a small drum controller and anorganization of actuating circuits conveying small currents which energize electric magnets placed beneath the cars, and so open and close the main power circuits which supply energy to the motors. A controller is mounted upon the platform at each end of each motor car, and the entire train may be operated from any one of the points, the motorman normally taking his post on the front platform of the first car. The switches which open and close the power circuits through motors and rheostats are called contactors, each comprising a magnetic blow-out switch and the electro magnet which controls the movements of the switch. By these contactors the usual series-multiple control of direct-current motors is effected. The primary or control circuits regulate the movement, not only of the contactors but also of the reverser, by means of which the direction of the current supplied to motors may be reversed at the will of the motorman.
APPARATUS UNDER COMPOSITE MOTOR CARAPPARATUS UNDER COMPOSITE MOTOR CAR
The photograph on thispageshows the complete control wiring and motor equipment of a motor car as seen beneath the car. In wiring the cars unusual precautions have been adopted to guard against risk of fire. As elsewhere described in this publication, the floors of all motor cars are protected by sheet steel and a material composed of asbestos and silicate of soda, which possesses great heat-resisting properties. In addition to this, all of the important power wires beneath the car are placed in conduits of fireproof material, of which asbestos is the principal constituent. Furthermore, the vulcanized rubber insulation of the wires themselves is covered with a special braid of asbestos, and in order to diminish the amount of combustible insulating material, the highest grade of vulcanized rubber has been used, and the thickness of the insulation correspondingly reduced. It is confidently believed that the woodwork of the car body proper cannot be seriously endangered by an accident to the electric apparatus beneath the car. Insulation is necessarily combustible, and in burning evolves much smoke; occasional accidents to the apparatus, notwithstanding every possible precaution, will sometimes happen; and in the subway the flash even of an absolutely insignificant fuse may be clearly visible and cause alarm. The public traveling in the subway should remember that even very severe short-circuits and extremely bright flashes beneath the car involve absolutely no danger to passengers who remain inside the car.
The photograph onpage 120illustrates the control wiring of the new steel motorcars. The method of assembling the apparatus differs materially from that adopted in wiring the outfit of cars first ordered, and, as the result of greater compactness which has been attained, the aggregate length of the wiring has been reduced one-third.
The quality and thickness of the insulation is the same as in the case of the earlier cars, but the use ofasbestos conduits is abandoned and iron pipe substituted. In every respect it is believed that the design and workmanship employed in mounting and wiring the motors and control equipments under these steel cars is unequaled elsewhere in similar work up to the present time.
APPARATUS UNDER STEEL MOTOR CARAPPARATUS UNDER STEEL MOTOR CAR
The motors and car wiring are protected by a carefully planned system of fuses, the function of which is to melt and open the circuits, so cutting off power in case of failure of insulation.
Express trains and local trains alike are provided with a bus line, which interconnects the electrical supply to all cars and prevents interruption of the delivery of current to motors in case the collector shoes attached to any given car should momentarily fail to make contact with the third rail. At certain cross-overs this operates to prevent extinguishing the lamps in successive cars as the train passes from one track to another. The controller is so constructed that when the train is in motion the motorman is compelled to keep his hand upon it, otherwise the power is automatically cut off and the brakes are applied. This important safety device, which, in case a motorman be suddenly incapacitated at his post, will promptly stop the train, is a recent invention and is first introduced in practical service upon trains of the Interborough Company.
Heating and Lighting
All cars are heated and lighted by electricity. The heaters are placed beneath the seats, and special precautions have been taken to insure uniform distribution of the heat. The wiring for heaters and lights has been practically safe-guarded to avoid, so far as possible, all risk of short-circuit or fire, the wire used for the heater circuits being carried upon porcelain insulators from all woodwork by large clearances, while the wiring for lights is carried in metallic conduit. All lamp sockets are specially designed to prevent possibility of fire and are separated from the woodwork of the car by air spaces and by asbestos.
(FIRE ALARM)(FIRE ALARM)
The interior of each car is lighted by twenty-six 10-candle power lamps, in addition to four lamps provided for platforms and markers. The lamps for lighting the interior are carefully located, with a view to securing uniform and effective illumination.
In the initial preparation of plans, and more than a year before the accident which occurred in the subway system of Paris in August, 1903, the engineers of the Interborough Company realized the importance of maintaining lights in the subway independent of any temporary interruption of the power used for lighting the cars, and, in preparing their plans, they provided for lighting the subway throughout its length from a source independent of the main power supply. For this purpose three 1,250-kilowatt alternators direct-driven by steam turbines are installed in the power house, from which point a system of primary cables, transformers and secondary conductors convey current to the incandescent lamps used solely to light the subway. The alternators are of the three-phase type, making 1,200 revolutions per minute and delivering current at a frequency of 60 cycles per second at a potential of 11,000 volts. In the boiler plant and system of steam piping installed in connection with these turbine-driven units, provision is made for separation of the steam supply from the general supply for the 5,000 kilowatt units and for furnishing the steam for the turbine units through either of two alternative lines of pipe.
The 11,000 volt primary current is conveyed through paper insulated lead-sheathed cables to transformers, located in fireproof compartments adjacent to the platforms of the passenger stations. These transformers deliver current to two separate systems of secondary wiring, one of which is supplied at a potential of 120 volts and the other at 600 volts.
The general lighting of the passenger station platforms is effected by incandescent lamps supplied from the 120-volt secondary wiring circuits, while the lighting of the subway sections between adjacent stations is accomplished by incandescent lamps connected in series groups of five each and connected to the 600-volt lighting circuits. Recognizing the fact that in view of the precautions taken it is probable that interruptions of the alternating current lighting service will be infrequent, the possibility of such interruption is nevertheless provided for by installing upon the stairways leading to passenger station platforms, at the ticket booths and over the tracks in front of the platforms, a number of lamps which are connected to the contact rail circuit. This will provide light sufficient to enable passengers to see stairways and the edges of the station platforms in case of temporary failure of the general lighting system.
The general illumination of the passenger stations is effected by means of 32 c. p. incandescent lamps, placed in recessed domes in the ceiling. These are reinforced by 14 c. p. and 32 c. p. lamps, carried by brackets of ornate design where the construction of the station does not conveniently permit the use of ceiling lights. The lamps are enclosed in sand-blasted glass globes, and excellent distribution is secured by the use of reflectors.
The illustration onpage 122is produced from a photograph of the interior of one of the transformer cupboards and shows the transformer in place with the end bell of the high potential cable and the primaryswitchboard containing switches and enclosed fuses. The illustration onpage 123shows one of the secondary distributing switchboards which are located immediately behind the ticket booths, where they are under the control of the ticket seller.
TRANSFORMER COMPARTMENT IN PASSENGER STATIONTRANSFORMER COMPARTMENT IN PASSENGER STATION
In lighting the subway between passenger stations, it is desirable, on the one hand, to provide sufficient light for track inspection and to permit employees passing along the subway to see their way clearly and avoid obstructions; but, on the other hand, the lighting must not be so brilliant as to interfere with easy sight and recognition of the red, yellow, and green signal lamps of the block signal system. It is necessary also that the lights for general illumination be so placed that their rays shall not fall directly upon the eyes of approaching motormen at the head of trains nor annoy passengers who may be reading their papers inside the cars. The conditions imposed by these considerations are met in the four-track sections of the subway by placing a row of incandescent lamps between the north-bound local and express tracks and a similar row between the southbound local and express tracks. The lamps are carried upon brackets supported upon the iron columns of the subway structure, successive lamps in each row being 60 feet apart. They are located a few inches above the tops of the car windows and with reference to the direction of approaching trains the lamps in each row are carried upon the far side of the iron columns, by which expedient the eyes of the approaching motormen are sufficiently protected against their direct rays.
Lighting of the Power House
For the general illumination of the engine room, clusters of Nernst lamps are supported from the roof trusses and a rowof single lamps of the same type is carried on the lower gallery about 25 feet from the floor. This is the first power house in America to be illuminated by these lamps. The quality of the light is unsurpassed and the general effect of the illumination most satisfactory and agreeable to the eye. In addition to the Nernst lamps, 16 c. p. incandescent lamps are placed upon the engines and along the galleries in places not conveniently reached by the general illumination. The basement also is lighted by incandescent lamps.
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTING SWITCHBOARD AT PASSENGER STATIONSECONDARY DISTRIBUTING SWITCHBOARD AT PASSENGER STATION
For the boiler room, a row of Nernst lamps in front of the batteries of boilers is provided, and, in addition to these, incandescent lamps are used in the passageways around the boilers, at gauges and at water columns. The basement of the boiler room, the pump room, the economizer floor, coal bunkers, and coal conveyers are lighted by incandescent lamps, while arc lamps are used around the coal tower and dock. The lights on the engines and those at gauge glasses and water columns and at the pumps are supplied by direct current from the 250-volt circuits. All other incandescent lamps and the Nernst lamps are supplied through transformers from the 60-cycle lighting system.
Emergency Signal System and Provision for Cutting Off Power from Contact Rail
In the booth of each ticket seller and at every manhole along the west side of the subway and its branches is placed a glass-covered box of the kind generally used in large American cities for fire alarm purposes. In case of accident in the subway which may render it desirable to cut off power from the contact rails, this result can be accomplished by breaking the glass front of the emergency box and pulling the hook provided. Special emergency circuits are so arranged that pulling the hook will instantly open all thecircuit-breakers at adjacent sub-stations through which the contact rails in the section affected receive their supply of power. It will also instantly report the location of the trouble, annunciator gongs being located in the sub-stations from which power is supplied to the section, in the train dispatchers' offices and in the office of the General Superintendent, instantly intimating the number of the box which has been pulled. Automatic recording devices in train dispatchers' offices and in the office of the General Superintendent also note the number of the box pulled.
The photograph onpage 120shows a typical fire alarm box.
The determination of the builders of the road to improve upon the best devices known in electrical railroading and to provide an equipment unequaled on any interurban line is nowhere better illustrated than in the careful study given to the types of cars and trucks used on other lines before a selection was made of those to be employed on the subway.
All of the existing rapid transit railways in this country, and many of those abroad, were visited and the different patterns of cars in use were considered in this investigation, which included a study of the relative advantages of long and short cars, single and multiple side entrance cars and end entrance cars, and all of the other varieties which have been adopted for rapid transit service abroad and at home.
The service requirement of the New York subway introduces a number of unprecedented conditions, and required a complete redesign of all the existing models. The general considerations to be met included the following:
High schedule speeds with frequent stops.
Maximum carrying capacity for the subway, especially at times of rush hours, morning and evening.
Maximum strength combined with smallest permissible weight.
Adoption of all precautions calculated to reduce possibility of damage from either the electric circuit or from collisions.
The clearance and length of the local station platforms limited the length of trains, and tunnel clearances the length and width and height of the cars.
The speeds called for by the contract with the city introduced motive power requirements which were unprecedented in any existing railway service, either steam or electric, and demanded a minimum weight consistent with safety. As an example, it may be stated that an express train of eight cars in the subway to conform to the schedule speed adopted will require a nominal power of motors on the train of 2,000 horse power, with an average accelerating current at 600 volts in starting from a station stop of 325 amperes. This rate of energy absorption which corresponds to 2,500 horse power is not far from double that taken by the heaviest trains on trunk line railroads when starting from stations at the maximum rate of acceleration possible with the most powerful modern steam locomotives.
Such exacting schedule conditions as those mentioned necessitated the design of cars, trucks, etc., of equivalent strength to that found in steam railroad car and locomotive construction, so that while it was essential to keep down the weight of the train and individual cars to a minimum, owing to the frequent stops, it was equally as essential to provide the strongest and most substantial type of car construction throughout.
Owing to these two essentials which were embodied in their construction it can safely be asserted that the cars used in the subway represent the acme of car building art as it exists to-day, and that all available appliances for securing strength and durability in the cars and immunity from accidents have been introduced.
After having ascertained the general type of cars which would be best adapted to the subway service, and before placing the order for car equipments, it was decided to build sample cars embodying the approved principles of design. From these the management believed that the details of construction could be more perfectly determined than in any other way. Consequently, in the early part of 1902, two sample cars were built and equipped with a variety of appliances and furnishings so that the final type could be intelligently selected. From the tests conducted on these cars the adopted type of car which is described in detail below was evolved.
After the design had been worked out a great deal of difficulty was encountered in securing satisfactory contracts for proper deliveries, on account of the congested condition of the car building works in the country. Contracts were finally closed, however, in December, 1902, for 500 cars, and orders were distributed between four car-building firms. Of these cars, some 200, as fast as delivered, were placed in operation on the Second Avenue line of the Elevated Railway, in order that they might be thoroughly tested during the winter of 1903-4.
END VIEW OF STEEL PASSENGER CAREND VIEW OF STEEL PASSENGER CAR
In view of the peculiar traffic conditions existing in New York City and the restricted siding and yard room available in the subway, it was decided that one standard type of car for all classes of service would introduce the most flexible operating conditions, and for this reason would best suit the public demands at different seasons of the year and hours of the day. In order further to provide cars, each of which would be as safe as the others, it was essential that there should be no difference in constructional strength between the motor cars and the trail cars. All cars were therefore made of one type and can be used interchangeably for either motor or trail-car service.
The motor cars carry both motors on the same truck; that is, they have amotor truck at one end carrying two motors, one geared to each axle; the truck at the other end of the car is a "trailer" and carries no motive power.
SIDE VIEW OF STEEL PASSENGER CARSIDE VIEW OF STEEL PASSENGER CAR
Some leading distinctive features of the cars may be enumerated as follows:
(1.) The length is 51 feet and provides seating capacity for 52 passengers. This length is about 4 feet more than those of the existing Manhattan Elevated Railroad cars.(2.) The enclosed vestibule platforms with sliding doors instead of the usual gates. The enclosed platforms will contribute greatly to the comfort and safety of passengers under subway conditions.(3.) The anti-telescoping car bulkheads and platform posts. This construction is similar to that in use on Pullman cars, and has been demonstrated in steam railroad service to be an important safety appliance.(4.) The steel underframing of the car, which provides a rigid and durable bed structure for transmitting the heavy motive power stresses.(5.) The numerous protective devices against defects in the electrical apparatus.(6.) Window arrangement, permitting circulation without draughts.(7.) Emergency brake valve on truck operated by track trip.(8.) Emergency brake valve in connection with master-controller.
(1.) The length is 51 feet and provides seating capacity for 52 passengers. This length is about 4 feet more than those of the existing Manhattan Elevated Railroad cars.
(2.) The enclosed vestibule platforms with sliding doors instead of the usual gates. The enclosed platforms will contribute greatly to the comfort and safety of passengers under subway conditions.
(3.) The anti-telescoping car bulkheads and platform posts. This construction is similar to that in use on Pullman cars, and has been demonstrated in steam railroad service to be an important safety appliance.
(4.) The steel underframing of the car, which provides a rigid and durable bed structure for transmitting the heavy motive power stresses.
(5.) The numerous protective devices against defects in the electrical apparatus.
(6.) Window arrangement, permitting circulation without draughts.
(7.) Emergency brake valve on truck operated by track trip.
(8.) Emergency brake valve in connection with master-controller.
The table onpage 133shows the main dimensions of the car, and also the corresponding dimensions of the standard car in use on the Manhattan Elevated Railway.
The general arrangement of the floor framing is well shown in the photograph onpage 132. The side sills are of 6-inch channels, which are reinforced inside and out by white oak timbers. The center sills are 5-inch I-beams, faced on both sides with Southern pine. The end sills are also of steel shapes, securely attached to the side sills by steel castings and forgings. The car body end-sill channel is faced with a white-oak filler, mortised to receive the car body end-posts and braced at each end by gusset plates. The body bolster is made up of two rolled steel plates bolted together at their ends and supported by a steel draw casting, the ends of which form a support for the center sills. The cross-bridging and needle-beams of 5-inch I-beams are unusually substantial. The flooring inside the car is double and of maple, with asbestos fire-felt between the layers, and is protected below by steel plates and "transite" (asbestos board).
The side framing of the car is of white ash, doubly braced and heavily trussed. There are seven composite wrought-iron carlines forged in shape for the roof, each sandwiched between two white ash carlines, and with white ash intermediate carlines. The platform posts are of compound construction withanti-telescoping posts of steel bar sandwiched between white ash posts at corners and centers of vestibuled platforms. These posts are securely bolted to the steel longitudinal sills, the steel anti-telescoping plate below the floor, and to the hood of the bow which serves to reinforce it. This bow is a heavy steel angle in one piece, reaching from plate to plate and extending back into the car 6 feet on each side. By this construction it is believed that the car framing is practically indestructible. In case of accident, if one platform should ride over another, eight square inches of metal would have to be sheared off the posts before the main body of the car would be reached, which would afford an effective means of protection.
EXTERIOR VIEW—STEEL CAR FRAMINGEXTERIOR VIEW—STEEL CAR FRAMING
The floor is completely covered on the underside with 1/4-inch asbestos transite board, while all parts of the car framing, flooring, and sheathing are covered with fire-proofing compound. In addition, all spaces above the motor truck in the floor framing, between sills and bridging, are protected by plates of No. 8 steel and 1/4-inch roll fire-felt extending from the platform end sill to the bolster.
Car Wiring
The precautions to secure safety from fire consists generally in the perfected arrangement and installation of the electrical apparatus and the wiring. For the lighting circuits a flexible steel conduit is used, and a special junction box. On the side and upper roofs, over these conduits for the lighting circuits, a strip of sheet iron is securely nailed to the roof boards before the canvas is applied. The wires under the floor are carried in ducts moulded into suitable forms of asbestos compound. Special precautions have been taken with the insulation of the wires, the specifications calling for, first, a layer of paper, next, a layer of rubber, and then a layer of cotton saturated with a weather-proof compound, and outside of this a layer of asbestos. The hangers supporting the rheostats under the car body are insulated with wooden blocks, treated by a special process, being dried out in an oven and then soaked in an insulating compound, and covered with 1/4-inch "transite" board. The rheostat boxes themselves are also insulated from the angle iron supporting them. Where the wires pass through the flooring they are hermetically sealed to prevent the admission of dust and dirt.
At the forward end of what is known as the No. 1 end of the car all the wires are carried to a slate switchboard in the motorman's cab. This board is 44 x 27 inches, and is mounted directly back of the motorman. The window space occupied by this board is ceiled up and the space back of the panels is boxed in and provided with a door of steel plate, forming a box, the cover, top, bottom, and sides of which are lined with electrobestos 1/2-inch thick. All of the switches and fuses, except the main trolley fuse and bus-line fuse, which are encased and placed under the car, are carried on this switchboard. Where the wires are carried through the floor or any partition, a steel chute, lined with electrobestos, is used to protect the wires against mechanical injury. It will be noted from the above that no power wiring, switches, or fuses are placed in the car itself, all such devices being outside in a special steel insulated compartment.
A novel feature in the construction of these cars is the motorman's compartment and vestibule, which differs essentially from that used heretofore, and the patents are owned by the Interborough Company. The cab is located on the platform, so that no space within the car is required; at the same time the entire platform space is available for ingress and egress except that on the front platform of the first car, on which the passengers would not be allowed in any case. The side of the cab is formed by a door which can be placed in three positions. When in its mid-position it encloses a part of the platform, so as to furnish a cab for the motorman, but when swung parallel to the end sills it encloses the end of the platform, and this would be its position on the rear platform of the rear car. The third position is when it is swung around to an arc of 180 degrees, when it can be locked in position against the corner vestibule post enclosing the master controller. This would be its position on all platforms except on the front of the front car or the rear of the rear car of the train.
The platforms themselves are not equipped with side gates, but with doors arranged to slide into pockets in the side framing, thereby giving up the entire platform to the passengers. These doors are closed by an overhead lever system. The sliding door on the front platform of the first car may be partly opened and secured in this position by a bar, and thus serve as an arm-rest for the motorman. The doors close against an air-cushion stop, making it impossible to clutch the clothing or limbs of passengers in closing.
INTERIOR VIEW—SKELETON FRAMING OF STEEL CARINTERIOR VIEW—SKELETON FRAMING OF STEEL CAR
Pantagraph safety gates for coupling between cars are provided. They are constructed so as to adjust themselves to suit the various positions of adjoining cars while passing in, around, and out of curves of 90 feet radius.
On the door leading from the vestibule to the body of the car is a curtain that can be automatically raised and lowered as the door is opened or closed to shut the light away from the motorman. Another attachment is the peculiar handle on the sliding door. This door is made to latch so that it cannot slide open with the swaying of the car, but the handle is so constructed that when pressure is applied upon it to open the door, the same movement will unlatch it.
Entering the car, the observer is at once impressed by the amount of room available for passengers. The seating arrangements are similar to the elevated cars, but the subway coaches are longer and wider than the Manhattan, and there are two additional seats on each end. The seats are all finished in rattan. Stationary crosswise seats are provided after the Manhattan pattern, at the center of the car. The longitudinal seats are 17-3/4 inches deep. The space between the longitudinal seats is 4 feet 5 inches.
The windows have two sashes, the lower one being stationary, while the upper one is a drop sash. This arrangement reverses the ordinary practice, and is desirable in subway operation and to insure safety and comfort to the passengers. The side windows in the body of the car, also the end windows and end doors, are provided with roll shades with pinch-handle fixtures.
INTERIOR VIEW OF PROTECTED WOODEN CARINTERIOR VIEW OF PROTECTED WOODEN CAR
The floors are covered with hard maple strips, securely fastened to the floor with ovalhead brass screws, thus providing a clean, dry floor for all conditions of weather.
Six single incandescent lamps are placed on the upper deck ceiling, and a row of ten on each side deck ceiling is provided. There are two lamps placed in a white porcelain dome over each platform, and the pressure gauge is also provided with a miniature lamp.
EXTERIOR VIEW—PROTECTED WOODEN CAR, SHOWING COPPER SIDESEXTERIOR VIEW—PROTECTED WOODEN CAR, SHOWING COPPER SIDES
The head linings are of composite board. The interior finish is of mahogany of light color. A mahogany handrail extends the full length of the clerestory on each side of the car, supported in brass sockets at the ends and by heavy brass brackets on each side. The handrail on each side of the car carries thirty-eight leather straps.
Each ventilator sash is secured on the inside to a brass operating arm, manipulated by means of rods running along each side of the clerestory, and each rod is operated by means of a brass lever, having a fulcrum secured to the inside of the clerestory.
All hardware is of bronze, of best quality and heavy pattern, including locks, pulls, handles, sash fittings, window guards, railing brackets and sockets, bell cord thimbles, chafing strips, hinges, and all other trimmings. The upright panels between the windows and the corner of the car are of plain mahogany, as are also the single post pilasters, all of which are decorated with marquetry inlaid. The end finish is of mahogany, forming a casing for the end door.
FRAMING OF PROTECTED WOODEN CARFRAMING OF PROTECTED WOODEN CAR
Steel Cars
At the time of placing the first contract for the rolling stock of the subway, the question of using an all-steel car was carefully considered by the management. Such a type of car, in many respects, presented desirable features for subway work as representing the ultimate of absolute incombustibility. Certainpractical reasons, however, prevented the adoption of an all-steel car in the spring of 1902 when it became necessary to place the orders mentioned above for the first 500 cars. Principal among these reasons was the fact that no cars of this kind had ever been constructed, and as the car building works of the country were in a very congested condition all of the larger companies declined to consider any standard specifications even for a short-time delivery, while for cars involving the extensive use of metal the question was impossible of immediate solution. Again, there were a number of very serious mechanical difficulties to be studied and overcome in the construction of such a car, such as avoidance of excessive weight, a serious element in a rapid transit service, insulation from the extremes of heat and cold, and the prevention of undue noise in operation. It was decided, therefore, to bend all energies to the production of a wooden car with sufficient metal for strength and protection from accident, i. e., a stronger, safer, and better constructed car than had heretofore been put in use on any electric railway in the world. These properties it is believed are embodied in the car which has just been described.
METAL UNDERFRAME OF PROTECTED WOODEN CARMETAL UNDERFRAME OF PROTECTED WOODEN CAR
The plan of an all-metal car, however, was not abandoned, and although none was in use in passenger service anywhere, steps were immediately taken to design a car of this type and conduct the necessary tests to determine whether it would be suitable for railway service. None of the car-building companies was willing to undertake the work, but the courteous coöperation of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company was secured in placing its manufacturing facilities at Altoona at the disposal of the Interborough Rapid Transit Railway Company. Plans were prepared for an all-metal car, and after about fourteen months of work a sample type was completed in December, 1903, which was in every way creditable as a first attempt.
The sample car naturally embodied some faults which only experience could correct, the principal one being that the car was not only too heavy for use on the elevated lines of the company, but attained an undesirable weight for subway operation. From this original design, however, a second design involving very original features has been worked out, and a contract has been given by the Interborough Company for 200 all-steel cars, which are now being constructed. While the expense of producing this new type of car has obviously been great, this consideration has not influenced the management of the company in developing an equipment which promised the maximum of operating safety.
END VIEW OF MOTOR TRUCKEND VIEW OF MOTOR TRUCK