OVERSEAS TRAMWAYS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 201, 20 May 1920, Page 5

OVERSEAS TRAMWAYS

MR. MORTON'S TOUR ABROAD

SAFETY ZONES

THE BEST TYPES OF CAR

As tramways manager, Mr. W. H. Morton was naturally very much interested in the tramway systems of every city he visited in America and the United Kingdom last year. On this subject he slates in his report:— "Street or surface tramways are gencrall. of very much the same- character throughout America. I found the paving of the tracks invariably bad, and in one cilv saw the bottom flanges of the rails exposed to view in the streets. It appeared as if the tracks were being badly neglected, which was evidently duo 'to the financial condition which the greater number of the undertakings are now in It was found that the former universal faro of five cents has been greatly increased almost everywhere. Man.- of the tramway undertakings are in tho hands of receivers. As,much as a ten cent, universal fare is being charge! in Boston. Many systems are charging seven cents in lieu of; the five cents which was generally charged in Canada and U.S.A. beforo. the war. Types of Car. "The eaTs invariably aro long box single-deck cars capable of seating about fortv-fivo people. Tho gauge is usually 4ft "B£in., and this allows of good roomy cars in which four people can sit transversely There is invariably a passageway down the centre of the cars, and with tho universal fare the general practice is the pays or ' pay « B y°" enter" system. This, of course could only b.; done where tho universal tare is charged. It would be impossible to have such a system where sectional fares aro adopted . , "There is a demand for the sectional, or what is called in America, the zonal system. It has been clearly proved that where a universal faro is charged there is a limit, approximating five or six cents, beyond which the volume ot short-haul passenger traffic will, fall away, o- cease to exist. It is also clear that the greater portion of the profits of a tramway undertaking are made from the short-haul passengers or thoso who travel a few blocks for business or other purposes. , "Generally speaking the service ot street cars, with -the exception of Now York, was brisk and well carried out. In Nor York, owing to the cross trafflo which intersects the . lines running parallel with the larger axis of Alanhattan Island necessitabng many stopprogress of the surface cars is extremely slow. The cars on this svsten. have been constructed with low centre entrances. They are unattractin in appearance, but easy ]to board «nd alight from, and are. ** W™n. ised, but it was easily seen that the grTat bulk of the traffic which mi lengthwise ,to Manhattan Island was best catered for by tno underground and elevated railways.

"Tubes" and "Elevateds." "The underground and elevated lines were found much speedier and much more effective in dealing with tho requirements of the travelling public than tho surface caTs. the latter being suitable, under the exceptional circumstances only for travelling short distances Manhattan Island is long and ' narrow, with the business district in the lower parts of the city and the princ - pal residential quarter m the upper part. ThiHreents a difficult transportation problem. Morning and evening he crowd travels north and south, and the urface and elevated lines wore formerly nnmwwted The solution of the pronlem Appears to have been found in the Sof the underground rapid transit systems. Plans for the first unKKad -re adopted in 1899, and the contract was let.for ine citv paid this sum for the construction, and leased the road to the contractor for Bfty years, under an arrangement by which at the expiration of that tune the citTwill have received back the, money naid for the Toad, and may then take over the equipment at a price fixed by arb tration. The subway in section, being 25 feet wide for the tworack sections, 50 feet wide for the fourack soctons and 13 feet high through; out » has a- concrete bed and steel frame construction. Throughout most of the length the road was exoava ed from the surface. A trench wai dug. the bottom lined with concrete flooring and then a rectangular framework of s eel beams was erected, with concrete walls and roof, the outside being waterproofed with asphalt The suWay J thus for the most part a covered trench with the roof near the surface. In one section, under Broadway, it is lighted by skylights in tho centre of the street The longest section of tunnelling is two miles She greatest depth 110 feet urn dcrground. The tracks are earr ed under the Harlom River in two steel cylinder tubes cased m concrete. The ho< tive power is electricity on the thirdrail system. The excavation of the twenty-one miles of subway called for tho removal of 3,212,000 cubic yards of material while the material used in tho Suction included 65,000 tons of steel, 8000 tons of cast-iron, and 551,000 cubio yards of concrete. An idea of how Now York has had to deal with its transit problem may be gained from the fact that in one particular place there are four transit systems interesting, but at different level* On the surface aro the street cars," one flight down a local underground system, two flights down the rapid transit system and threo flights down the Pennsylvania railroad tunnel. Four-Track Subways. "The elevated railway is conveniently placed, speedy and effective in carryin" on the transportation work in New York-, but from the city point of view it is not at all •attractive and considerably depreciates the value- of the property n the streets over whioh it lias been constructed. The subway appears, however, to bo practically the latest thin" ia underground tramway work, por "considerable distance tho tracks are four in number, two lines used for local purpose? and two for expresses, lhe Lns aro so arranged that at certain intervals the passenger can step out of the local train and board an express that will carry him. o Ws destination at a much more rapid rate than wheie the stops aro at overy station, Most means of access to the subway are by flights of steps leading from tho -footways but in some cases lifts and escalators are used as in London. Safety Zones. "A common practice noticeable in San Francisco. Detroit, and some other cities w« the marking .off of portions of ho roadway at certain tram-stops, inside which places passengers were required o s"nd; motor and other vehicles being required to pass outside such lines Crossing places were also marked .with white lines across the street at intervals Discs on cast iron standards were placed in position at certain intervals Fo mark parking places and also to prohibit parking of cars. "These discs were also used for tho probation of. the public in hm the hw» painted on the street surface. The standards were removed at dusk and placed on the footpaths to lie returned £ thei,position next day, as evidently thov were considered a source of danger during the night hours. Cable Tramways. "Ono could not help noticing tho many inclined cable tramways provided for passenger' traffic to. isolated hi Is. They wore to bo found in various cities of tho United States and were a recogn Led form of traction in that country. They wore also to bo seen in several cities of Canada. In San Francisco 2 street tramways worked similarly to to in Melbourne were stilt existent aTong some streets having, steep ™lienls, wliore ordinary electric traction could not bo provided. "Tinl nso of cable tramways, or what might perhaps be more correctly termed ffinw lift*, h very eomnuni in America, and many examples of this netfcod of transport were to be found. The most noticeable was at Los Angeles, were tno rise was over 1500 fee on a 62 per cent, gradient. Tins method of traction is most suitable for steep gradient leading to isolated hilly land.