Trans-Atlantic Scorchers.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 297, 23 December 1901, Page 4

Trans-Atlantic Scorchers.

LONDON TO NEW YORK UNDER FIVE DAYS.

From Berehaven to Narragansefct in ninety hours seems just, a, wee bit Utopian even in these days, but a brother of “ Boss ” Croker and cei - tain sanguine capitalists on the“o flier side ” have banded themselves together as the Ocean Rapid Transportation Company, with a view of achieving this. Their scheme includes many things, but the basis is the establishment of a fleet of six ll.ii'Ritonners, worked by turbine,' fueled with ballast tanks of oil. The distances to be covered include a promise

of London to New York under dl days, and other times (on paper) arcproportionate. For instance, the O. li.T. Company, Ltd., (limited as to capital but not as to faith), is gnlrg to ask our Loudon and Northwestern Railway Company to accelerate then Euston to Holyhead service by 2b hours ! In this case they are simple 11 talking through their hats,” for the 26-1-milc j ourney is already done in less than six' hours, and until an electric mono railroad lakes the place of the L. and N.W. railway system, and .100 miles an hour trains become the fashion, the reduction mentioned by the O.R.T. Company is beyond the pale of things practical. But the feasibility of London to New York in 4i days is not open to question, providing the turbine system will produce in ll.OOij-tonners Lie ordinary engine-driven ships as it has done with small craft. Dir Parsons lias given it as his opinion that ocean

liners like the Deutschland can be run commercially at 3(1 knots across the Atlantic with turbines, and as m small craft of the Viper type he has achieved’over 3fi knots, there seems no reason to be unduly doubtful of Lit attainment of the lesser speed vuii much larger ships. The Y’ankees are very confident that with turbines and crude Texas oil they can achieve 30 knots easily wi’h vessels of the Puetschlaud class, and they have set forih this nice little programme : The first line to he undertaken will lie a ninetyhour (3J days at sea) semi-wcel-.lv service from Narragansett Bay dnectly across the Atlantic to Caslle-towii-Berehaven, whereby, in coirir:tion with American and European railways and steamers mails and passengers are to he conveyed as foil iw.-o New York to London, -H days ; Xe.v York to Paris, 5 davs ; New York 1 o Berlin, of. davs ; from Boston, f hours less ; and mom Chicago two hours more.