THE VERY LATEST YANKEE NOTION.

Southland Times, Issue 1262, 7 June 1870, Page 3

THE VERY LATEST YANKEE NOTION.

An extraordinary project is now before the American public, namely, one for performing the distance between San Francisco and New York, by rail, in 60 hours. The following extract is from the Potfcsville (Pennsylvania) Miners 1 Journal : — We were shown, yesterday, the model of a new railroad and machinery, invented by ii. A. "Wilder, for which he has made application for a patent, by which the trip can be made from New York to San Francisco in 60 hours, including moderate stoppages at the principal points, with much more safety than on the present road. There will be four rails laid down instead of two, for a single track, and will be laid in such a manner that the road can be used in various ways. We are not at liberty at present to give the full partieu- • lars, but this much we can say, that the ! passenger and freight cars can be built 17 feet wide— that they can be run at the ' rate of 60 miles an hour, with doable, if not treble, the safety of running over the present road at 40 milea an hour. That a double engine of 60 tons will take 1000 passengers in a single train, with less wear and tear to the roadway than is now caused by a35 ton engine. The expenses of building such a road will be about 8000dol8. a mile more than building one of the present single-track roads, which, for 3000 miles, from New York to San Francisco, would involve an extra expense amounting to only $24,000,000. A single passenger, merchandize, or baggage car, capable of carrying double the number of passengers, and double the quantity of merchandise, will weigh at least five tons less than any two of the cars now in use. The capacity of the road, single-track, will be nearly, if not quite, three times as great as that of the present single lines. There will be no oscillating movement in the cars when running at a high rate of speed, and it is almost impossible for a car to be overturned in case of an accident. On such a road with passenger cars 17 feet wide, they can be fitted up with staterooms, &c., and with nearly all the comforts that can be obtained in a first-class hotel. Should tbe project also be carried out of extending a railroad from New York to the most remote point in Newfoundland, and establish a line of steamers to cross the ocean in three days from that point, which can be done, as the distance is only 1200 miles, the distance from Liverpool to New York can be made in six days ; and adding two and a half more days to San Francisco, the whole route can be travelled in about nine days, a distance of upwards of 6000 miles. Is not this a wonderful age ?