The New York Rapid-transit Subway

Proceedings.] DISCUSSION ON NEW YORK SUBWAY. from the best firms in England they were told by those who Mr. Bury, tendered that it was necessary to discard the idea of side doors 1 was pointed out by the Company that end doois won not allo the people to get in and out as quickly, but that view was looked upon as old-fashioned. It was curious to find that in the United States they were coming back to side doors, and Mr. is, e Manager of the Metropolitan railway, who had had 2 years’ experience of electrified trains, had all but decided to go back to side doors. With regard to the interesting subject of steam versus electrici y, the Great Northern Railway Company would like to adopt electrical working, and were fully aware of the advantages of an electric train the train could be accelerated quickly, stopped quickly, time was saved by doing away with reversing at terminal stations, and more trains could be run per hour over a given pair of metals. It might there ore be asked: Why not electrify? The answer was, that there was no inducement commercially to do so. No more people-he said that without fear of contradiction—could be carried with electricity on a pair of rails than could be carried with steam ; it was not done any- where. People could not be carried at less cost—that also was no done anywhere. There was an enormous loss in scrapping every- thing, and capital had to be found for the electrification. There were several examples of steam railways converted into electric railways, and no one could say they were very encouraging in their results. There was a strong need in London for some large power-house which would do away with the necessity of each railway spending capital in building one. There was no possibility at present of taking electricity, as it were, on tap. It was, however, neither electricity nor the change from steam to electricity, that had caused the disappointing results. The whole of the London transport at the present day was being carried on at a loss. It was perhaps invidious to name companies, but what company was paying? The fares were much too low. The larger companies who had long-distance traffic and other traffic did not show in the half-yearly accounts the results of the suburban working, but men like Mr. Inglis and himself knew very well what they were. Some of the speakers seemed to think that twopence was the least fare charged, but that was a mistake. Millions o people were carried every year on the Great Northern for less than a 1d., more millions still were carried for less than 2d-, an conversion from steam to electricity would not help that one bit. The experience of the Metropolitan railway showed that the cost was a little more per train-mile with electricity than with steam. On p. 50 the Author had given the cost of working. In view of the possibility of electrification, the Great Northern Company had been