Report on Streamline, Light-Weight, High-Speed Passenger Trains

T F 570 .c. 7 I ~38 t!of • 3 REPORT ON STREAMLINE, LIGHT-WEIGHT, HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER TRAINS June 30, 1938 • DEC COVE RDALE & COL PITTS CONSULTING ENGINEERS 120 WALL STREE:T, N ltW YORK REPORT ON STREAMLINE, LIGHT-WEIGHT HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER TRAINS June 30. 1938 COVERDALE & COLPITTS " CONSUL..TING ENGINEERS 1a0 WALL STREET, NEW YORK INDEX PAOES J NTRODUC'r!ON • s-s PR£FATORY R£MARKS 9 uNION PAC! FIC . to-IJ Gen<ral statement City of Salina >ioRTH WESTERN-UNION PAcln c City of Portland City of Los Angd<S Cit)' of Denve'r NoRTH W£sTERN-l.:~<IOS P \ l"IIIC-Sm 1HrR" PACirJc . '9"'~1 Cit)' of San Francisco Forty Niner SouTHERN PAclnC. Sunbeam Darlight CHICAco, BuR~lNGTON & QuiN<'' General statement Origin:tl Zephyr Sam Houston Ourk State Mark Twain Twin Citi<S Zephyn Den\'tr Zephyrs CHICACO, ~ULWACK.EE, ST. l'AUL AND PACit' lt• Hiawatha CHICAOO AND NoRTH \Yss·rr;J<s . ,; -tOO" .•hCHISON, T orEKJ\ AND SAN'rA FE General statement Super Chief 1:.1 Capitan Son Diegon Chicagoan and Kansas Cityon Golden Gate 3 lJID£X- COIIIinutd PACES CmCAco, RocK IsLAND AND PACIFIC 46-50 General statement Chicago-Peoria Rocket Chicago-Des Moines Rocket Kansas City-Minneapolis Rocket Kansas City-Oklahoma City Rocket Fort Worth-Dallas-Houston Rocket lLuNOJS CENTRAL • Green Diamond GULF, MOBlL£ AI<D NORTHERN 53-55 Rebels New YoRK Cesr&AI•. Mercury Twentieth Century Limited, Commodore Vanderbilt PENNSYLVANiA . 57 Broadway Lirruted, Liberty Limited, General, Spirit of St. Louis BALTIMORE AND 0HJO • ss Royal Blue BALTIMORE AND OHIO-ALTO!\ • Abraham Lincoln Ann Rutledge READ!KC Crusader New YoRK, NEw HAvEN A~'l> HARTFORD Comet BosToN AND MAINE-MAt"£ CeNTRAL Flying Yankee CONCLUSION 68 REPORT ON STREA M LINE, LIGHT-WEIGHT, HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER TRA INS As of June 30, 1938 BY CovERDALE & COLPITTS INTRODUCTION N January 15, 1935, we made a the inauguration ofservice by the Zephyr O report on the performance of and a statement comparing the cost of the first Zephyr type, streamline, operation of the Zephyr with that of the stainless steel, light-weight, high-speed, trains it replaced. 3-car passenger train, built by the Ed On October 1, 1935, we made a further ward G. Budd Manufacturing Company report on the three high-speed trains for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy which had been placed in service earlier Railroad Company, and placed in service in that year between Chicago and the on that company's line between Kansas Twin Cities- the Twin Zephyrs of the City, Mo., Rnd Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., Burlington, the Hiawathas of the Chi on November 11, 1934· cago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific, In that report we drew attention to and the"4oo"oftheChicagoandNorth the marked decline in railroad passenger Western. The report outlined in general traffic in recent years and discussed the terms the factors which are responsible prospects for regaining" measure of that for the low stage of passenger traffic on traffic through the adoption of modern the railronds of the country and voiced light-weight high-speed equipment. We the vie\v that the marked and growing described the main features of the first popularity of the new high-speed trains Zephyr train, its new and unusual ap- gave promise of greatly increased pat poin tmen ts and the superior structura.l ron age following their more general adop characceristics resulting from the use of tion. The report included a brief descrip high tensile stainless steel and the shot- cion of the main characteristics of each of welding process. Various pertinent sub- the three fast trains in the Chicago-Twin jects were discussed in this report and, Cities service, with comparable state amongst other data, it included nn esti- ments of their respective revenues and mate of the increase in traffic of the expenses, and it indicated also in general Kansas City-Omaha-Lincoln line since terms the sources of the increased traffic. 5 6 STREAMLI'\f'~ LIGHT-WEJGHT, HI Gil-SPEED P:\SSEXG"-R TR \1~5 In the past twency years the travel tapped is twency rimes larger than that habits of the people of the United Smtes which now Rows toward the railroads, have expanded enormously. The remark and the diversion of a portion of the auto able growth in private automobile own mobile travel, however small in relation ership has been almost wholly responsible to the total volume, is prospectively of for this greatly increased urge to travel. gre.u importance in augmenting railroad This new vehicle and, to a much lesser revenues. And, to whatever extent auto degree, the common carrier bus have now mobile travel is diverted to the railroads, created an immense stream of highway it wiU have the desirable effect of reduc passenger trallic "hich, in the course of ing highway congestion and, instead of its expansion, has ahsorbed about two generating resistance, will meet "~th thirds of the movement that formerly was favor on every hand. attached to the rails. It is in this new Railroad officials for many years have reservoir of highway travel, vast and con given intensive sntdy to this subject of tinuing to expand, and susceptible in part the most practicable means for recover of being restored to the railroads, that ing passenger trallic, and have been the hopes of railroad managernen ts lie keenly alive to the fact that, to the ex for regaining the patronage the roads tent this purpose could be accomplished once enjoyed. through the medium of the equjpment, It is necessary to point out that the a vehicle must be presented to the public situation in respect of the possibilities that would possess qualities of safety, for retrieving passenger traffic is radical!y speed, comfort and economy not possible different from that pertaining to freight in highway vehicles. trallic. Only to a very limited extent It would appear that the solution of can the railroads as a whole increase the the problem has been found in the stream freight trallic of the country. They now line train. move a very large percen cage of the total Perhaps no other important new de tonnage available for movement and the velopmen t in transporta rion has pro volume is dependent upon general busi ceeded with greater rapidity than has ness conditions and other factors entirely the streamline train-not even the auto beyond the scope of railroad activicy. It mobile or the airplane. It was only a few is rrue that one line, by more aggressive years ago that the Diesel-electric loco solicitation or improved service, may motive was made available for high-speed seize the freight traffic of another line, trains and that the materials suitable for or another transportation agency, but it light-weight train construction, such as does so against strong!~· organized and aluminum alloy and high tensile stainless constant resistance, and the total volume steel, could be obtained at prices within is not thereby increased. reach for large structures. Since then a On the other hand, the reservoir of whole new philosophy of lighr,.weight highway passenger traffic waiting to be car design and construction technic, of STREAMLI:-:F, LIGIIT-WF.IGHT, HIGH..SPEED PASSE.'<GER TRAI:-;"S 7 deconuion and comfort-affording facil ~ew York, New Haven and Hartford, ities, has had to be formulated. Consid the Roya.l Blue, Abraham Lincoln and ering the consequences of accident at Ann Rutledge of the Baltimore and Ohio high speed, strength factors could not Alton, the Green Diamond of the Illinois. be sacrificed to light weight, so that de Central, the Mercury of the New York signs along entirely new lines had to Central, the Rebels of the Gulf, Mobile be perfected to withstand the rigorous and Northern, and more recently by the :tlresses to which the new trains arc su~ Crusoder of the R=ding, has c:ontrib jected. uted greatly tow:trd popul:trizing tnlvel The leaders in this new fic:ld of light in high-speed streamline trains. weight streamline train construction The fine new light-weight streamline have been the Pullman-Standard Cnr trains, tl1e Twentieth Century Limited Manufacturing Compnny and the Ed and the Commodore Vanderbilt of the ward G. Budd i\lanufacturing Company, New York Central; and the Broadway in designing and perfecting construction Limited, the Liberty Limited, the Gen methods for the building of light-weight eral, and the Spirit of St. Louis of the cars, the former by the employment Pennsylvania- all very recent insralln of aluminum alloy as the weight-saving cions- have received wide public appro medium, and the latter through the use bation. of high tensile stainless steel and its shot Heavy contributors to the comfort welding process; theElectro-MociveCor and safety of travel in d1e newer types porntion, in devising and adapting a of trains h:tve been the designers and Diesel two-cycle engine practicable for makers of air-conditioning equipment, high-speed uain service; the Union Pa high-speed brakes, light-weight sound cific, with the cooperation of the Chicago and heat insulation, safety glass, roUer and North Western and the Southern Pa. bearing trucks, and numerous other cific, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, modern installations. and more recently the Atchison, Topeka Perhaps no instrumentality not di and Santa Fe and the Chicago, Rock rectly engaged in the construction or op Island and Pacific, in reaching conclu eration of railroad trains has done more sions respecting the economic factors in to promote and encourage the introduc volved in fast train construction and tion of the new types of passenger equip operac.ion and in establishing extensive menton American railroads than has the streamline train services on their respec Railway Age.

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