In some cases the
rails are made turned in, so that it would be impossible for a car to
leave the track without the road-bed's being totally demolished; but in
most cases this is found to be unnecessary, for no through line has a
curve on its vast stretches with a radius of less than half a mile.
Rails, one hundred and sixty pounds to the yard, are set in grooved
steel ties, which in turn are held by a concrete road-bed consisting of
broken stone and cement, making spreading rails and loose ballast
impossible. A large increase in capital was necessary for these
improvements, the elimination of curves being the most laborious part,
requiring bridges, cuttings, and embankments that dwarf the Pyramids
and would have made the ancient Pharaohs open their eyes; but with the
low rate of interest on bonds, the slight cost of power, and great
increase in business, the venture was a success, and we are now in
sight of further advances that will enable a traveller in a high
latitude moving west to keep pace with the sun, and, should he wish it,
to have unending day."

CHAPTER V.

DR. CORTLANDT'S HISTORY CONTINUED.

"In marine transportation we have two methods, one for freight and
another for passengers. The old-fashioned deeply immersed ship has not
changed radically from the steam and sailing vessels of the last
century, except that electricity has superseded all other motive
powers. Steamers gradually passed through the five hundred-, six
hundred-, and seven hundred-foot-long class, with other dimensions in
proportion, till their length exceeded one thousand feet. These were
very fast ships, crossing the Atlantic in four and a half days, and
were almost as steady as houses, in even the roughest weather.

"Ships at this period of their development had also passed through the
twin and triple screw stage to the quadruple, all four together
developing one hundred and forty thousand indicated horse-power, and
being driven by steam. This, of course, involved sacrificing the best
part of the ship to her engines, and a very heavy idle investment while
in port. Storage batteries, with plates composed of lead or iron,
constantly increasing in size, had reached a fair state of development
by the close of the nineteenth century.

"During the second decade of the twentieth century the engineers
decided to try the plan of running half of a transatlantic liner's
screws by electricity g