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Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)

60. First NYC subway was pneumatic tube style

Thu Jun 6, 2013, 10:13 AM

Jun 2013

The City's first subway opened back in 1870, a short underground tunnel under Broadway that stretched 312 feet (95 m) from Warren Street to Murray Street near City Hall. Constructed by inventor Alfred Ely Beach, the editor of Scientific American, the subway was driven by pneumatic power. An eight-foot (2.4 m) long car that could carry 18 passengers was blown through the tunnel by a 100 horsepower (74.5 kW) fan; the blower was reversed to create a partial vacuum and suck the car back through the tunnel. Although Beach received a charter to extend the line from the Battery to Columbus Circle, the Panic of 1873 and innovations in electric traction motors left the pneumatic subway as a short-lived public demonstration project. Nonetheless, Beach's pneumatic subway helped to demonstrate the practicality of constructing an underground railroad in Manhattan.
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Rumor: High-speed tube travel concept in the works [View all] Little Star Jun 2013 OP

Test site? Can we just put some chipmunks BlueStreak Jun 2013 #1

Well, they have pnumatic elevators. Savannahmann Jun 2013 #82

Seems like a larger version of this... Major Nikon Jun 2013 #2

hmm... nebenaube Jun 2013 #5

Sort of. The point is to eliminate air drag. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #32

I've ridden on the Maglev Major Nikon Jun 2013 #35

Which one? China and Japan have built them, and they carry millions of live passengers. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #37

The Shanghai Maglev Major Nikon Jun 2013 #45

but you could conceiveably only have a few bends, not curves... zappaman Jun 2013 #39

I'm not a physicist, so I'm not familiar with the math... backscatter712 Jun 2013 #42

Wishful thinking Rocky888 Jun 2013 #3

Elon Musk (Tesla, Solar City) is involved kristopher Jun 2013 #4

I don't think Elon Musk is involved in this. bananas Jun 2013 #49

Thanks. kristopher Jun 2013 #70

I'm not impressed with that cabin size BlueStreak Jun 2013 #6

What if they made all the seats commodes? MattBaggins Jun 2013 #24

Complimentary Depends [tm] BlueStreak Jun 2013 #30

Maybe you could get off at Denver, 15 minutes? defacto7 Jun 2013 #26

My point is that once you lock in the 5 foot diameter thing BlueStreak Jun 2013 #31

We cram ourselves into similarly sized craft when we go on road trips. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #34

You can't pull off at the next exit to take a pee break BlueStreak Jun 2013 #46

Go before you start the trip Ter Jun 2013 #89

I make two/three-hour drives all the time. Codeine Jun 2013 #56

Seriously? Never? BlueStreak Jun 2013 #58

I just go before I leave. Codeine Jun 2013 #79

Well, a lot of people do, unfortunately. BlueStreak Jun 2013 #80

Then you have, at best, about 3 minutes to find a can when you get out at the end of the trip. RC Jun 2013 #77

Looks as large as the cabin on some commuter planes. kristopher Jun 2013 #71

How long ago did the Wright brothers get off the ground ? olddots Jun 2013 #7

Woo! Mr. David Jun 2013 #8

4,000 miles per hour inside a close-fitting tube DavidDvorkin Jun 2013 #9

Perhaps it's how the Tube is lubricated formercia Jun 2013 #10

It's supposed to be a maglev system - no lubrication needed. caraher Jun 2013 #16

It will be evacuated DavidDvorkin Jun 2013 #21

4,000 miles per hour IN A VACUUM. What could possibly go wrong? BlueStreak Jun 2013 #62

This message was self-deleted by its author shawn703 Jun 2013 #67

Interesting. William769 Jun 2013 #11

Isn't breaking the sound barrier an issue? Concord was trouble prone for ever. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #12

No sound barrier to break, no air to transmit sound, no air friction to create heat pediatricmedic Jun 2013 #14

OK, sorry. So tube it a vacuum? Wow. Seems hard to maintain that also. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #22

What's that movie.... defacto7 Jun 2013 #27

Can we skip that design feature please pediatricmedic Jun 2013 #33

I am sick of these mother fucking face sucking aliens on my mother fucking tube train! longship Jun 2013 #38

Let's see... A pressurized capsule inside of a vacuum tube. Hmmm... RC Jun 2013 #78

As long as the tube was sufficiently pumped free of air... backscatter712 Jun 2013 #36

Then saying "It is a series of tubes" would make sense. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #13

This would be great to ship Shankapotomus Jun 2013 #15

The plan is to start with cargo caraher Jun 2013 #17

I don't know how they'll get around Shankapotomus Jun 2013 #19

Actually, they have a plan caraher Jun 2013 #25

....it's eternity in there.... alittlelark Jun 2013 #18

I like my Low-Speed Concept better. hunter Jun 2013 #20

What does "in the works mean"? MattBaggins Jun 2013 #23

Considering that this idea has been around quite literally for decades kentauros Jun 2013 #66

Anyone calculated the G forces of having to make quick pee stop? defacto7 Jun 2013 #28

Decelerating from 4000 mph to 0 mph in 60 seconds would generate 3.04 Gs Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #29

Worst case accident scenario. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #40

and the last moments of a passenger may sound something like defacto7 Jun 2013 #47

What are the odds of surviving a catastrophic failure in a jet? n/t Egalitarian Thug Jun 2013 #50

But nature abhors a vacuum. Orrex Jun 2013 #41

That thing will have to be made of unobtainium MindPilot Jun 2013 #43

I think it can be done, just that it'll be expensive. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #44

Yep. It would be the #1 terrorist target in the US n2doc Jun 2013 #55

This message was self-deleted by its author guyton Jun 2013 #48

good old ted stevens would have loved this story sure miss him. nt oldgrowth Jun 2013 #51

10 times faster than flying for 10 times less cost? geckosfeet Jun 2013 #52

Imagining traveling from the hospital to your home... Earth_First Jun 2013 #53

i don't see the point of going from new york to los angeles in 45 minutes anymore. why the rush? HiPointDem Jun 2013 #54

The appeal for me is that it could be far more energy efficient caraher Jun 2013 #61

So Justin Bieber could tape Letterman and Leno on the same day itsrobert Jun 2013 #72

You must not have 3 kids GobBluth Jun 2013 #83

i started riding trains alone, with my sibs, when i was about 7, 2.5 hour trip we did regularly HiPointDem Jun 2013 #87

hee, I checked out a train from Tampa to Minneapolis. shoot, it's like 15 hours. GobBluth Jun 2013 #88

i like this concept.... madrchsod Jun 2013 #57

I think I saw this in a 1964 Popular Mechanix... n/t HereSince1628 Jun 2013 #59

I'm still waiting for the airplane-car that mag has been predicting for 60 years BlueStreak Jun 2013 #63

First NYC subway was pneumatic tube style Bluenorthwest Jun 2013 #60

Beach Pneumatic Transit ... GMTA .... eppur_se_muova Jun 2013 #75

Something like this I think One_Life_To_Give Jun 2013 #64

I can't decide whether this idea sucks or blows. Orrex Jun 2013 #65

Having worked with Ultra-High-Vacuum systems before, this is impossible with current technology. sir pball Jun 2013 #68

My one question is: Why is it above ground? kentauros Jun 2013 #69

At that speed, you take a path around the rockies itsrobert Jun 2013 #73

You're still going to have hilly grade to navigate. kentauros Jun 2013 #74

To put this in some perspective BlueStreak Jun 2013 #81

I don't disagree at all. kentauros Jun 2013 #84

And we are talking potentially 16 times that fast BlueStreak Jun 2013 #85

Personally, I'd rather see the same engineering go into building the Space Elevator. kentauros Jun 2013 #86

4000 miles of vacuum ? Unlikely. eppur_se_muova Jun 2013 #76