AIR OF NEW YORK SUBWAY—SOPER. 661 
were allowed to drip from the machinery upon the ballast and ties of 
the roadbed when the subway was first put in operation. 
Samples of the oil were obtained for experiment. It was not 
feasible to determine by analysis its exact composition, but in other 
ways it was ascertained that it was composed chiefly of petroleum 
and fish oil. 
The quantity of oil used in the subway in the first year of operation 
was larger than had ever been used on an equal length of road. 
Much of the oil and grease was heated on the bearings, and some 
of it was volatilized. The car journals, motor armature bearings, and 
motor axle bearings were sometimes raised to a temperature of from 
100° to 170° F. 
That the oil was distributed through the atmosphere of the subway 
was fully demonstrated. It was recovered from the dust by extrac- 
tion with ether to the extent of 1.18 per cent by weight of dust. 
Odors were given off by the hot motors acting upon various more 
or less volatile substances other than oil and grease. Among these 
substances were the insulating material covering some of the electric 
wiring and the paint upon the motor cases. 
Electric sparking produced the odors of ozone and nitrous oxide. 
The hot brake shoes gave off a peculiar odor. | 
A pungent and unpleasant odor was produced by the proprietary 
disinfectants used in the teilet rooms. This odor was so penetrat- 
ing that it was occasionally noticeable on the streets outside of the 
subway. 
A strong and disagreeable odor was caused by an oily cement used 
in fastening decorative tiles in place at some of the stations. An 
ingredient of this cement was a cheap grade of fish oil. In order 
to disguise the fishy odor, creosote was freely mixed with the oil 
before mixing it with the cement. The result of these intermingled 
odors was peculiarly unpleasant. Fortunately, the odor of the 
cement, although very powerful at first, rapidly disappeared. 
Hot boxes, of which there were a considerable number when the 
road was first put in operation, at times produced a persistent and 
suffocating odor. Wool waste was used in packing the car journals, 
and when this caught fire its unpleasant smell could be distinguished 
through the subway for a long time. 
Occasionally a fuse was blown out and its odor distributed up and 
down the line. When a fire occurred, as happened on a few occa- 
sions, the odor of smoke persisted in the part of the subway where 
the fire occurred for a surprisingly long period of time. In one 
case the odor was distinctly noticeable to passengers, as the cars 
passed the spot, three months after the fire had taken place. 
The odor of tobacco smoke was not uncommon at the subway sta- 
tions. Rules existed against smoking in the subway, but they were 
