^"■^ 



SCIENC 



LEniered at ibe Pos -Office of New York, N.V., as Seoond-Class Maiter.J 



A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF ALL THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



Sevknth Vear. 

 Vol. XIV. No. 350. 



NEW YORK, October 18, iS 



.MNGLE Coi'iEs, Ten Cents. 

 13.50 Pkr Year, in Advance. 



THE BOYNTON BICYCLE RAILROAD. 

 A TRIAL trip of the Boynton bicycle locomotive and cars was 

 made on the company's experimental track, between Bay Ridge 

 and Coney Island, on iVIonday last. A portion of the old Sea 

 Beach Railroad track was remodelled for the purpose by the erec- 

 tion of uprights supporting the guard-rail shown above the locomo- 



reached, however, as near as could be computed on a short track, 

 was at the rate of twenty miles an hour. The road had a rise of 

 98 feet in 4,300 feet of length, and was nearly all curves, and con- 

 sequently was well adapted for testing every point of the new sys- 

 tem except speed. The motion of the train was remarkably 

 smooth, and free from jolts. 



BOYNTON BICYCLE LOCOMOTIVE. 



tive in the illustrations. By the placing of a guard-rail of this kind 

 above each rail, an ordinary single-track road may be converted into 

 a double-track road for the Boynton system, the locomotives and 

 cars being so narrow that trains will pass each other under such 

 circumstances without danger of coming into contact. 



On Monday's trial-trip the train consisted of Cycle Engine No. i, 



"■ The locomotive weighs twenty two tons, and its total height is 

 15 feet 6 inches. It has a single driving-wheel of 7 feet 9 inches 

 diameter, with double flanges, to ride on a single rail. The cab is 

 two stories high, the upper story being occupied by the engineer, 

 and the lower by the fireman. _ The engine has two cylinders, 12 

 by 14 inches each, and is operated with a boiler-pressure of 150 



BICYCLE LOCOMOTIVE AND PASSENGER-CAR. 



and one car of eighteen compartments. The car was fitted to seat pounds to the square inch. The passenger-cars are 4 feet wide, 14 



one hundred and eight persons, and that number made two trips 

 over the road to Coney Island, and back to Gravesend. It is 

 claimed by the inventor, the Hon. M. E. Boynton, that a speed of 

 one hundred miles an hour can be obtained with this system, 

 although no effort was made to run at a high rate of speed on this 

 occasion, owing to the bad condition of the road-bed. The speed 



feet high, in two stories, 40 feet long, and are designed to weigh 

 five tons each. 



Future developments of this system, as to speed, economy of 

 construction, operation, and maintenance, and general adaptability 

 to regular passenger and freight traflic. will be awaited with in- 

 terest by all concerned in railroad operations. 



