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The Undersea Tube Page 2
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crack."
"Yet you expected to take care of possible leaks, you know," Icountered.
"But this crack opened after the tunnel had been dug past it, and latelyit has opened more."
"Are the other engineers alarmed?"
"No. We are easily taking care of the extra water and again the openingseems to remain at a stationary width as it has for the past threeyears. But we cannot caulk it."
"Are you going to publish these views?"
"No. I made out a minority report. I can do no more."
"Dutch, you are becoming over-cautious. First sign of old age."
"Perhaps," with the old smile.
"But after all it is now more than three years since we have had a talkon the Tube. After it began to function as well as the Air-Express yousort of lost interest in it."
"And the world did too."
"Certainly--but the public ever was a fickle mistress. Who said thatbefore me?"
He laughed and blew out a long puff of smoke.
"Everyone, Bob."
"But as to the Tube, if I cross under the sea, I would want to be aswell informed on the road as I was three years ago. Now in the meantime,you have dropped interest in the long tunnel while I have become moreinterested in textiles--with the result that I have forgotten all I everdid know--which compared to your grasp of the details, was littleenough."
* * * * *
But his face showed none of the old-time animation on the subject. Whata different man, I mused to myself, from that enthusiastic engineeringstudent that I used to come upon dreaming over his blue-prints. He wasconsidered "half-cracked" in those days when he would enthuse over hisundersea railroad, but his animated face was lit with inspiration. Nowthe light was gone.
"Well, Dutch, how about it? Aren't you going to make me that brieflittle sketch of the length plan and cross-section of the Tube? Iremember your sketch of it in college, and it tends to confuse me withthe real changes that were made necessary when the wind-propulsionmethod was adopted."
"All right, old timer. You remember that the Tube was widened at thesides in order that we could make two circular tubes side by side--onegoing each way."
"I had forgotten that they were circular."
"That is because of the pressure. A circle presents the bestresistance," and picking an odd envelope from his pocket, he made thefollowing sketch and passed it to me.
--CROSS-SECTION OF TUBE--]
I nodded as I recognized the cross-section.
"Now the plan of the thing is like this," he added, putting aside hispipe and pulling a sheet of paper from the corner of his desk.
Rapidly, with all his old accuracy, he sketched the main plan and leanedover as he handed it to me.
--PLAN OF UNDER-SEA TUBE--]
"You see," he explained, picking up his pipe again, "both pumps work atone time--in fact, I should say all four, because this plan isduplicated on the English side. On both ends then, a train is gentlypushed in by an electric locomotive. A car at a time goes through thegate so that there is a cushion of air between each car. The same thinghappens at Liverpool. Now, when the due train comes out of the suctiontube, it goes on out the gate, but the air behind it travels right onaround and comes in behind the train that is leaving."
"But how are you assured that it will not stall somewhere?"
"It won't be likely to with pressure pumps going behind it and suctionpumps pulling from in front. We can always put extra power on ifnecessary. Thus far the road has worked perfectly."
"How much power do you need to send it through, under normalconditions?"
"Our trains have been averaging about fifty tons, and for that weight wehave found that a pound pressure is quite sufficient. Now, taking thetunnel's length as four thousand miles (of course it is not that long,but round figures are most convenient) and the tube width eleven and onequarter feet each and working this out we have 3,020,000 cubic feet offree air per minute or 2,904,000 cubic feet of compressed air, whichwould use about 70,000 horse power on the air compressor."
"But isn't the speed rather dizzy?"
"Not any more dizzy, Bob, than those old fashioned money-carryingmachines that the department stores used to use--that is in comparisonto size. The average speed is about 360 feet a second. Of course, thetrain is allowed to slow down toward the end of its run, even before ithits the braking machinery beyond the gate."
"But how much pressure did you say would be put on the back of thediaphragm--I remember that each car has a flat disc on the back thatfits fairly tightly to the tube ..."
"The pressure on the back is less than seven tons. However, the discdoes not fit tight. There are several leaks. For instance, the cars areas you know, run on the principle of the monorail with a guiding rail oneach side. The grooves for the rails with their three rollers are ineach car. There is a slight leakage of air here."
"You used the turbo type of blower, didn't you?"
"Had to because of the noise. We put some silencing devices on that andyet we could not kill all of the racket. However a new invention hascome up that we will make use of soon now."
* * * * *
"But I can't understand, Dutch, why you seemed so put out when Iannounced my intention of going to Europe via the Tube. Why, I canremember the day when that would have tickled you to death."
"You followed the digging of the Tube, didn't you?"
"Yes, of course."
"You remember the volcano and lava seams?"
"Yes."
"Well, I do not believe that the crack was a pressure crevice. If it hadbeen, we were far enough below the ocean floor to have partly relievedthe situation by the unusually solid building of the Tube. Thetremendous shell of this new type of specially hardened metal--"
"And the rich concrete that was used as filling! That was one job no oneslipped up on. I remember how you watched it--"
"Yet the crack has widened, Bob, since the Tube was completed."
"How can you be certain?"
"By the amount of water coming through the drain pipes."
"But you said that once more it was stationary."
"Yes, and that is the very thing that proves, I believe, the nature ofthe crack."
"I don't follow you."
"Why it isn't a crack at all, Bob. It is an earthquake fault."
"Good heavens, you don't mean--"
"Yes, I do. I mean that the next time the land slips our little tubewill be twisted up like a piece of string, or crushed like an eggshell.That always was a rocky bit of land. I thought in going that far north,though, that we had missed the main line of activity; I mean thedisturbances that had once wiped out a whole nation, if your scientistsare correct."
"Then you mean that it is only a matter of time?"
"Yes, and I have been informed by one expert that the old volcanicactivity is not dead either."
"So that is what has stolen away your laugh?"
"Well I am one of the engineers--and they won't suspend the service."
"Fate has played an ugly trick on you, Dutch, and through your owndreams too. However, you have made me decide to go by the Tube."
He took his pipe out of his mouth and stared at me.
"Sooner or later the Tube will be through, and I have never been across.Nothing risked--a dull life. Mine has been altogether too dull. I am nowmost certainly going by the Tube."
A bit of the old fire lit up his eyes.
"Same old Bob," he grunted as I rose, and then he grasped my hand with agrin.
"Good luck, my boy, on your journey, and may old Vulcan be out on avacation when you pass his door."
Thus we said good-by. I did not know then that I would never see himagain--that he also took the train that night in order to make one lastplea to the International Committee, and so laid down his life with thepassengers for whom he had pleaded.
It was with many conflicting thoughts, however, that I hurried to thegreat Terminus that fatal night,
where after being ticketed,photographed and tabulated by an efficient army of clerks, I foundmyself in due time, being ushered to my car of the train.
* * * * *
For the benefit of those who have never ridden upon the famous "Flier,"I could describe the cars no better than to say that coming upon them bynight as I did, they looked like a gigantic, shiny worm, of strangeshape, through whose tiny port-holes of heavy glass in the sides, glowedits luminous vitals.
I was pompously shown to the front car, which very much resembled atremendous cartridge--as did all of the other segments of this greatglow-worm.
Having dismissed the porter with a tip and the suspicion that my havingthe
"Yet you expected to take care of possible leaks, you know," Icountered.
"But this crack opened after the tunnel had been dug past it, and latelyit has opened more."
"Are the other engineers alarmed?"
"No. We are easily taking care of the extra water and again the openingseems to remain at a stationary width as it has for the past threeyears. But we cannot caulk it."
"Are you going to publish these views?"
"No. I made out a minority report. I can do no more."
"Dutch, you are becoming over-cautious. First sign of old age."
"Perhaps," with the old smile.
"But after all it is now more than three years since we have had a talkon the Tube. After it began to function as well as the Air-Express yousort of lost interest in it."
"And the world did too."
"Certainly--but the public ever was a fickle mistress. Who said thatbefore me?"
He laughed and blew out a long puff of smoke.
"Everyone, Bob."
"But as to the Tube, if I cross under the sea, I would want to be aswell informed on the road as I was three years ago. Now in the meantime,you have dropped interest in the long tunnel while I have become moreinterested in textiles--with the result that I have forgotten all I everdid know--which compared to your grasp of the details, was littleenough."
* * * * *
But his face showed none of the old-time animation on the subject. Whata different man, I mused to myself, from that enthusiastic engineeringstudent that I used to come upon dreaming over his blue-prints. He wasconsidered "half-cracked" in those days when he would enthuse over hisundersea railroad, but his animated face was lit with inspiration. Nowthe light was gone.
"Well, Dutch, how about it? Aren't you going to make me that brieflittle sketch of the length plan and cross-section of the Tube? Iremember your sketch of it in college, and it tends to confuse me withthe real changes that were made necessary when the wind-propulsionmethod was adopted."
"All right, old timer. You remember that the Tube was widened at thesides in order that we could make two circular tubes side by side--onegoing each way."
"I had forgotten that they were circular."
"That is because of the pressure. A circle presents the bestresistance," and picking an odd envelope from his pocket, he made thefollowing sketch and passed it to me.
--CROSS-SECTION OF TUBE--]
I nodded as I recognized the cross-section.
"Now the plan of the thing is like this," he added, putting aside hispipe and pulling a sheet of paper from the corner of his desk.
Rapidly, with all his old accuracy, he sketched the main plan and leanedover as he handed it to me.
--PLAN OF UNDER-SEA TUBE--]
"You see," he explained, picking up his pipe again, "both pumps work atone time--in fact, I should say all four, because this plan isduplicated on the English side. On both ends then, a train is gentlypushed in by an electric locomotive. A car at a time goes through thegate so that there is a cushion of air between each car. The same thinghappens at Liverpool. Now, when the due train comes out of the suctiontube, it goes on out the gate, but the air behind it travels right onaround and comes in behind the train that is leaving."
"But how are you assured that it will not stall somewhere?"
"It won't be likely to with pressure pumps going behind it and suctionpumps pulling from in front. We can always put extra power on ifnecessary. Thus far the road has worked perfectly."
"How much power do you need to send it through, under normalconditions?"
"Our trains have been averaging about fifty tons, and for that weight wehave found that a pound pressure is quite sufficient. Now, taking thetunnel's length as four thousand miles (of course it is not that long,but round figures are most convenient) and the tube width eleven and onequarter feet each and working this out we have 3,020,000 cubic feet offree air per minute or 2,904,000 cubic feet of compressed air, whichwould use about 70,000 horse power on the air compressor."
"But isn't the speed rather dizzy?"
"Not any more dizzy, Bob, than those old fashioned money-carryingmachines that the department stores used to use--that is in comparisonto size. The average speed is about 360 feet a second. Of course, thetrain is allowed to slow down toward the end of its run, even before ithits the braking machinery beyond the gate."
"But how much pressure did you say would be put on the back of thediaphragm--I remember that each car has a flat disc on the back thatfits fairly tightly to the tube ..."
"The pressure on the back is less than seven tons. However, the discdoes not fit tight. There are several leaks. For instance, the cars areas you know, run on the principle of the monorail with a guiding rail oneach side. The grooves for the rails with their three rollers are ineach car. There is a slight leakage of air here."
"You used the turbo type of blower, didn't you?"
"Had to because of the noise. We put some silencing devices on that andyet we could not kill all of the racket. However a new invention hascome up that we will make use of soon now."
* * * * *
"But I can't understand, Dutch, why you seemed so put out when Iannounced my intention of going to Europe via the Tube. Why, I canremember the day when that would have tickled you to death."
"You followed the digging of the Tube, didn't you?"
"Yes, of course."
"You remember the volcano and lava seams?"
"Yes."
"Well, I do not believe that the crack was a pressure crevice. If it hadbeen, we were far enough below the ocean floor to have partly relievedthe situation by the unusually solid building of the Tube. Thetremendous shell of this new type of specially hardened metal--"
"And the rich concrete that was used as filling! That was one job no oneslipped up on. I remember how you watched it--"
"Yet the crack has widened, Bob, since the Tube was completed."
"How can you be certain?"
"By the amount of water coming through the drain pipes."
"But you said that once more it was stationary."
"Yes, and that is the very thing that proves, I believe, the nature ofthe crack."
"I don't follow you."
"Why it isn't a crack at all, Bob. It is an earthquake fault."
"Good heavens, you don't mean--"
"Yes, I do. I mean that the next time the land slips our little tubewill be twisted up like a piece of string, or crushed like an eggshell.That always was a rocky bit of land. I thought in going that far north,though, that we had missed the main line of activity; I mean thedisturbances that had once wiped out a whole nation, if your scientistsare correct."
"Then you mean that it is only a matter of time?"
"Yes, and I have been informed by one expert that the old volcanicactivity is not dead either."
"So that is what has stolen away your laugh?"
"Well I am one of the engineers--and they won't suspend the service."
"Fate has played an ugly trick on you, Dutch, and through your owndreams too. However, you have made me decide to go by the Tube."
He took his pipe out of his mouth and stared at me.
"Sooner or later the Tube will be through, and I have never been across.Nothing risked--a dull life. Mine has been altogether too dull. I am nowmost certainly going by the Tube."
A bit of the old fire lit up his eyes.
"Same old Bob," he grunted as I rose, and then he grasped my hand with agrin.
"Good luck, my boy, on your journey, and may old Vulcan be out on avacation when you pass his door."
Thus we said good-by. I did not know then that I would never see himagain--that he also took the train that night in order to make one lastplea to the International Committee, and so laid down his life with thepassengers for whom he had pleaded.
It was with many conflicting thoughts, however, that I hurried to thegreat Terminus that fatal night,
where after being ticketed,photographed and tabulated by an efficient army of clerks, I foundmyself in due time, being ushered to my car of the train.
* * * * *
For the benefit of those who have never ridden upon the famous "Flier,"I could describe the cars no better than to say that coming upon them bynight as I did, they looked like a gigantic, shiny worm, of strangeshape, through whose tiny port-holes of heavy glass in the sides, glowedits luminous vitals.
I was pompously shown to the front car, which very much resembled atremendous cartridge--as did all of the other segments of this greatglow-worm.
Having dismissed the porter with a tip and the suspicion that my havingthe
The Undersea Tube