Railroad

Railroad Rates

granted by act of parliament, and the Within recent years there has been same is the case in the United States, great progress in railroad building, the the railroads being owned by private construction of locomotives and cars, and companies, though to some extent con- the adoption of safety appliances in railtrolled in their operation by Congress. road operation. For an important inIn Europe generally the railways are stance of this see Block System. There owned and operated to a large extent by has been great improvement in signalthe government, this system existing ing, the telephone is beginning to supereverywhere except in the United States sede the telegraph in train handling, and and Britain. Railways were at first station accommodation has greatly imlocal undertakings, but in the United proved. Notable instances are the magStates and Britain they have now come nificent new Pennsylvania and Grand under the control of a few giant com- Central Stations in New York. The size panies. Generally the American rail- and weight of locomotives have enorways have hitherto been of a much mously increased over those of early less solid and substantial character than days, some of the passenger locomotives those of Britain, but this condition is weighing more than 200,000 pounds. The rapidly being changed in the great trunk freight locomotives are still heavier, the lines, some of which have been made of Mallet compound weighing as high as very substantial structure. The trans- 700,000 pounds. The same may be said continental lines of the United States of cars, both freight and passenger, which include the Northern Pacific, from have increased greatly in weight and Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast; the strength, steel sleeping cars now in use Union Pacific, from San Francisco to weighing over 150,000 pounds. In rethe Eastern States; the Atchison, Topeka gard to speed the same may be said, the & Santa-Fe, the Southern Pacific, and original 20 miles or less per hour having the Great Northern, five systems in all, climbed up gradually until 60 miles per these ranging from 5000 to over 10,000 hour for considerable distances is not inmiles in length of track controlled. The frequent, while even greater speed has only railway which competes with these been attained. The fastest time on recgreat lines is the Trans-Siberian, of ord for a distance of over 440 miles was nearly 7000 miles' length of main line. made by the Lake Shore and Michigan In Canada the most important line in the Southern R. R. in 1905, running from Dominion is the Canadian Pacific, of gov- Buffalo to Chicago, 525 miles, in 7 h. 50 ernment construction, which, connecting m., an average of 69.69 miles per hour. with the Intercolonial at Montreal, forms For shorter runs speeds ranging from 70 a through line of 4200 miles from the to 84 miles per hour have been made, the West coast of British Columbia to Hali- greatest on record being a run of 5 miles fax in Nova Scotia. Other railways to in 22 min., a rate of 120 miles per hour, the Pacific are now in operation. (See on the Plant System. The railroad mileCanadian Pacific Railway.) age in the United States has grown In all countries the government exer- enormously, reaching in 1916 the great cises the right of granting or refusing total of about 259,211 miles. At the same permission to construct and operate rail- date the length of railway in the whole roads. Abuses of the United States world was about 640,000 miles, so that management in America led to a move- this country possesses about 40 per cent. ment in 1871 which secured laws adverse of the total. America as a whole has the companies, limiting rates and about 300,000 miles, Europe 200,000, Asia prohibiting discrimination. This led in 60,000, Africa 20,000 and Australia 1887 to the Interstate Commerce Act, 20,000. In 1918 the railroads of the passed to regulate rates, etc., and re- United States were brought under governcently to an act prohibiting rebates in ment operation and control for the durafreight charges. Other legislation af- tion of the war and for twenty months fecting railroad management has been thereafter. William Gibbs McAdoo was passed by Congress, and the railroads appointed director general of railroads. are coming gradually under government Railroad Rates. For years past control in the details of their operative

to

the railroads of

methods. In 1910 Congress created a the United States have been accused of special court, called the Court of Com- unjustly favoring large shippers in freight merce, having jurisdiction over railroad charges, and efforts to restrain them from judicial cases, such as may be instituted this practice by legislation have been by the Interstate Commerce Commission. made. The giving of passes to favored The purpose of this court is to expedite persons has been restricted by law, and the hearing of cases arising from rail- a bill was passed in 1910 by which the road management. government was given control over the

Raimondi

Rainbow

railroad freight rates and all discrimina- present. The average rainfall in a year tions between shippers by the giving of at any given place depends on a great rebates or in other ways strictly for- variety of circumstances, as latitude, bidden, under penalty of fine and impris- proximity to the sea, elevation of the onment. The government was given the region, configuration of the country and right to control and adjust rates, and mountain ranges, exposure to the preprescribe just and reasonable rates, to vailing winds, etc. When the vaporinvestigate abuses, and in other ways to laden atmosphere is drifted towards oversee and control railroad operations, mountain ranges it is forced upwards and a court of commerce was instituted by the latter, and is consequently conwith the power of dealing with all densed, partly by coming into contact charges of unjust dealing by common with the cold mountain tops, and partly carriers.' As the matter now stands, by the consequent expansion of the air the independent power of the railroads due to the greater elevation. The presis greatly restricted, and, aside from ence or absence of vegetation has also direct ownership, they have been made considerable influence on the rainfall of in some degree government institutions. a district. Land devoid of vegetation Raimondi (ri-mōn'dē), MARK AN- has its soil intensely heated by the fierce TONIO, a famous Italian rays of the sun, the air in contact with engraver; born in 1488, died in 1534. it also becomes heated, and is able to He was a friend of Raphael, who em- hold more and more moisture, so that the ployed him to engrave some of his paint- fall of rain is next to impossible. On ings, and was the first Italian engraver the other hand, land covered with an to attain great celebrity. abundant vegetation has its soil kept cool, Rain (ran), the water that falls from and thus assists in condensation. Althe heavens. Rain depends upon though more rain falls within the tropics the formation and dissolution of clouds. in a year, yet the number of rainy days The invisible aqueous vapor suspended in is less than in temperate climes. Thus the atmosphere, which forms clouds, and in an average year there are 80 rainy is deposited in rain, is derived from the days in the tropics, while in the temperate evaporation of water, partly from land, zones the number of days on which rain but chiefly from the vast expanse of the falls is about 160. At the equator the ocean. At а given temperature the average yearly rainfall is estimated at 95 atmosphere is capable of containing no inches. At a few isolated stations the more than a certain quantity of aqueous fall is often very great. At Cherravapor, and when this quantity is pres- pungee, in the Khasia Hills of Assam, ent the air is said to be saturated. Air 615 inches fall in the year, and there may at any time be brought to a state of are several places in India with a fall of saturation by a reduction of its tempera- from 190 to 280 inches. The rainfall at ture, and if cooled below a certain point Paris is 22 in.; London 22.50.; New the whole of the vapor can no longer be York, 43 in.; Washington, 41 in.; San held in suspension, but a part of it, Francisco, 22 in.; Sitka, Alaska, 90 in.; condensed from the gaseous to the liquid Honduras, 153 in.; Maranhão, 280 in.; state, will be deposited in dew or float Singapore. 97 in.; Canton. 78 in.; New about in the form of clouds. If the South Wales, 46 in.; South Australia, 19 temperature continues to decrease, the in.; Victoria, 30 in.; Tasmania, 20 in.; vesicles of vapor composing the cloud Cape Colony, 24 in. The greatest anwill increase in number and begin to nual rainfall hitherto observed seems to descend by their own weight. The larg- be on the Khasia Hills, est of these falling fastest will unite with Rainbow (ran'bo), a bow, or an arc the smaller ones they encounter during of a circle, consisting of all their descent, and thus drops of rain will the prismatic colors, formed by the rebe formed of a size that depends on the fraction and reflection of rays of light thickness, density, and elevation of the from drops of rain or vapor, appearing cloud. The point to which the tempera- in the part of the heavens opposite to ture of the air must be reduced in order the sun. When the sun is at the horizon to cause a portion of its vapor to form the rainbow is a semicircle. When perclouds or dew is called the dew-point. fect the rainbow presents the appearance The use of the spectroscope has become of two concentric arches; the inner being to some extent a means of anticipating called the primary, and the outer the a fall of rain, since when light that has secondary rainbow. Each is formed of passed through aqueous vapor is decom- the colors of the solar spectrum, but the posed by the spectroscope a dark band is colors are arranged in the reversed order. seen (the rain-band), which is the more the red forming the exterior ring of the intense the greater the amount of vapor primary bow, and the interior of the

THE CONCOURSE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD STATION

In the new Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Seventh Avenue and Thirty-second Street, New York City, the trains arrive and depart by a remarkable tunnel system extending under both rivers.