Interior of Electric Motor Car “Rocket,” at Bellport, L. I., on Long Island Boynton Bicycle R. R.
THE
BOYNTON BICYCLE RAILWAY SYSTEM.
The thirty pound bicycle has safely carried ten times its weight. A man has in one day propelled himself and his machine five hundred and fifteen miles. The principle of the bicycle, saving enormously in weight and friction, is here presented for application to existing and to future steam and electric roads without change of gauge or interference with existing trains.
Turn a plank up edge-wise and it will carry many-fold greater load than it would flat-wise: so by constructing two-story cars, about four feet wide and fourteen feet deep, greatly increased strength and lightness may be secured.
The cellular construction of the bamboo makes it extremely light and yet strong; so it is with the Bicycle car, constructed with veneer and steel, and composed of eighteen separate compartments corresponding to the cells of the bamboo.
It is the aim of this invention to reduce the undulations and friction of a car in motion, thereby largely increasing safety and speed, and saving wear and tear on both rolling stock and track.
Engines are now required to drive from four to eight wheels held in line back of the cylinders. On rounding curves the framing is strained by friction and wedging, entailing a large loss of power. The wheels, rails, and cars throughout suffer proportionately from grinding and shearing. The Bicycle engine, with its double-flanged wheels, follows any curve with a small loss of power.