Alaska To Chicago
In Six .Hours Is
Inventor’s Dream
(By John H. Louis)
PONY EXPRESS
RAIL EXPRESS
WATER EXPRESS
AIR EXPRESS
TUBE EXPRESS
The States may iot bo so far
away, after all, that is, they won’t
be, when the dream of a Jefferson,
Wisconsin, inventor comes true.
Imagine a non-stop trip from
Nome, Alaska, to Chicago, 111., in
maybe less than six hours! And it
won’t be by aeroplane. It will be
a such safer journey. John H.
Louis, the inventor, claims that it
can be done with his proposed
transport system, and he adds that
construction of his system is of
greater importance to man than a
scientist’s trip to the moon.
The mode of travel, as proposed
by the Wisconsin man, was espe
cially designed for crossing the
Northwest wilds of this continent,
where the valleys are low and the
hills are high, and where the snow
piles up and the mercury goe?
I
down.
The transport system that Louis
has invented will never be dis
rupted by wandering Alaskan
moose, nor will it be slowed up be
cause of bad weather, such as
heavy rains, snow, sleet or fog, be
cause it travels under-cover—not
under a roof, but through a tube
mounded over with earth. The
tubes will be below the frost line
1
and out of reach of the sun so as
to prevent expansion and contrac
' tion. Where bridging is necessary
' the tubes will be covered with
i sheeti*-./ and will be insulated.
| To* cars, which will be built in
I o:ie or more units, will travel
; through the tubes on rails, but not
on wheels. Since they will travel
at speeds in excess of 500 miles per
hour, wheels the least bit out of
balance would fly to pieces.
, You might say that the process
of skating will be reversed—in
stead of steel runners sliding on
an iced surface, this transport sys
tem will have runners that will
slide in the groove on V-shaped i
steel rails. But the runners won’t
be made of ice, because friction
melts ice. The inventor is keeping
that part of it a secret.
There will be three V-shaped
rails placed in a triangular posi
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MINERS & MERCHANTS
RANK OF ALASKA
NOME :: ALASKA
LEWIS CAB CO.
Phone MAIN 144
tion within the tubes—one over
head and two at the bottom. This
will keep the cars in position while
scooting around curves and shoot
ing up to the top of a mountain
range and then coming down on
the other side.
And the cars, built in the shape
of rockets, will not be equipped
with engines—they will be rocket
powered. And eventually atomic
power.
The tubes will be equipped with
drains for the disposal of seepage,
as well as with vents for the dis
charge of air pressure and gases.
When the cars leave a station all
the vents ahead will be open for
the release of the air pressure
ahead, but they will close auto
matically as the cars pass by them.
This will "build up” the force be
hind the cars.
All the cars will be entered from
the side at the stations, yet they
will have emergency exits at the
front and rear. Escape from the
tubes can be made through the
chimney-like vents that will ex
tend above ground to a height of
snow-fall level.
All the cars will be equipped
with radio and television sets, the
waves being picked up from the
rails. Broadcasts will originate a'
the terminals.
The entire system will be auto
matically controlled. The dis
patcher will know the whereabouts
of all cars at all times, and will be
able to talk by telephone with the
car operators. Electricity for light
ing and heating cars and for op
erating their contols will be fed tc
the cars through the rails.
All stations will be equipped
with gates that will shut-off the
tube so the air pressure in the tube
will aid the brake shoes gripping
the sides of the rails in stopping
the cars. An additional brake car
be applied by discharging rockets
from the front end. A controllec
vent in the tube at the station wil’
release surplus air pressure. Aftei
the car has stopped the tube would
be ventilated before the car and
station doors would be opened.
Then when the car is ready tc
leave the station the gate in front
of the car will be opened and an
other gate at the rear will be
closed. This will give the cars
“solid footing” in starting out, and
it will permit another car to fol
low.
The proposed route from Nome
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to Chicago will be a triple tube af
fair, and each of the tubes will be
about 12 feet in diameter.
All terminals along the route
will have turntables for turning
the cars around for return trips, or
for switching them into tubes lead
ing to loading stations or repair
shops.
Several other stations are pro
posed in Alaska besides the term
inal at Nome. One at Nulato o
Ruby on the Yukon, another nort!
of Mt. McKinley Park where th
tubes will cross the Seward an
Fairbanks railroad route, and ai
Rapids and Skagway, with inlan
stations serving Juneau, Peters
♦ burg, Wrangel and Ketchikan
where the tubes will skirt the bay
on its eastward swing into Canada
Then, too, there will be stations ai
Edmonton, Canada; Fargo, North
Dakota; Twin Cities, Minnesota
and LaCross and Madison, Wiscon
sin.
This transport system will mak<
Alaska a next door neighbor of thu
States, since it will give her direc
' transportation connections with
i the traffic center of North Amer
I ica. Such a hook-up will brinj
about a further development of th<
Territory, not only as a producer
1 but also as a vacation land. It wil
be possible for Chicagoans t(
spend the weekend in Alaska anc
COPS' TEMPERATURES UP
BLOOMINGTON, 111. ^—Po
licemen at the Bloomington station
daily for months have given the
correct time and temperature to an
unidentified woman telephone
caller who said she was “too poor”
to buy a radio and get the informa
, tion.
Finally they had an old radio re
paired as a gift for the caller but
before giving it to her one officer
investigated.
She lives in a better home than
any policeman could afford and
she has a fat bank account,” he
told his fellow officers.
The radio went to the police club
rooms. The woman calls every day
for the time and temperature.
be back on the job by Monday
morning.
The government of the United
States will be asked to provide the
right-of-way in exchange for a
road-bed for a super-highway that
can be built on top of the earth
t mounded over the tubes. The
. warmth of the tubes would almost
, keep the road-bed free of snow and
, ice in winter.
, The transport system will be es
I sential to the United States govern
> ment for secretly moving troops
I and supplies to Alaskan bases.
PRELUDE 70 A PERMANENT PEACE
Army Day —April 7 —is of great importance to every
peace-loving American. It proclaims our determina
tion, as a nation, to remain a power for peace. It oilers
to us, as individuals, opportunities to share in this
vital cause.
Preparing the way for permanent peace calls for
strong men and strong nations. It is imperative that
America retain certain basic military forces until
international co-operation and understanding can be
assured.
Our War Department offers four ways in which
you may serve. It may be either in the Regular Army,
the National Guard of the United States, the Organ
ized Reserve Corps, or the Reserve Officers Training
Corps. Only when these have been built up to full
peacetime strength will this nation be afforded an
adequate degree of protection.
On Army Day you will have a chance to review
these great military organizations. You will see
young men who are making known through action
their determination for sound and lasting peace. You
can do your part by supporting their vital program
in your community.
%
I I
VISIT ARMY DAY
EXHIBITS
APRIL 7-12, 1947
A Strong America
is a
Peaceful Ameriea