Mr. Tesla on High Speed Electric Railroading

In an interview with a New York Journal reporter Mr. Tesla gives his views on high speed railroading. He says:

"The projectors of the road to be operated by means of the alternating current evidently realize what a vast undertaking they are entering into, as is indicated by their capitalization. First of all, it is not only practicable, but easy of perfection. The question of great speed will be greatly controlled by the quality of the track and the running gear on the cars. Properly constructed tracks, on level country, will permit a rate of speed as high as 150 miles an hour, and perhaps 200, as its stated by the president of the company, but it is certain that 100 miles an hour can be made with safety.

"So far as any personal discomfort is concerned, it is my impression that without curves and heavy grades such as are found on surface roads, the flight of a train traveling 100 miles an hour would not be any more unpleasant than one traveling 60. An air line road built eight feet above the ground, with no obstructions, and perfected running gear and heavy tracks, would cover the distance between here and Chicago easily in nine hours, and mail and light freight could even travel at the 150 mile rate.

"The venture is a big one — large enough, I should say, for the government to handle. It will revolutionize railroad travel and work great changes in commerce between cities wide apart. 

"The popular impression that the speed is too great amounts to nothing. Balloonists have gone 150 miles an hour, and so far as a question of velocity is concerned, it depends upon the machinery and the excellence of the track. The human frame can stand the trip just as easily as at half that speed..

"If the General Electric Company has offered to sign a contract to equip the road I am satisfied that all the petty obstructions have been carefully investigated, and that the promoters mean business. Either the General Electric Company or the Westinghouse can supply the power if others will supply the capital. So far as the alternating current is concerned, it will supply the speed."