. Cassier's magazine. mobile stage coach; but its con-struction and equipment are muchcheaper than the former, and its effi-ciency is greater than that of the latter. The most serious item in the con-struction of any railway is the cost ofthe road-bed. This great initial outlayprohibits the construction of railways inparts of the country where the trafficof passengers or goods is not heavyenough to insure fair returns upon thecapital invested. The development ofelectric railway lines is limited to com-paratively thickly-populated suburbansections. It cannot penetrate far intothe country unless
. Cassier's magazine. mobile stage coach; but its con-struction and equipment are muchcheaper than the former, and its effi-ciency is greater than that of the latter. The most serious item in the con-struction of any railway is the cost ofthe road-bed. This great initial outlayprohibits the construction of railways inparts of the country where the trafficof passengers or goods is not heavyenough to insure fair returns upon thecapital invested. The development ofelectric railway lines is limited to com-paratively thickly-populated suburbansections. It cannot penetrate far intothe country unless there are reasonableindications that population will increaserapidly in the near future. The ques-tion of using automobile lines as feedersfor the electric railways has been underserious consideration for the past twoyears; but, with the exception of a fewisolated instances, no practical demon-stration has been made of the feasibilityof this idea. The trackless trolley serves as the ELECTRIC TROLLEY OMNIBUS LINES 319. A GERMAN SNOW AUTOMOBILE OMNIBUS ON THE HAIDEBAHN, BETWEEN DRESDEN AND KLOTZSCHE, GERMANY missing link in this chain of coun-try and suburban traffic route is permanent, but its cost ofconstruction and equipment is so lowthat it can operate through a sparselysettled region and still return good in-terest on the investment. It taps thelittle hamlet a few miles back from thesteam or electric railway; it skirts theisolated farms in agricultural regions tocarry goods and farm produce to townor city; it connects two parallel steamrailways so that residents of the countrycan take their choice in going to distantpoints; it follows the line of fertile val-leys where scattered farm houses areshut off from direct communication withthe rest of the world, and, finally, itopens up new regions for settlement,promising serviceable goods and pas-senger transportation from the start. The trackless trolley may prove thepioneer, in many parts of the country,of futur
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