-> Having had many many years of experience with the NYC subway system,
-> I am having a hard time picturing how this would work as well.
Roy, the thing fit the tunnel GOOD!!  Like the tunnel was a cylinder and
the 'car' was a piston!  There may have even been some sealing 'rings'
to help hold the vacuum.  (Didn't SEE that.)
-> Sorry I missed that one,  I kinda like subways,  or at least I used
-> to.  Of course,  those in NYC have changed rather drastically since I
-> started riding them as a kid.  
This was well before even YOUR time Roy,   18xx somethings.  Jim?
It was certainly not like anything ELSE you likely ever saw.
-> But for how long would be my biggest question?  There were a lot of
-> things that were done there over the years that had to be changed as
-> some practical things reared their head over time.
Well, it worked well enough and long enough to prove the concept
feasible.... sort of...... didn't mean to suggest it was PRACTICAL from
a fiscal point of view, just that it was the fore runner of all subways
in NYC.  Think there was one in Boston, or maybe in Europe, but this was
up front in NYC.
-> Is this thing supposed to be actually parked somewhere under NYC?  If
-> so,  I'm
Yep!  It's there.  They discovered it while poking around under there
for some civil project.  Ask at the city engineers office, some old hack
will know.  I seem to remember that it was WGBH that filmed it but I
could be wrong.
-> there,  though I haven't any immediate plans to do so...
It would certainly be worth the trip if they'd let you look!  The whole
rig was PLUSH too!
 ^..^
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