The Kearney High-Speed Railway

                                                  Society of Engineers




                                              Introduction by The Right Hon.
                                             Lord Headley, M.Inst. C,E,I,. F.S.E.

                The acceptance of any novel or unexpected application of a  sound principle always takes time in this country and the time naturally seems very unreasonably long to the inventor who sees a long way ahead of the general public. I do not think that any scientific invention or suggestion can be pointed to- I refer mainly to those we now benefit from, such as the Steam Locomotive, the Westinghouse Brake or the Sewing Machine- which has not had to fight against unworthy rivalry or vested interests ; every big invention has had to pay toll to apathy, stupidity, or worse.
                Mr, Kearney's High - Speed Railway is a big time-saver and as I said in the course of a few remarks on the occasion of the discussion on his Paper to the Society of Engineers in 1917, it seems to me to be eminently suitable for Tube Railways.
               No doubt Mr Kearney is up against old ideas, but so were the Motor Omnibus and the Motor Taxi up against the old Horse Omnibus and the old "Four-Wheeler". Don't we all recognise the improvement? Don't we like to get to our business quicker, so that we have a little more time at home or at play? Are not the very people who raised the first objections those who now reap the advantages?
               I happen to be very keenly interested in another time-saving and labour saving device - I refer to the. Gattie Clearing House System- the adoption of which would save the country an annual waste of about £500,000,000 in the carriage of all classes of goods, and I recognise in Mr Kearney's System a similar economic venture which will, I predict, prove a boon to passengers in congested areas as well as to those who travel long distances.
              A perusal of the following pages will explain the saving effected by the fuller use of the force of gravity and elimination of much waste and loss through friction. The scheme is one which cannot fail to enlist the sympathy of thinkers and workers both on account of the ease of transport, the cheapness, and the great saving in time at present often wasted in waiting for the boat across a river, or from one crowded locality to another. The Kearney System is a sound engineering scheme and it's it's success should be assured.

                                              Headley,
                                                              M.Inst. C.E.I., F.S.E,. &C

     "Ivy Lodge"
            St, Margret's-on-Thames.
      29th September, 1919.