The railway meeting

THE first Institute meeting held in the main auditorium was that of January 25. The subject of the paper, the standing of the authors, Messrs. Stillwell and Putnam, the general interest in the electric railway situation, combined with a natural desire to test the practical qualities of the hall, served to attract an audience of about twelve hundred, the largest number ever attending a meeting of the Institute. The seating capacity of this auditorium is one thousand, which may, however, be slightly increased in the future by an additional row of seats. Seats may also be temporarily placed at the four double doors in the corridor which completely encircles the hall. The acoustic properties of the room are fine, the coat-room accommodations ample, and every possible detail has been carefully worked out. Judging from the experience of one meeting engineers are to be congratulated upon the successful solution of a problem which has always confronted them in New York as well as in many smaller cities. The close attention which was given to the words of all the speakers was sufficient evidence of the interest shown by the auditors.