The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1870-08-11
AN IMPORTANT INVENTION.
India Rubber as a Motive Power
for Street Railway Cars.

A new and remarkable simple means of
propelllng cars lately has been brought to
notice. Mr.. Solomon Jones, of this city,
gentleman Of mechanical turn of mind,
has. IN his experiments, had his attention
called to the wonderful power possessed by
lndla>rubber when contracting after having
been stretched. He used it in number
OF instances where the wear and tear would
have destroyed meta and was led to believe
IN every instance 1t was far superior to
metal, IN wearing qualities, and that it
further possessed motive power in itself.
tie Used II as a motive power In several
Ingenious mechanical contrivances, and
found his most sanguine hopes realized.
n IS attention was then called to applying
this motive!power to street cars. He started
with the idea that there were two re,
qulrements to be looked after first econ
oiny in cost; and then economy of SPACE
second, slmpl!clty-a machine not reuuir.
ing an expert, but capable OF being handled
by the ordinary individual.
Alter long series of experiments. he
discovered that the Para rubber was cana,
bic OF stretching ten feet for every one of
Its ordinary length, and that. the retractiIe
power was enormous. He made system
OF ,turnlngs, windings, and twists Of this
rubber power which wond enable him tn
place 1t under any car without altering ITS
present build, and which would give him
power capable of propeling that car
through the streets at rate always at the
command of the man in charge. and capa-
Die OF lasting the wear and tear of constant
service tor years.
bis machinery was very simple the rub
Der was wound upon a drum, and the drum
nncn lat lnasA tho ...o,v
At speed more than could be desired were
it not that it is under perfect command
from simple system Of cogs working under
the leverage power, in the hands of the
conductor. His model was sent to Wash
ington to the patent office, and although i,
was not all he could wish, as he was com
PEELED to use common gas pipe rubber ia
place of the material be proposes to use,
it passed the rigid scrutiny of that Office,
famous for the care and strictness OF its ex>
aminatlons, and a patent was issued to him,
in connection with MIR. Bernard TerHoth,
one of our well>known mechanics, for this
new invention. For street cars, two bands
of the rubber % inches in diameter and
Sc feet in length each, will be used Each
piece will be attached TO separate drum.
ami as The stretch of the rubber will be ten
feet to one, $50 feet will be run off the
drum before 1t becomes necessary to use
its tellow-drum. In running off this $50
feet, distance Of l4.l75 feet, over two
miles, will be traversed by the cars; the
other drum is then called into reouisition.
and while it is propelirg the car the ex.
hausted drum is pound up by the same
leverage which the conductor uses to stop
and control the car the only trouble the
conductor has Is to throw the lever off the
drum IN motion, slmpl. operation, which
can be reversed in minute if it becomes
necessary to stop the car The present
cost OF running street car is over $4,000
year, independent Of the five mules re
quired for 1t, whose value must be between
SIX aud eight or nine hundred dollars.
With the new arrangement, the cars are
put IN running order with the rubber MO.
tive power at an expense of $3.50 car.and
have, while running, only the $50 month
to pay the driver or conductor, whatever
he pay be called. The rubber will GER
talniy last as long as the ear will run. and
the machinery 1t moves is bot calculated 10
wear out fast, IS there can be very little
friction on cog wheels. The heavy wear
and tear must necessarily, as at present ha
upon the Journals of the axIcs. The fact
that that the rubber will last is amnIv Il.
Illustrated by the wonderful enduring powers
OF the present rubber springs now used for
cars. The cars may wear out, but the
rubber spring are taken out of the old ones
and put into the new
This invention is not by any means in.
tended to be confined to the propulsion of
the streets cars; it is intended to be adapt
cd 70 everything now monopo!ized by
steam. 1t can be made useful in the bouss.
hold or the factory to run sewing machines
and our citizens will soon have an oppor~
tunlty of seeing 1t tested working fan. in
one OF our churches. Its remarkable
chea2nsss and the economy with which it
can be used make it all the more desirable
The Mobile City Railroad company are
preparing to accommodate their ear, to the
new invention, and the death kDell Of tho
mule is already sounded there, and per-
haps In few month. we shall be able to
witness the astonishing spectacle of our
own cars running the streets by india rub,
Der power.-lNew Orleans Republican.
peach tree growing from the spot where
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