Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1870-08-20
ANEW ORLEANS INVENTION.
Indian Rubber Motive Pewer---Cars 10
be Run in Mobile by Rubber--its
Advantage, Economy and Lasting
Propcrties-vide Mulc.
From the New Orleans Republican,


From the New Orleans Republican,
Ever since street railroads have
fought their way against popular pre-
Judice into favor, II has been felt that
the enormous expense incidental tC
running them should be so reduced as
to render the price of travel through
our streets as low as possible. The
cars were intended for the people
and not for those only of the wealthy
class. The New Orleans proprietors
of car lines attempted to reduce theil
expenses In order to run their cars al
O rate to permitlow fares by discharg.
ing conductors and adopting the boz
system, with the driver only In
charge.
Every encouragement has, In the
past, been given by the companies tc
inventors who had any plan to offel
which the enormous expense of EN-.
ploying animal power could be dis
pensed with. Steam was out of the
question, and no man, however pop.
ular he might be, could have safely
recommended its use In our crowded
streets. Under the announcement O.
our railroad companies a large mum.
Der Of Inventors offered their plans
and had them tested. Ingenuity and
skill were evidently apparent In every
new plant Tut after ali the capitalist
held back and deciified to invest in
the Pneumolc, the Ammonia and the
Pelican. There seemed to be a doubt
as to their final success, not particular.
ly because their trial trips might have
In some particulars failed, but because
itseemed probable that the ex pense at!
tending their adoption might be eQual
to the expense attending the employ.
ment of m ule power.
A new and remarkably simple
means of propelling cars has, hOwev.
er, only lately been brought to thefI
notice. Mr.. Solomon Jones, a gen.
tleman of mechanical turn of mind,
who has hitherto distinguished him.
self by the invention of the most in.
tricate and remarkable description OF
machinery, had in his experiment.
his attention called to the wonderful
power possessed by India rubber when
contracting after having been stretch.
ed. He used 1t i'm number of instan.
ces where the wear and tear would
have destroyed metal, and was led tC
believe that In every instance 1t was
far superior to metal in wearing quail.
tiles, and that it further possessed q
motive power in itself. Heused it as
O motive power In several ingenious
mechanical contrivances, and found
his most sanguine hopes realized.
Hio ottanfinr q tho,, oaIIol - n -
plying this motive power to street
cars. He started with the idea that
there were two requirements to be
looked after: first, ecOnomyin cost, and
then economy in space; second, sim.
plicity-a machine not requiring an
expert, but capable of being handled
by the ordinary individual.
After a long series of experiments,
he discovered that the Para rubber
was capable of stretching ten feet for
every one Of its ordinary length, and
that the retractile power was enor-
NOUS. He made q system of turn
ings, windings and twists of this rub
Der power which could enable him to
place 1t under any car without alter
ing its present build, and which
would give him a power capable OF
propelling that car through thestreets
at rate always at the command of
the man In charge and capable of last
ing the wear and tear of constant use
for years.
His machinery was very simple,
the rubber was wound upon q drum,
and the drum once let loose the car
to move ut a speed more
than could be desired were It not that
1t Is under command from q simple
system Of cogs working under the
leverage power in the hands of the
His Model was sent to
Washington to the Patent Office, and
1t was not all he could wish,
as he was compelled to use O COM
mon gas pipe rubber in place of the
material he proposes to use,
II passed the rigid scrutiny Of that Of
flee, famous for the care and strict
ness OF its examinations, and a patent
was issued to him, In connection with
Mr.. Berward Teifloth, one of our
mechanics, for this new
invention. For street cars two bands
Of the rubber, two and a-half inches
In diameter and fifty-six feetin length
each, will be used.
Each piece will be attached to a
drum, and as the stretch ofthe
rubber will be ten feet for one, $50 feet
will be run off the drum before it be-
comes necessary to use his fellow drum.
In running off this $40 feet, n distance
Of 14,l75, feet, over two miles, will
be traversed by the cars the other
drum Is then called into requsition,
and while it is propelling the car the
drum is wound up with 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 mo-
tion, a simple operation, which can
Do reversed In minute II 1t becomes
necessary to stop the cars. The pre-
sent cost of running street railroad
,ar Is over 5000 year, independent
)f the five mules required for il, whose
value must be between six and eight
,r nine hundred dollars.
With the new arrangement, the
"a rs are put In running order with
,he rubber motive power at an ex-
,ense of about $3.50 and car, a have
while running, only the $50 q month
20 pay the driver or conductor, what
,ver he may be called. The rubber
Will certainly last as long as the car
will run, and the machinery 1t moves
S not calculated to wear out fast, as
here can be very little friction on
The heavy wear and
ear must necessarily, as at present,
10 upon the journal Of the axles. The
act that the rubber will last Is amply
Illustrated by the wonderful enduring
powers of the present rubber springs
lsed for cars. The ears may wear
'ut, but the rubber springs are taken
'ut of the old ones and put into the
lew.
This invention Is not by any means
Intended to be confined 10 the popul-
ion OF street cars; IL IL intended To be
ldopted to everything now monop0-
lied by steam. 1t can he made use
ul In the houshold or the factory TO
H.. IA n t.a-