Daily Republican., 1882-05-22
BERLIN LETTER.
Tfial trip Of the New Elestrlsal
Carriages - Extensive Expert
menes Made.

IIl0l trip OF tm0 N oW Electrical
Carriages Extensive Expert
msnss Asdo.
Regular Csrrespondenee.
BERLIN, PRUSSIA, May 9Th, 1882.
On Saturday the trial trip was made
with S!emen's improved electrical ap
paratus and new carriages. on the tram.
way from Charlottonburg to the Spand
amer Book, in the western outskirts ol
Berlin. The electrician has in this line
solved the problem Of making the cleo
trio car overcome rising gradient of
to 80. For half . mile the line has on
leaving the suburbs of Charlottonburg
to ascend hill, and here the speed WAS
maintained at ten to twelve kilometers
or about seven miles an hour. Once on
the top of the Spandaner Berry the line
is on level, and here the cars attained
a speed of between sixteen and twenty
kiometers, or an average Of eleven
miles All hour.
The line, conducted az an ordinary,
/ tramway, is distinguished from any
other by two thin wire cables, which
you perceive at a certain elevation
above it, resting on telegraph poles.
On these two isolated cables, which are
about nine inches apart, tiny carriage
runs, carried by eight wheels. those on
the right being isolated from those on
the lett. A thin cable unites this min
iature machine with the passenger car
below, and the two wires 1t contains
transmits electricity from the two
cables above to the dynamo, which is
fixed to the bottom of the car. On the
top of the hill Is a small house, where
the steam engine 10 situated which gen.
crates the electro. motive force.
In the first electric railway produced
by DIR. Werner Siemens at the Berlin
Industrial Exhibition in the summer
of the year 1879, the current was con-
veyed into the car by means of the
rails and wheels, going from one rail
into one set of wheels and out again on
the opposite side from the wheels into
the other rail. The system is in use on
the short line that connects the Royal
school of Cadets at Lichterfelde with
the railway terminus. Besides the in
convenience this arrangement offered
in the difficulty of keeping up the ne
cessary insulation of the rails, constant
ly threatened by mud and dust, this
system was particularly troublesome
to the horses whose hoofs in crossingthe
rails came in contact with the electric
current, thus intiicting on the animals
an unpleasant shock. AT the electric
exhibition in Paris DR.. Siemens con.
Quoted the current through tubes, but
his new invention Of small contact
car running on two suspended cables
and dragged along by the p Mssnger car
to which it is attached seems to be de-
cided improvement and Berlin cleo
triciaps assert that the problem ofadop
ting electricity to tramways is now
solved.
The two cars employed to-day were
not joined together, but each went sep
arately. In future it Is intended that
two cars shall always leave the termi-
nal stations at the same time, 30 as to
meet half way, where there is siding.
The stationary steam engine has to
work at the rate of SO horse power la
order to produce the necessary force
of about 6 horse power for each of the
two oars when on the level + art, and OF
10 horse power when ascending the
hill. / shall not enlarge on several ex-
periments which were made to test the
facility of driving the cars backwards
and forwards and connecting the two
cars, but limit myself to mentioning
that, after lunch, the invited guests
proceeded to Wilmersdorf to Inspect an
electric conveyance which runs on the
high road without rails. c. AS.