The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-10-08
ELECTRIC ILLUMINATION
Eta Proxress-EdI-on's System In
Practical Opere.ton--Et- Cost
The Brush-SwAn SysIen tn
Cheyenne.

for the general purposes of interior
lighting, has about drawn to q close.
1t Is now pretty generally conceded
what there never has been any easo
for denying that the known laws Of
electric transmission interpose 10 bar
to the successful solution of the prob
lem, but that the difficulties in the way
are solely Of a practical kind.
For some time past most Of the stores
on Fulton street New York, from
Nassau street TO the East river have
been lighted by the Edison electric
light, and there ara other places in the
6rst district, which extends from
Spruce to Wall street that are also
lighted in the same manner.
Professor Lungren IN the Popular
Science Monthly for September gives a
very elaborate aud interesting descript-
ion of this light and the cost of pro-
ducing it. The professor says it may
be u question whether the Edison
system of distribution is the one which
will prove the most satisfactory in
practice; objections to it of considerable
force in tho opinion of some, are the
great cost of the mains, and conduct
ing wires, and the difficulty of hand
ling engines and boilers to meet the
sudden variations of demand. On this
account. and on recount of the greater
freedom secured in the matter of work
ing various pieces of apparatus with
out interference, it would seem that
the system Of distribution which in
cludes a storage battery would be pre-
ferable, and MAJ become the final form
adopted in electric illuminations."
Before proceeding to estimate the
cost Of the plant to generate and DIS
tribute electricity sufficient to maintain
"a certain number of burners, Il few
words descriptive OF Mr.. Edson's system
will be desirable, especially as there APP
pears to be considerable misapprehen-
ton on the subject. The distribution
Is what Is known as in multiple arc
that Is, the lamps are placed upon
crus3 wires between the conductors.
Imagine Il ladder erected upon an
ordinary railway, go that 1t stands
across tile track, each foot resting upon
one OF the rails. Then these rails will
represent the outgoing and returning
street conductors; the side bars Of the
ladder; the house conductors; and each
rung a lamp.
The strt ct mains consist of wrought
iron tubes about two inches in diameter.
containing two half round copper rods
imbedded in an insulating r~esinous
cement.
A main of this kind is carried con-
t%inuously around each city block. AT
the intersection of the streets the con.
ductors ARE brought together and Joined
to a main somewhat larger, termed a
feeder, which supplies the current to
to these four blocks.
1t IS the intention of the Edison com.
pany to light up a district in New York
city of three square miles and 10 supply
40,00o lamps, which will require a total
/ ltllHNu Vi my hlllNb VI uidlun. w Idl
then will be the cost of such an electric
plantp
Professor Lupgren says 'if we take
eight sixtesn-candle lamps, maintained
throught the whole system for each
actual horse power applied to the
dynamo-machine, engines with a nor,
NAL capacity Of five thousand horse,
power will be required to sustain the
maximum number of burners. Two
distributing stations and 25 steam
dynamos of 200 horsepower each will
be necessary. These dynamos will
cost about IS 600 each, or total oil
$500, 000. The boilers set ready for use
will cost $40. per horse power, making
the entire producing portion of the
plant, exclusive of real estate, cost
100000. The same number of miles
of electric mains will be required as for
gas. The conductors, equivalent to
round rods, with a uniform diameter
of one half inch weigh three quarters
of n pound per foot and 1855 pounds
per mile, and cost at IS cents per pound,
81, 1l6 per mile.
AS there are two rods in each main
the cost per mile for copper will be
81, 232. 10 this must be added 81, 200
per mile for wrought iron tubes. boxes
at the joints between the mains and
house wires, and insulating material,
and $1,000 per mile for laying, making
the total cost of the main per mile, laid
ready for use Sf,432. Four ffths of
mains will be of this siza, the other
fifth being feeders equivalent TO round
rods three. fourths of an inch in diane
ter. These latter would therefore cost
S2,340 per mile, and taking the cost Of
inciosing tubs, insulation; and laying
the same AS above, their total cost per
mile will be 81, l96. The total cost of
mains, forty miles at S4,432 per mile,
and ten miles ut $7,l9G per mile, will
therefore mount to the same ms gas
mains, viz. $3.50 900. II real estate be
added at $50, 900 the entire cost of such
a plant will amount to 5000, COO"
1t will be seen that such a system
cannot be economically adopted to
smaller cities or towns. A district To
be lighted of say of one mile long hy
one-half mile wide, like that of Che,-