Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-11-01
AN ELECTRIC MOTOR.
EXperimentings With San Francisco
Street Cars.
iSan Francisco Chronicle. I


force sufficiently powerful to move rail
way car has occupied the minds of the best
electricians in this country and Europe tol
the last ten years and there are those who
maintain that electricity will yet take the
place of steam as motive power and come
into general use on railways and ocean
vessels. The question Of greatest import
ance, however. in connection with the use
of electricity, is it's cost. No dicovery yet
made has the merit of cheapening the pres
ent forces used as propulsve agents. There
is short electric railway in Germany, but
the statistics do not show its superiority to
steam power in point Of economy or dura-
bility. The City railroad company have
for some months past had under construc-
tion at their shops on Mission street, IN
this city, an electric engine, the electricians
Molera and Cebrian being entrusted with
the supervision of the machinery and
work. A reporter visited the shops of the
company yesterday. where the Superinten-
dent, E. De Witt, was found.
Il understand that your company have
built railway car to be run by elec-
| tricity?" he was asked.
YES sir, we have had one built here" "
replied Mr.. De Witt.
power?'
STORED electricity
please explain the term stored cleo
ericity"
well, steam engine is used to generate
electricity in battery Of some sixty odd
cells, which when thoroughly charged with
the electric current deyelopes a power
strong enough to move q car"
What kind of carp
THE same as any ordinary street car,
excepting that platform is prepared in
the front of it for the storing of the bat
terry"
Have you given a trial to this electric
carr"
"Yes sir; and to certain extent it upe-
rated successfully, but there was one de-
cided objection, which the electricians are
now endeavoring to overcome"
What was that?
"The supply of electricity is exhausted
too soon.'
How long does it take to generate the
electric current %
"A steam engine of eight-hOrse power
requires about five hours to thoroughly
charge the cells with sufficient quantity
Of electricity to propel the car"
How long time were you able to run
the car with the full power Of the stored
current -
Not more than thirty minutes. If the
supply could be made to last several hours
it might answer, but the expense attending
its use would be too great to make it Of
value"
DO the electricians hope to remove this
objection -
They are busy now, believe, in trying
to overcome this fault, and they feel as
sured they can produce battery that will
run q car several hours without renewal"
A Congregationalist in n UnivesaIist
Pulpit.
Boston Post
A good and true story is going the
rounds Of Boston about the adventure of a
worthy Congregationalist pastor, who min
listers to suburban church He had
agreed to supply Roxbury pulpit for an
absent brother He came into Boston
and promptly took Highland car for the
scene of his evenings labor In due time
he deserted a steeple, and, reaching the
church, got out, walked in, took off his
evercoat in the vestry and went straight
way to the pulpit. He glanced around on
the congregation, and proceeded, after a
minute or two's delay, to give out a good
old standard Congregational hymn. The
congregation proceeded to find the place,
the ogan gave the tune and the singing
commenced. While it was in progress the
Sexton walked up the pulpit stairs and
said 10 our suburban friend:
mr. will be here in a few min
utes.'
The situation flashed upon him, but
suppressing his emotion, he asked:
Why, isn't this Mr.. IS church ~
mo, sir, replied the sexton, this is the
Universalist church"
There was an exchange of places a few
minutes later. The friends of the suburb
an minister are now fond of asking him
how he came to enter the Universalist min
istry. He laughs and solaces himself with
the remark:
"Well, l got them to sing good ortho-
dox hymn, anyhow"