Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-03-02
Electrical Railways.

The first electrical locomotive was tried
on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway for
ty years ago. 1t crawled along at the rate
of four miles an hour, and was promptly laid
aside. II was not ill the invention of the
modern dynamo-electric machine that the
substitution of electricity for steam began
to be regarded as feasible. Everyone has
seen the toy tram car in the grounds Of the
Crystal Palace driven by electricity, on
which Il curious public rides at Cd per head
per journey. Similar playthings have been
at work 1T the various electrical exhibitions
at ST. Petersburg. Munich, Dusseldorf, Brlls-
sells and Berlin. At the electrical exhibition
in the palais dIndustrc at Paris, the prin-
clplc was applied i'll more practical fashion.
y tram car moved by electricity, transmit
ted from Il stationary engine by an overhead
cable, brought loads Of passengers to the
palace from the Place de Ia Concordc. in a
couple OF months ii conveyed $4,000 pas
sengcrs 10 ana from the exhibition but as
the fare for the short distance was at the
rate OF half Il crown 4 mile, il afforded no
guide rs 10 the commercial advantages ofthe
new motor. An experiment was made on the
LcytOnStOnc tramWay some months ago
when Il tram car WAS fitted up with Faurc
accumulatorS and set To work over Il mile
and IL half OF private tramway. It's speed
WAS seven miles an hour, but the weight of
the car with the accumulatorS was five and
Il half tons, and although! enthusiastic pro-
motors declared that it would reduce the
cost Of traction by onc-halr, the experiment
has not been renewed. \ very successful
application Of the electric motor has been
made by Il large linen blcacher in Calvados.
nlp ,,, :,
no smoke, passes up and down the bleach
ing fields. winds up the hleached linen and
conveys it to the works. This, however, is
a speciality entirely in private hands. The
only public tramway worked by electricity
is that Of the Messrs. Siemcns in Berlin
They 1T first projected an abomination in
the shape Of an overhead electric railway
six miles long, but The Emperor would not
allow the Linden to be disligurcd, and the
projectors contented themselves with short
line Il mile and a halflong between LIGHTER
icldc and the Military Academy The new
motor was also employed for Il time on the
tramway line between Charlottcnburr and
the -pandaucr Book. The current at
first wa5 passed along the rails from Il
stationary engine, but ii IS now conveyed
BY cables SlunS in mid air. Il lrightiul ad-
dition 10 the horrors OF modern civilization
Although il can be driven ut the rate Of
thirty miles an hour, the regulation pace is
not more than ten. 1t is convenient sim
pie and manageable, but il has not been
Il financial success. On the other side Of
the Atlantic Mr.. Edison has made private
line, three ana one half miles long, to his
works in Mclno Park. He sends the cur
rent along the rails, and claims to be able to
drive his car at the rate OF fifty miles an
hour. Hc estimates the saving at 80 per
cent. upon The cost of steam but Mr. Edi-
son is m enthusiast whose estimates donot
always correspond with his results. He has,
however. achieved n sufficient measure OF
success to secure orders for several electric
motors. which are to he used on Il new Swiss
line An electric railway is projected in
Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, and there is
some talk Of putting UP an overhead electric
railway in Paris, to run from the Arc de
lEtoile, at the head Of the Champs Elysees.
to the Place de Ii Bastile, ut the other side
Of the city. These projects. however, are
as yet nothing more than projects, and will
probably not be carried ino execution until
it has been proved that electric tramways
will pay. PMi !lIalt GS2cttc.