The Cecil Whig., 1886-07-03
ELECTRIC RAILWAY POSSIBILITIES
Some Successful E>periments-What In
yenlorS Promise.

The idea of tly ing acioss the country
at the rate of 4 hundred miles an hour
without any visible means of propulsion
may seem prepnsterous, and yet that it
will be done IN the present generation is
confidently predicted by electricians
Recent experiments on the elevated roads
in this city have proved beyond shadow
of doubt that electricity can be employed
i'll moving a train OF ears more rapidly
aud with much more safety than Il steam
LOCOMOTIVES. Taking this as their key
note, the delivers into electric secrets are
preparing series of surprises for their
icllow-mcn, and declare that before long
they will entirely rcvolutionize the rail
way SyStem Of the world. Outside of
those url5 for exhhi ion aud experiment
there are serGra! short electric railways
in operation which 80 to prove their
piicticability. Ia tie Subu bs of Berlin
is what is called The Lchtcrfelle Eiec
tric L.ne. &; mile and a half long, which
has been i'll constant operation since May,
1881. Dl November !, 1883. an electric
railway was opened between Portrush,
County Antrim, Ireland, and Bushwil's
near tl.e Giants Causeway, a distance OF
cesstul daily operation since. Thtre are
also railways il L lgland using the same
motive power at Brighton, Newry and
Black Pool; at Vienna, and in this coun
try at Baltimore, Cleveland and South
Bond, led. Printing 10 these and other
examples as specimens Of what is posi-
bic the electricians propose to transform
all the steam railways into electric rail
ways, arguing that they Can be operated
1T less than one half the cost of the
steam Lines.
If half the plans of the inventors are
realized travellers may we'll declare that
their millennium has come. IN place of
the s;ckly blaze of the oil lamp, whose
only mission seems to be to graduate the
line between dan kness and dimness, the
cars will be brilliantly illuminated with
incandeScent electric lights and heated
by electricity, thus removing all danger
from fire i'll case of accident. Each coach
sill be supplied with telephone and
paasen gers may communicates with friends
anyW iIele along tie line while The train
is III motion. The iir and jrlt attendant
npon .he rapid passage of trains VIII be
reduced to Il minimum by the use Of
lighter Cals, and as there will be 10 fire
there will be 40 smo.c 90 soil linen and
no cinders To play havoc with the eyes.
Tne same p.wrr which runs the trains
can b used at freight depoC9 in handling
heavy freight and along the line in work
in9 the signal systems and telegraph in
StrliIeats, lowering and raising gates
and turning drawhriiscs. Many of these
schemes may seem like dreams but they
have all been succe ssfully tried and only
require 4 t3.vorn3ie opportunity to come
into general u>:. J. is not improbable,
in view of the success thu. far met in
improving railway afp'ia"cas, that some
electrician boiler than the rest Will set
aboHt deyisi"; electric ticket agents who
viii he civil a'.d accommodating; CON
ductoia who Will noy interrupt pleasant
reveries and refreshing maps at every
statl ~ to sean :hc tickets and brakemen
who will announce the names of the
places alon She line in nluner intelli-
sibls t. hu uau beings.