The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-11-22
ELECTRIC MOTORS.
The Work of snpplanting Horse
Cars Begins.
plans and Purposes OF the Company
with Regard TO the New
system.

work was commenced yesterday a.
cherry street on 4 switch foy the street
railroad on second street. This switch
viii be strung out 10 University, thus Civ
lnV the road practically q double isaek
from The stables at Pike street sosa 10 the
Slccidenfal hotel The rails are the beet
anatfsy Of 20 10. Wharton girdes. The sn-
rericr pattern Of the rail- attracted the at
seutfon Of Posr-iSTEILfgENcEa man.
rho inquired of Mr. y. H. oszood. pre.a
dent Of the company. a. 70 "a plans.
sJudging from the number Of odd 4ues-
lions which are put TO me, am inclined
10 thlnk that the police need some lnfor.
NATION on that point" answered Mr. Os-
GOOD. and In response 10 the inquiry Of the
reporser 10 tell him "aii about f." Ar. Os-
Good said that the Seattle Electric Rail
way & Power Company would soon be
-uaning the ears OF the Lake Union and
Mercer street lines by electricity. Iasf
July, the seattle company LET a contract
70 the Thompson q Houston Company OF
Boston TO 90 everything necessary for the
establishment Of the plant, with the ex-
eepslon Of the road bed and the cars. That
Is to say, the Boston company Is 10 furnish
the motors, trucks, wires, etc, for the en-
tire line. to establish the service, to operate
the road for n certain length Of time. and.
II Il Il satisfactory, 10 turn II over 10 the
price. The contract called for the com.
p]efion Of the plant before January 1. f9sn.
The cars will be the finest, haudsornest
and best fitted up that money can buy.
Each motor will have i0-horse power.
which can be increased to Is. aud each ear
Iii kns rrtf.f 49, m
power can be developed for one load Of
passengers II necessary.
car house eexI00 feet has been built al
the corner of Temperance and Mercer
streets, North Seattle. work has com
mcnced on the engine aud power house
which win he located on the water front
between Pike and Pine II viii be OF cor
rugaied iron, a'xs0 feet Men are now en-
gagged In building foundation for the en-
giRe, the work being done between tides,
Fifteen miles an hour Is the speed attain
able by the electric motors, but OF course,
they viii not be run so fast - that. Trips
will be made every y minutes instead Of
every half hour as now over each branch (:
~ car will leave the Commercial street
terminus every ~ minutes.
As has been announced. the present
borse-car system, a. soon as IL Is changed
to the electric motor. viii run ia eonjunc-
iron with the proposed line along West
the delay in making neces. arg improve
ments 10 this treei. construction il not
likely 10 begin before spring
The electric system OF motors 20 be used
by the company will be similar 10 those In
operation In various cities throughout the
East and In California, with the latest i'm.
proyements. The question as To
whether the system was certain
to be successful was care
fully considered aud discussed before def.
mite steps looking toward its adoption were
taken, and nearly every city In the United
States that was possessed If motor line
was visited. Those at Davenport, Iowa,
Allegheny City, Penn, aud many other
points were found 10 be running very
smoothly and satisfactorily. aud Ii was
then decided TO equip and construct sim.
liar line here, inasmueh as the ope.
ration Of street railways by electricity could
be safely considered an established reality.
and not an experiment The projectors oi
the enterprise have not the slightest fear
that the line viii not he a success from the
start. One hundred tons Of material have
been received via the Canadian Pacific
from the East. aud Ia two months il Is ex.
peeted that electric motors VIII Do running
through the streets OF Seattle