The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-29
IN RAILWAY CIRCLES.
Another Wreck in the North The
Sprague System.

OiSpaCcn received In this city yesterday
from Mr.. Ressigue, says: Freight train
No. oil ran into some stock about one
mile east of Topaz at 7.30 a. m. Thurs
day night. The engine and twenty cars
were derailed, and Engineer Dan Hill
Fireman Leonard and Brakeman c. G.
Walton we're killed. The bodies of all
three were found on the engine The
track will be passsble by noon to-day.
The cars were loaded with coal, and the
damage TO property will be about SIS 600
LATER-A private telegram dated at
Pocatello, at 6p. N. last evening, says
that the remains of D. M. Hill, the en-
gineer, will arrive in Ogden at p. m.
Today.
The Sprague Electric Railway and
Motor Company, of New York, have
made proposition to Ma jnr Wilkes for
the equipment of his proposed electric
street railway, and representative of
the company will arrive here in day
or two for the purpose of concluding
these arrangements. It is expected that
work will be commenced by November
]. M. Ricketts,, who is associated with
Major Wilkes in this enterprise, left for
the east yesterday morning on business
connected with the road. AS stated in
THE HERALD a few days ago, the
Sprague system has just been intro
duced in Davenport, Iowa. The
following account of the trial trip
is from the Davenport Tribune:
An immense advance for Davenport
was the verdict pronounced Sunday
evening after the first electric car IN
Iowa had made several trips over the
line. Car No. started Sunday, at 3
o'clock am, and went over the road to
East Davenport at a terrific speed, with
out q single hitch and no stops at
switches or corners, which were made
with perfect ease. Sunday evening
everyone was watching for the car,
which started at Second and Brady at
$40, went up Brady to Fifteenth Street,
thence east to the end of the line,
thence back to Brady and north to
Central Park, then down Brady to the
power station: in all distance of FIVE
and three quarter miles in thirty-eight
minutes. Not single flaw was found
either in trolley wire or ground wire.
The route taken is made with :horses in
one hour and twenty minutes, and in
cludes the long Brady Street hill,
100 feet, with 7-30 per cent. grade ;
300 feet on Thirteenth Street,
of per cent grad9; and $40 feet north
of Locust of 3 per cent grade; eight
switches to be made on the ronnd trip,
twelve curves and:three railroad cross
ings. The car lighted by five sixteen
candle-power Edison lights, was Ger
taiDly a remarkable and beautiful sight
The cars were built by the Laclede Co.,
st. Louis, and are made very strong,
Oh, yioS n h. ~ l.,
and weigh, with the motor attached
5000 pounds; they are twenty-five feet
all over and have the swinging gear so
as to take the corners easily. They are
beautifully finished. The motors are
IN h. P. each, and are hung to eacL
axle, and both are worked at the same
time from either end of the car by
means of switch which the Car regu-
lator operates with his left hand while
managing the brake with his right. At
either end of the Car is an electric fare
box, which rings bell as each
fare is dropped into the box,
and registers each so it drops
below out of sight. The Central road
was the first electric road to use these
boxes. The trollery is so placed on the
roof of the car as to allow plenty of
motion to the trollery wheel, but keep
ing the latter pressed up against the
underside of the overhead or trollery
wires. The car receives its power from
the trollery wire. The current gener-
ated from the two car dynamos is from
400 to $50 volts only, and is by no
means dangerous. Mr.. SFregue rr1:es
"The pressure need not be more than
450 volts, and my men have frequently
gotten shocked, both in practice and by
way of a practical ioAe at from 400 to
800 volts, which is not comfortable, of
course, but from which they have
never suffered any Inconvenience. The
third dynamo gives a pressure Of 900
volts only, which will be u ed to furnish
power for motors for printing process,
elevators and machinery of most any
kind"
PASSENGERS by the Erie Railway have
for several months past noticed the
steady progress of erection of the new
station and train shed at Jersey City,
which are now completed and will be
opened to the public for the first time
to day November 27). The cost ex-
ceeds $500, 600. The station building
proper is three stories high, of the Eng.
lish Gothic style of architecture, treated
in free and unconventional manner,
and is Tepiete with al the modern con
Veniences; it has frontage of l27 feet
on Pavonia Avenue and river frontage
OF 40 feet; the foundations are of hard
brick laid in Portland cement, COPIED
with North River stone four
inches thick; this rests upon nu-
merous spruce piles fifty feet in length.
The exterior of the building is orna-
mented with four towers rising to a
height of lis feet, the interior is finished
in hard WOO is in their natural color. !;
light vs. afforded by spacious windows of
cathedral stained glass. The tram shed
is l40x600 feet.
The first floor of the station has a
general waiting-room, 66x100 feet,
ticket Office, ladies' waiting room, res
taurant, smoking room, lavstories, etc.
The secord floor is devoted to offices
for use of the General uperintendent,
Division Superintendent, Roadmaster,
and other officers connected with the
transportation department. A gallery
encircles three sides of this floor, by
watch access is had to the offices name d.
The third floor will be occupied by the
Car Accountant and his staff. The
system of ferry checks to other than