Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-31
QUITENEW.
The Allegheny and Manches-
ter Street Railway to
ALTER ITS MOTIVE POWER.
No Cable, No Slot Rail and No Over
head Wires Are Wanted.
EACH CAR RUNS INDEPENDENTLY,
Combination of a Gas Engine and
Electricity the Scheme.
NEW PLEASANT VALLEY CARS COMING.

The management of the Pittsburg, ALE
gheny and Manchester Street Railway Com
pany have about completed their expert
ments with an entirely new streetcar system
and, from the present indications, tn,
company will put it into practical operation
on its lines in very short time.
1t has for long time been generally
known that the company intended to aban
don the horses; but what would be tn,
motive power to take the place of horses
has always been matter of conjecture.
One of the directors of the company gave
q DISPATCH reporter, last night, detailed
description of the new system, which i.
entirely different from anything that has
yet been tried in the wayof street car motive
power.
1--WE have made a very careful study Of
all existing systems of propelling street
cars" the gentleman said, ''and believe
the one we are going to adopt is the most
practicable known to this date. The patent
has already been issued for the system. The
idea is to propel each car independently,
without cable, without slot rail, or any
overhead wires, or even a central station
and power house. The system is simply
this: We have
A COMBINATION CAR,
of which the one part is occupied by the
passengers and the other by the motive
power. The latter consists, as the prime
mover, of a gas engine, tanks filed with
condensed gas, and a dynamo. The electric
motor, however, will be placed under the
second part.
''Now, as to the working of the system:
The tanks are filed with sufficient amount
Of condensed gas to keep the engine sup
piled for Is or Is hours. This will assure
rs continuous running of the car without
any delay or stoppage. You can therefore
readily understand that the entire system
is very simple. The little gas engine in the
front part of the car is connected with the
dynamo, and the dynamo with the motor;
so we have everything just exactly where it
is wanted
Each car will be fitted up in the same
manner, and run independently. All that
is required is filling of the tank in the
morning before the cars start out, and then
they will run for the whole day without in
terruption.
THE MANY ADVANTAGES
of the system are too apparent to require
mnch exp, snation. First of all we can put
lew cars right on the old tracks. Thus
We avoid the enormous expenses connected
with cable road, as well as the iron poles
and the overhead wires of the electric roads.
The latter system is great mistake any
how, because it will not be very long until
that system has become aEtiquated, for the
reason that no city will then allow wires to
be strung along the popular thoroughfares. ."
"But how many men will it take to attend
to each of your new carr"
"0nly two, the same as now. We do not
want an engineer, because the engine runs
by itself ali day long; we only require a
brakeman and a conductor"
fBut how will those cars be in the matter
of swiftness ?''
''They can be made to 90 Just as fast as
we want them to, and as we are allowed to;
and up grade or down a hill they can be
handled as easily as you please"
when will the first car arrive here ?''
Il am not able to give YOU any positive
information about that tonight In connec-
tion with the scheme, can tell you, how
ever, that we will manufacture our own gas
ia supply the tanks. The system, as far as
I know about any existing street car system,
is the cheapest, the safest and the most ad-
FantaeeoCs."