The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-09-25
ELECTRIC Horse Cars.
The Jersey City and Ber-
gems Latest Stroke of
Enterprise.
STORAGE BATTERIES TO BE USED.
Except Possibly on the Hill Sides
Overhead Wires Will Not Be
Employed---A Talk with Mr..
Thurston.

At the meeting of the Board of Alder.
that the ordinance authorizing the
Jersey City and Bergen Railroad
Company to use electric motors
in the propulsion of its cars, which was
laid upon the table at the meeting Of Sep
tember 10, be again taken up and disposed
of. This was done in the midst of q lively
discussion
Alderman Prigge wanted to know
whether the company intended to use the
storage" or the Overhead" system.
Alderman O'Neill said he presumed
that the company would use whichever
system best suited it. The overhead sys-
tenn was in vogue in Boston and other
cities. He didn't see why it should not
be instituted in Jersey City.
Alderman O'Rourke protested He
said that the overhead system was dam
gerous to life and property. Alderman
O'Ne1lI claimed that the Aldermen had
no right to specify what system the COM
pany should adopt. 1t was absurd to
object to the passage of the ordinance.
He called for the previous question, which
was carried by vote of to 4.
ABOUT THE MOTORS.
President Charles B. Thurston, of the
Jersey City and Bergen Railroad, was
poring over figures and details in his
office in the First National Bank building
when | sought him this morning for fur
ther information as to the designs of the
company.
st is not fully decided he said, in
reply to my question, what kind of motor
strated that the storage battery system
will work on our hillsides satisfactorily,
we shall adopt that in preference
to any other. The overhead system
we know to be a success from
tests made in Richmond, Boston and
orher cities, and in all probability on the
hills or in the thinly settled sections we
shall have to resort to overhead wires.
We wish to make tests of both, and shall
certainly, everything else being equal,
select the one that is least objectionable
to the public"
purpose of the company is, Mr.. Thurston
went into more specific detail He gave
me to understand that the company will
use the storage battery system in the
lower section of the city, and it is not i'm
possible that the storage battery will be
in use on the level places on the hilltop.
1t will doubtless be necessary to
use the overhead wires on the hill side.
They may be used, however, only to pro-
pei cars. The storage battery car when it
reachess the foot of the hill will be
switched to the end of one Of the over
head wire cars, and hitched to 1t to be
drawn up the hill. The company has al
ready put in switches at Montgomery
street with that object in view.
MAKING CHOICE.
Mr.. Thurston could not say how long
before the new system will be introduced.
He had a box full Of propositions from
companies owning all kinds of motors.
Each one of these is to be tested with the
aid of experienced electricians, and the
best of the plans will be selected. 1t is
probable, he intimated, that the power
for experimental purposes will be taken
from the electric light plant.
"That electric car ordnance" said
Alderman Jewkes, whom I met soon
afterwards, sis the biggest kind of thing
for the city. 1t will save from five to
eight minutes in running time and is
ever so much cleaner than the horses
are.n
Mr.. Thurston said, by the way, that the
maximum speed for which bids have
been put in is twelve miles an hour. But
the speed can be as high as thirty miles
an hour if the company chooses to adopt
it, which, of course, the company won't.