The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-05-19
A Successful Trial Trip Of the
Broadwater Electric Motor Line
Made Yesterday.
The Railway Will Not be Ready
for Traffic Till Next
Week.
Great Crowds 1T the Hotel Broadwater
Grounds Yesterday and How They
Passed the Time

The trial trip Of the new electric motor
cars was made yesterday. The run was
only made from the hotel to the crossing
leading to Kranich's grove, distance of
about 800 yards. Several hundred people
were present to see the cars start, and that
q great many were puzzled to know how
cars could move without any visible force,
goes without saying. Mr.. Frederick G..
Todd, general manager Of the railway de-
partment Of the Thomson Houston Electric
company, who put in the electrical appar-
atus Of the line, made the trial test yester-
day, and the result was most satisfactory.
There is little more work to be done on
the track, such as adjusting the rails in
certain places. This will be fixed to-
be run over the entire line. Many people,
out Of curiosity; availed themselves of invi-
tations to ride in the handsome cars, which
sped along The track at q very high speed
when Mr.. Todd SO desired it. The cars
rode smoothly and without the least jar
and very little noise. and will be great
Improvement over the dingy old motors
whose black smoke has become nuisance
in the city.
In appearance the new motor cars are
very much like an ordinary street car. The
motive power is underneath the cars, and
the electric current is attracted to it from
the overhead wire; The mechanism is so
start them up or stop them at will. The
conductor can easily attend to these duties
besides collecting fares. The motor can be
stopped in an instant and made to run at
any required speed. The intricate
details of operation have been fully out
The electricity is obtained from the Broad
water hotel oompany's electric lighting
plant, and the machinery at that place is at
present in charge of Mr.. T. A. Shock, a
well-known electrician, and graduate of q
naval academy. An excavation is being
made at the power house for the reception
furnish power for the electric dynamos.
While the cars now on hand at the hotel
grounds are really the motors, they have
very little appearance of being such. To
these will be attached large observatory
cars capable of carrying great many peo-
PIE No %stsr how many people ga
not in the least affect the motive power,
but instead tends to make the cars run cas-
Ter, especially up grade, by forcing the
wheels close to the track, thereby receiving
the full force of the current.
The signal gong is sounded by pressing
buttons which are placed on both platforms,
but they have to be pressed with the foot.
At night the cars are lighted with incandes-
cent lamps, in different colored glass, MAX
ing very pretty appearance, while the
poles Of the entire line will be similarly
illuminated.
Mr.. Todd says there is not the least dan
ger to be apprehended from electricity.
The only trouble ever experienced was
when the car steps were protected with a
piece of iron. but this has been abandoned,
and the only damage this iron ever did was
to give person an occasional shock. Ev-
erything about the electric line is safe and
no electric shocks may be feared.
An incident of the trial trip yesterday
was a race between the electric motor and
the steam motor. Col. Broadwater was on
the electric line and the car was crowded
with people, as was the steam motor car.
The latter was given the advantage of the
start, and without the least difficulty the
electric motor ran away from the steam
motor, and both motors went at q pretty
lively rate.
II will be probably week before the line
will be turned over to Col. Broadwater, as
it will require some time to educate new
men into all the workings of the line. The
electric motor will be a big success and If
the Helena Hot Springs Motor company in
tends to capture any traffic it will have to
substitute electricity for steam. There is
considerable curiosity over the new line as
many people in Helena have never seen an
electric motor line before. They come high,
are the result of modern invention and the
people must have them.