The Washington critic., 1890-03-31
THE NEW CABLE CARS.
THEY WILL BE RUNNING IN LESS
THAN TWO WEEKS.

The Gigantic Machinery In Headinsss-
One of tho Engines WIN Be FRIED
To-Morrow w-The New Cars Here
When the Gable VIII he Laid.
The power. house of the new Seventh
street cable road has been practically
completed, and tomorrow one of the
great engines will be started in order to
test the winding machinery. 1t will
DC eight or ten days before
the laying Of the cable will
be commenced. The work will be done
after midnight, so as not to interrupt
the running Of the cars. and IL will not
occupy more than two nights at the
most The cable will be slowly un-
wound from the great spool by
the machinery until it reaches
the outer tube. A grip.car. with
forty horses attached, will then be con
ntcted to 1t and the tedious work of
drawing it through the miles of tubing
commenced. In twelve days, at least,
those in charge of the construction
think, the cable road will be in full and
successful operation.
A CRITIC reporter called at the power
house and stables this forenoon and was
shown the machinery and new cars.
The latter, forty eight in number, arc
all here. There are twenty four grip
cars and the same number of coaches.
They will be run over the road
tandem-one coach coupled to each
gIip.car. The latter are constructed
somewhat after the fashion of the
ordinary summer car, with box
or stand in its centre in which the
glipman will stand and manipulate
the two levers which will operate
the car. The grip car will be used also
as smoker, and it will be distinctly
understood that no smoking will be al.
lowed inside or on the platform of the
coaches. The grip-cars are also pro.
vided under each end with sort
of cowcatcher to throw persons or other
obstacles from the track. The coaches
and grips are handsomely gotten up in
side and out, being painted a combina-
ton of orange and light yellow. or
lemon color, with nice gold lettering on
the sides.
The main power house room In which
the machinery will he operated is
about S5 feet square and about 55 feet
from the floor TO the peak of the win
dowed roof or dome. AT night it will
be illuminated by about two hun
dred incandescent lights supplied
by dyamo in an adjoining apartment
whichis run by 20-horse power West.
inghouse engine. The great massive
machinery that will operate the cable
reminds one of giants play house,
the men working about the immense
wheels and cogs appearing as veritable
midgets.
This machinery consists of two tan
dem compound engines of the latest i'm
proved Reynolds Corliss pattern of
fully 300 horsepower each. They are
20 and 3G by 4S, and the immense driv-
ing wheels are Of thirty tons weight
each, or as heavy singly as an ordi-
nary railroad locomotive. These nam.
moth driving wheels are twenty four
feet in diameter. The engines are
right and left hand, with sufficient
power to run the winding machinery
separately. That is one engine
will always be kept in reserve,
and, In case of accident to
the other it can be connected with the
machinery in few minutes Both are
operated by three boilers of the latest
improved Babcock Il Wilcox make.
They are of seventy five horse power
each. The air-pump and condenser
(steeple or Independent condenserl
will, before starting the ma
chincry, raise the vacuum to
26 inches readily. The pump draws
the water 200 feet with 15-fOot raise
and discharges it into an overflow pipe
connected with the sewer. This con.
denser is arranged, as is the engine, so
that either can be worked with high or
low pressure at any time. The engines
will be run from 40 to So turns per
minute.
The winding machinery that will
directly operate the cable is furnished
by the Walker Manufacturing Company
OF Cleveland. There are four gear (or
cog) wheels as we'll az two differ
ential drums, so placed upon a
neat cast-iron bed that they con
stitute the winding machinery. This
machinery is supplied with an over
hanging truss-bearing which is read
lily removed when the adjustment OF
the cable is necessary In or about
the differential drums. Two of the
smaller gear wheels are iron, while the
two larger ones are supplied with
wooden teeth, which, while in opera
ton, makes them noiseless as we'll as
very durable. The large ones are about
IA feet In diameter and have 81 teeth,
the smaller ones 30 teeth.
Another important feature of this
machinery is Pool s. Hunt diaphragm
clutch, which throws the m shinery in
and out Of gear, and whicl can be so
set that its friction Is just enough to
pull or draw the cars over the road.
That is, should anything unnatural
happen on the road, nm acct
dent, for instance, that causes an extra
strain on the cable, the clutch will slip
and stop the motion of the cablc. The
machinery, however, will continue
in motion, but the cable
will not resume until the extra strain Is
removed. Thus will serious accidents
be averted. The constructing engineer
informed the reporter that this is the
most complete plan in the country, and
no pains will be spared to make it q
complete job. Photographs Of the in
terror of the power-house will be taken
in few days.