Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-11-26
=, r.y. Ra,tery System.

40 rage BnSteFy Syrs'
Reports from Chicago. where expert
mental tests have been made in the past
few DAYS. indicate that the storage bats
terry system for street car propulsion is
an unqualified success. The trial was
made BY the North Side cable company.
and the Chicago Herald Of Sunday has
the following to say OF the new electrical
wonder:
Electricity as means of street car pro-
pulsion. on the storage system. showed
itself to be an unqualified success In the
test OF the Edco car on North Clark street
Yesterday afternoon. An ordin airy street
car went spinning over the tracks from
the limits car barns to Lawrence avenue
and back without any apparent means
Of locomotion except man in the front
and who occasionally turned crank.
There were no horses attached to 1t, no
eliot between the tracks where cable
could be attached. no steam power. no
smoke and no over-hangIng wire. IL
seemed to go along OF its own accord, not
retarded in the least By the carload of
people who had jostled each other for
chance 10 take ride. IL was a com.
plete triumph for the Accumulation Com
pany, Of New York, and its agent. vii
liam Hood, was the most pleased man
that has been seen since the democratic
landslide a week or two ago. The Off
GERS of the North Side cable company
were also delighted and entirely satisfied
with the test.
in IL 81
exhibited by the Edco car. they could not
have pulled the load that fill d the car
and its trailer. The deficiencies of the
old system seemed to stick out all over
and everybody agreed that a new era
In the street Car was coming. and
after all IL is a simple thing when it
is examined There isn't very much ma
chinery about it. nothing very delicate
that is apt TO brake and nothing particu-
larry expensive. The system may be ex-
planned by saying the car carries its cleo
tricity with IT, Under the seats in the
car are eiRhty-eight batteries or cells
ranged two abreast the whole length Of
the car. They are all connected by wires
aud with two motors. which occupy a
modest space 10 the center of the car un
der the flooring. These motors are like
those used In the cars run BY the overhe cad
system and are built much after the same
pattern. Each cell contains two volts of
electricity, making 176 in all 10 each car,
and with this power each car is calculated
TO run from twenty five to forty miles
without having the batteries recharged.
Seven incandescent lamps are also sup
Piled. three 10 the car, two on the plat
forms, and one at each end of the roof
for headlights. The entire control of the
car or train rests with the driver,
who msnipulates two cranks at
the front end Through them he is able
20 attain five degrees OF speed, the slow
start and the four increasing grades. Each
rate OF speed is accompanied by an almost
impercepiible shock. IS il cannot attain a
maximum speed gradually. The drivers
left hand wheel is divided into five parts,
each movement changing the arran cement
OF the cells TO give the desired results.
On the car used yesterday there was the
regular friction brake connected by an
automatic arrangement with crank, so
that the car can be stopped In as short
time as any car. much shorter than cable
train, 1t Is claimed. The movement ia
easy. and that joiting, swsying motion is
hardly noticed. II is the custom to re.
plenish the batteries after twenty-five
miles have been run so us not to exhaust
them too much. A necessary adjunct of
the Edco system is the Edco dynamo
which supplies the electricity. The one
In use At the car barns yesterday was of
80 volts. 80 smpheres. with a speed of
l.275, enabling it to compl. tely recharpe
car In less than three hours. In the inn
proved patterns the batteries can be
shifted. and while one is being charged
another set Is ready for use.
Impractical application of the storage
system achieves what is expected and
claimed by its protector. it Is matter of
regret that its utility was not demon
strated few short months ago. and be-
fore the work of equipping the street car
lines in Davenport, Rock Island and Mo
line with electricity was commenced. The
overhead wire system, with its I'm
slightly p selss end g ess.slls ssaasilractive
appearance, should only be tolerated by
reason of its practicabilIty as a motive
power, and the discovery of any other
system equally as serviceable should
be universally adopted in cities
where rapid transit is TO be established.
President Holmes is not an admirer of the
overhead system, and his company
adopted 1t for their tri-city lines really
under protest, and after an exhaustive in.
vestigation into the merits of the storage
plan. which at the time was too much of
an experiment and seemingly inadequate
for the requirements demanded, to be
favorably considered. Even if the Holmes
people were now fully convinced of the
superiority of the storage system, their
work OF re-, equipment has progressed too
Tar to warrant its adoption here. While
such q decision would be hailed with
hearty appreciation by the public, it is
hardly to be expected that the company
would entertain such proposition now.