Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1890-09-11
ELECTRIC CANAL BOATS.
Introduction Of the New Motive Power
Would Ruin the Industry.

OF tne new MOTIVE POWeT
Would Ruin the Industry.
There has appeared in a mechanical
publication the following statement:
An electric engineer, of Buffalo, sug-
gests plan to reduce very largely the
cost of transportation on the Erie canal
His plan is to adopt the trolley system,
now generally in use on street railways,
to the canal If the overhead trolley
system can be applied to street railways
at cost of about half that of horse
power, he argues, why can it not take
the place of canal mules with like re-
duction of cost? The poles and other
appliances for the overhead wires, and
in fact the whole plant, covering the
whole length of the canal, could be
readily arranged without hindrance to
navigation. The span would not be too
wide at any point
A reporter asked the opinion of Mr..
William @. Miller, the electrical engi-
neer Of the Watervliet Railroad com
pany. Mr.. Miller said: ''Why, certain
ly it can be done. do not see why the
same motive power of turning wheel
by the electric current cannot be util-
lied on canal boat as well as on car.
The only question is the cost If they
want to put through such a scheme it
will cost money. As to there being a
reduction of expense from that required
for horse or mule power | cannot say, as
am not well enough acquainted with
the canal to know"
A very extended and interesting opin-
ion on the feasibility of the canal cleo
trical scheme was given by Mr.. John D.
Roman, Of the Roman Towing line. Mr..
Roman said: ''The plan which you ex-
plain to me is not new one by any
means. The first man who broached the
Erie canal trolley system to me was an
Albanian, who is demented on the sub
ject Of electricity think Of course
merely from a practical, not scientific,
point Of view that the scheme is i'm
practicable.
"There are thousand and one objec-
tions to it which present themselves to
any mind. Take, for instance, the
trolley scheme Itmust be remembered
that it is canal boats and not horse cars
that are to be run now. The horse car
is forced to go in a certain line by the
solid tracks. But would not canal
boat waver so from side to side that it
would be impossible to keep trolley
wheel on that set wire? Then there
would be the continual probability of
the wires blowing down and in other
ways being damaged. Hew are the
trolleys to be managed going through
locks? Boats, you know, do not travel
up and down grade in an inclined posi-
ton as car does-they are always on a
level. What would they do at the six
teen locks with the trolley system?
II think the trolley system on the
canal is utterly out of question. 1t en-
braces so many points where complica-
tions might arise, and so much cost of
construction, that think it is entirely
impracticable. Supposing it were adopt
ed. Supposing that all the Z 900 or more
boats on the canal were on that one, or
the two, wires. At any time boat is
liable to leak or to have an accident oc-
cur to its motor. What then is to be
II NOltl0 O1OCA luC NuOlC Cdl1tll,
and that could not be afforded. One of
the main points, will say the main
point-in the introduction Of this system
would belts reduction of expense. That
is what we are looking for. AS canal
boats are now constructed the introduc-
ton Of the trolley system would revolu-
tionize the whole, line.
"There would have to be special boats
built for the introduction Of motors and
propelling wheels That would throw
the great army of canal boats that are
now being used off the canal, for no
boats that did not run by electricity
could navigate in those waters Can we
afford to do this? Then the introduction
of motor into canal boat would in
crease its tonnage greatly and, would
say, reduce its carrying capacity almost
90 per cent."-Albany Argus