The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-28
WORKED BY WEIGHTS
The C0unter-Balance Railroad
Starts Up Today.
HOW THE SYSTEM is WORKED.


The new counter balance weight street rail-
way OF the Rainier Avenue Company on the
Washington street hill, between South Fifth and
aud south Eighth streets, Is now finished and
will be put in regular operation today. Cars
viii run every half hour to South Third street
car was run over the line for final test OF
the system at IL o clock Wednesday evening and
the experiment proved entirely successful
This system was devised by ]. P. T. Kuhl-
man. the engineer of the line, to meet this par
ticular case. The Washington street hill be-
tween South Eighth and South Fifth streets for
distance OF 600 feet is steep as TO present
faculties in thu way Of running cars down by
electric power alone that is greater than that
OF hauling them up, because the steepness OF the
grade would give them such an impetus that
any ordinary brake would be powerless 10 con-
troll them. At the same time the steepness OF
the grade, which is IL per cent. from Fiftn 10
Sixth, Ia per cent. from Sixth to Seventh, IS per
cent from Seventh to Eighth, would be very
difficult for electric power to overcome IN the
ascent of the hill, particularly in wet or snowy
weather. 1t was, therefore, necessary TO devise
means for checking the speed OF the cars IN the
descent and for assisting the electric power In
the ascent of the hill. This end could have
been attained by the construction of a cable line
similar to that on James street, but the expense
both OF construction and operation would have
been very great in proportion TO the length OF
the steep grade. Mr.. Kuhlman, therefore, set 70
work TO devise system which would De econ
omical both in construction and operation, and
the result is the counter-balance system. This
is an innovation in street railway construction
and is the invention of Seattle man first put to
successful test on Seattle street railway. A
caveat for patent on this system was entered
last February
When a car coming into the city reaches the
top OF the hill at Eighth street, the draw bar is
coupled to a bar projecting eight inches above
the ground which is hinged TO small dummy
running in an underground conduit four inches
wide by eight inches deep, on the inner side of
the right-hand rail going down the HILL The
dummy itself is four feet long, four inches high
and three inches wide and is attached to a three
quarter inch steel wire rope at one end while
small tail rope is attached to the other end.
The other ends OF these ropes are attached to two
weights aggregating ak tons which rest at the
foot OF the hill on Fifth street when the dunn
my is on Eighth street. The weights run on a
track in conduit three feet wide and fifteen
inches below the surface, leaving just room for
the other small conduit in which the dummy
runs. When the weights are at the bottom of
the hill, they rest against an air cushion made
of two eightnch wrought iron pipes, eight feet
long, in which are seyen-inch pistons of the
same length. When the starts down hill
coupled TO the dummy, the electric power is re-
quired to move it when empty and the brakes
will work just as level ground. When the
weights thus start up hill, they pull out the
pistons in the air cushions By means of niger
attached to the latter which is released auto
matically as soon as the pistons are in position
to receive the weights when they again come
down. When the car reaches the foot of the hill
at Fifth street, the coupling pin is withdrawn
and the car proceeds on its way to Third street
The dummy is held in position by an auto
matte catch until the car returns.
When a car is TO be up hill, it is coupled
to the dummy at Fifth street, aud by means of
the tail rope starts the weights from the level
at Eighth STREET. The weights are sufficient to
haul the empty car, and the electric power will
haul any load it may carry and give it the de-
sired speed. When the weights reach the bot
tom of the hill, they force the pistons into the
air cushions which gradually stops them, and
the finger on the end of the pistons
drops into a notch in the weights by means
of which the latter are made to pail the pstons
out again when they start up hill. Another air
cushion on Eighth street serves the same pur-
pose when the weights reach the top OF the hill
The weights are connected by means of safety
brake which will act instantly in case the rops
should break. The present system of connect
ing the car with the dummy is only temporary,
and will be replaced by automatic coupler as
soon as il can be completed