The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-10-05
RAPID TRANSIT.
Successful Experiments and
Tests by Thomas Edison.
4 New System Of Applying Electricity to
Street Railway Cars.
Saving In the Cost Of COnStTuCtiOl-MOre
Economical Than Cable or 5 cam.
Unlimited Speed.
special to THE MORNING CALI.

NEW YORK. Oct 4.-ThOmas A. Edison
has another surprise in store. This time it
is in the practical line of rapid transit. He
varied his summer occupation of electrical
mining at Ogden. n. j., by experimenting
and testing new system of applying cleo
tricity to street railways. He said to-day,
with all the satisfaction of success, that he
had just finished the tests, and that they
were "a CO." and that the North American
Company is going to use the SYSTEM some
where. lie was in the handsome high-ceil-
inged recep ton-roOm or library of his Won
der-shop at Llewelyn Park.
AS he turned his face to the sunshine,
which came streaming in, he looked bOyish,
in spite Of the gray threads in his hair. His
straw hat was tilted back on his head, his
eyes sparkled and smiles dimpled the cor
ners of his mouth when he closed his lips on
an after luncheon cigar.
He said: "I'll tell you this much. This is
quite wonderful affair. | could simply
have gone to work and taken that Broad
way road as it once was, and [ could have
put in block of my system in night. l
could have changed the road all over and
you would never have known anything
about it. l can apply my system to any
street railway and to any car. But the system
is only suitable for use in cities where cable
roads are warranted. / have an expert
mental quarter-mile road in my laboratory.
The cost is One-third that of a cable road,
and it performs every function cheaper and
better Only rails are used, and there is no
slot. l can pack up current through two
and a half inches. | use regular motors
under the street cars. | have got very pc
culiar thing in that. 1t was hard thing to
do to get that system perfected. 1t may ap-
pear simple, but it is not To get practi-
cal system was very difficult
Il am also building large electrical loco
motive of several hundred horsepower, and
have devised a system of conduction with
out the trolley for big railroad for Henry
Willard. A small section has been laid. An
electrical locomotive is much more econOm-
ical than steam. They are going TO put this
locomotive upon some road in Chicago; be-
Ween Chicago and Milwaukee, l think
You can 60 any speed you want to with the
electric train. 1t Is only limited Ir by the
limit OF cohesion OF steel. There are no
other limitations to the electric system, as
there are to steam locomotives.
" Electrical mining is making progress.
We have invaded New York State. We
have leased from the Reading Railroad the
great ore deposits in the Campus Valley,
near Peekskill. We have purchased from
Senator Jones of Nevada the small railroad
six miles long running up the valley. We
are extending it seven miles and are buill-
ing concentration works for purifying by
electricity large bodies of poor iron ore.
The Reading Railway got that
property a great many years ago
and never did anything with it.
for Working it direct by by woIking OF it through I
our process we will make it all right. The
company is called the New York Concen-
tratng Company. Then there is the New
Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating
Company, whose operations at Ogden, n. j.,
will start up permanently ON October 18Th"