The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-01
RAIL AND CROsSTIR.

A well-known railroad man estimates
that go tons of phosphate are shipped from
Florida every day.
Philadelphia scientists are preparing 10
find out how fast an electric current travels.
An experiment will be made, probably
from the Franklin institute by connections
over the Atlantic cable to Liverpool and
return.
Anthony Peters, president of the Area
dia. Gulf Coast and Lakeland railroad
writes from Boston. Mass. to the Scientific
American of New York in regard to what
Prof. " watt says in his recent article on
Florida phophete about lack of trausporta-
ton facilities from the mines. President
Peters says his road will be in operation in
year, and it will traverse the phosphate
region and give rapid transportation to sea-
going vessels.
Ever since electric and cable cars have
been introduced on street railways efforts
have been made TO provide such safeguards
around them as to prevent fatal accidents.
The front ends of the motor cars in Louis
vile are provided with iron guards which
come within a few inches Of the ground,
and can be lowered or raised at will. They
have saved several peoples lives. Such an
attachment to electric cars in this city would
be a needed safeguard.
The Savannah, Florida and Western rail-
way will begin running cheap Sunday ex~
cursions to Savannah and Hybee tomorrow.
The company will put on service trains
Nos. 43 and A to run between Savannah
and Waycross, leaving Waycross at 4:30
O'clock a. IN. and arriving in Savannah at
8 a. m. and Tybee at 10 a, m. Returning
the train will leave Tybee at 4:35 p. m. =,
Savannah at $50 p. m. and arriving at
WaycrOss at 1855 p. m.
California enjoys the distinction of hay
i'm tha 1v railrCaA fbat
of trees. This peculiar piece of engineering
is in Sonona county, where the railroad
crosses deep ravine, in the center of which
are two huge red wood trees side by side
These giants have been sawed off seventy
| five feet above the bad OF the creek, and
the timbers and ties are laid on these tall
stumps. The natural tree bridge is consid-
| cred to be equal in safety to a bridge built
on the most scientific principles.
A recent test appeared to show that an
| electric current is a slow coach as compared
to light, being only able to get over to
| Europe and back in something like second,
| or ct the rate of only some 100000 miles a
/ minute, while light ambles along ct mill
| iol-miles-a-minuteg gait. The Philadelphia
! scientists who are proposing to make
( further investigation are not satisfied to
give up the record to sunlight, and hope to
prove that the electrical current. if not
most recent experiment was tried at McGill
College, Montreal. The current was transn
United i'll Montreal, was transferred to the
cable at the Newfoundland cable station by
means of Thompson's mirror galvanom eter,
sent across to the station at Liverpool, and
returned to Montreal by the same method.
The distance traversed, partly by overhead
wire and partly by cable. was 5000 miles.
From the time the current left the key in
Montreal until it returned to the receiver
in the same Office just one second and one
twentieth of second had elapsed
and the conditions were not as good
as they might have been; hence the
further experiment to be made here. The
rapidIty with which the current travels
over short wires with no delay indicated uu-
limited possibilities in the direction of prac-
tical tests. Prof. Marks of the Edison Elec-
trio Light Company is authority for the
assertion that if the globe was encircled
with continuous cable a current would
travel the entire distance in a tride over
three seconds. At this rate a current would
travel to the sun, coveriag the distance Of
$4,000. 600 miles. in 81 minutes, or twice as
fast as light.