Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-26
ELECTRIC CARS ON @ STREET.

The lexington Company Expect to Start
Them in a Months Time.
In about months time cars will be running.
it Is expected, on G street. The lexington and
Soldiers Home Electric Railroad Company,
which will operate this line as a continuation of
the road from lexington with the center of the
city, has made a contract with the Accumulation
Company of New York. Under the terms of
the contract this company agrees to equip the
road with storage battery cars and to operate
them at reasonable price per car mile
for three years. The operating of
street cars by storage battery is
practically an experiment There is a road in
Dubuque, Iowa, where one or two storage cars
are rum and occasionally car of this kind
passes over the 4th avenue road in New
York city. But there is no road where
the entire motive power is furnished
by the storage battery. For this reason the
president Of the company Mr. Geo. Truesdell,
and the officers of the company considered
that the storage car had not demonstrated
practically its ability to do the work re-
CURED The officers of the Accumu-
lator Company. however, maintain that with
their storage battery the experimental stage
has been passed, and that many trials have
shown the entire prac ticability Of the system.
They have entered into this contract backed by
strong bond to operate the road for a period
of three years, and if their cars are not what
they are represented to be they are to be taken
off the road and the railroad company will
suffer no loss
THE NEW CARS
The new cars, which will run along G street
from 18th to 5th and then up 5th street to New
York avenue, where connection will be made
with the line now in operation, will be similar
in design and style to those now in use the
lexington line under the overhead system.
The batteries in which the electricity il stored
will be placed under the seats, from
which, point connection 10 made with
the motor, which Is similar to the
hnoter In use in the cars now in use. The only
difference in the systems is that one takes the
current from an overhead wire and the other
from a storage battery. The track is now laid
over the entire line with the exception Of the
connection at New York avenue. This will be
completed rs soon as practicable and then the
Accumulation Company will send on here two
oars, which will be used until the other cars
can be built The battery cars will be run on
the tracks at New York avenue and passengers
for lexington or Glenwood cemetery can step
out from one car into another, the transfer be-
ing made as easy and rapid as possible.
NINE TRIPS WITHOUT RENEWING.
The battery cars will make nine trips from
New York avenue to 18th and G streets. and on
the next trip will run to the power house al
r-chinBtOn, Wnere the exhausted batteries Will
be removed and fresh batteries substituted.
The car will then be ready for another series OF
nine trips.
1t is stated that the storage system is more
expensive than the overhead system, but that
it Is a good deal cheaper than horses. The re-
suit of the trial of this new road will be watched
with good deal of interest, not only in this
city but in all parts of the coun-
try. as just now there is consider
able time and study being devoted to
improved systems of street-car motors. The
speed allowed by the terms Of the charter OF
the lexington road is ten miles an hour and il
is claimed for the new cars that they will be
able to maintain this rate of speed.