Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-09-11
ELECTRICAL POWER
IT WILL SOON BE USED FOR RAILWAY
LOCOMOTIVES
An Expert Tells Walter Wellman That Trains
VIII Run from New York to Chicago in
Eigh. Hours-WOndsrful Improve
menS in Progress.
Sp.eia. corr.pondenee Orn. Sunday R.gis,tr.

| Special C0rrsp0ndey'ce or ne sunday ktG1Sler.
WAsHIyGToN, September 81 was
somewhat startled to-day while talking
with distinguished electrical engineer
who was in Washington on business
connected with the patent office. in
! five years." said be, You and l will be
riding from New York to Chicago be-
hind electric locomotives at speed OF
125 miles an hour"
"Do you really believe thst?" l asked
| IN astoniShment.
81 almost know It," was the reply,
81 can see it coming. We are only on
| the threshold OF the electrical world.
| The power OF the future is electricity.
| Do not think me an enthusiast nor
dreamer. As you know, l am thor
oughly practical engineer. have made
a fortune out of the business, and only
wish l was younger that l might be
| sure of living TO see the realization OF
the great plans which happen 10 know
are even now being reduced TO practical
shape.
"Within year think you will see
electric locomotives taking the place or
| steam on our great railways, just as
| they have already supplanted other mo-
tors for city and suburban traffic.
when start is once made, revolu-
ton will quickly follow. At first the
electrical locomotive may not run much
faster than the new compound cylinder
| steam locomotive, which easily makes a
| mile minute on long distances. came
down to Washington yesterday on one
of the Royal Blue expresses. The time
| from New York is five hours. Twenty
minutes of this time is lost crossing
| from New York to Jersey City and get
ting under speed out of the Jersey City
ward. Ten minutes is lost at Philadel-
| phia in stoppage and reduced speed, and
| about % minutes at Baltimore, where
| the entire trainis ferried across the bay
on transfer steamer, and where the de-
tour into the station is somewhat slow
| for four or five miles. There were other
minor losses, and the actual running
| time from Jersey City to Washington
station was about four hours, or say 245
minutes. The distance is 22S miles.
"That comes very near mile min
ute, you see, and is, in my Judgment,
the fastest and finest run made by any
! train in the world, not excepting the
| Empire State express on the New York
| Central. That train runs 440 miles In
$40 minutes, a little faster schedule than
! the Royal Blue, but having less loss by
stops. The actual run is not so speedy.
As | rode down here by the Royal Blue
| | noticed the vast sums of money that
had been spent TO produce such perfect
track, motive power and rolling stock,
and said to myself that the electrical
! locomotive would have hard task be-
fore it if it set out to eclipse this mag
nifcent speed, for we made milo after
mile in fifty-two seconds, or O. speed OF
nearly seventy miles an hour.
"But know the powers OF electricity
when properly applied, and l know
what the inventors are doing, and am
sure that the near future will give us
an electric locomotive making double
the speed OF these compound cylinder
steam flyers. In very few years we
shall travel from New York to Chicago
in eight hours, or perhaps seven, where
as it now takes twenty-five by the linn
tied trains. To make this great speed l
think there will be some changes In
track and rolling stock. The rails will
| have device which will absolutely pre-
vent the cars leaving the track, and the
cars will in all probability be much
| lighter than they now are. These are
| the conditions which will produce the
great speed of the future-improved
tracks, less dead load in the cars, cleo
trical power"
"What do you think OF electricity as
a power in other directions?" asked.
! sit is the power Of the future in al
most everything. The steam engine as
a motor must go. For instance, you
will live to see the steam engine ban
ished from ocean steamships. Instead
of O. dead load OF from 500 to 1000
tons OF coal carried in the hold, fed to
huge furnaces by small army OF
stokers who work In veritable hades-
the average life Of the steam
ship stoker is only seven years
| ships will put to sea with their mo-
tive power stored away in electrical
reservoirs, to be used as wanted by the
turn of lever and without one-tenth
part of the weight or consuming one
fiftieth Of the space Of the coal supply.
now provided. What is true of the
large ocean STEAMSHIPS is true OF great
variety of other craft, large and small.
| Ultimately electricity will supplant
steam in all of them, giving greater
economy of energy, Of space, Of labor,
Of risk"
"What are the especially new things
in the electrical tield?'
There are so many new things In the
electrical line that could not begin to
mention them. Electricity is coming
into erything-industrial domestic,
mechanical The most important
things in the electrical world to-day are
the development Of the storage battery
motor for city railway lines, the periec-
ton of the high speed locomotives for
long distance railways, and new and
mysterious and wonderful thing prom
ised by Thomas A. Edison. Just what
this is do not know.
"Mr. Edison is q friend OF mine, and
often meet him. But the day has
passed in which outsiders can find out
| all that Is going on at Menlo Park. a
| few years ago Edison's latchstriDg was
always out. He liked to have electri-
clans and others visit his workshops.
He took delight In showing them what
he had accomplished, what he was try
ing to do. lie had few secrets. Even
the things which he endeayored TO
guard in his careless, good-natured
way, visiting electricians were able to
divine the nature OF, to smell OUT their
purpose, scope and general plan, though
the details were concealed from their
eyes. Many an electrician has made a
fortune out OF suggestions gathered
during a visit to Menlo Park.
''Nov all this is changed. Edison Is
in the hands of shrewd business men,
| who pnard him and all bis works as II