Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-22

run. There II also q strong temptation
TO go mnt"ee ahair- that the cheaper motor
shall appear the better snd that the more ex-
pcnsive shall be made failure. Allegheny
City had sucha line with three miles Of trolley
ana one OF underground conduit, which bis-
trict commissioner Raymond represented In
ISIS 20 be in successful operation aud which
Capt urihn, then Of the District engineer de-
Partment eiaborntely described IN Official
report saying that il was operated with won
derfui success IL two inches ef snow in the
winter OF iSs7-Sa The combination OF over
neau construction for the suburbs. with IN
foreground conduit for city use. is, however,
soou IN theory and there seems TO be no reason
wh! u should no: work admirably in practice.
Before July /, 1898, the lexington road must
enange tne motive power Of the mile of its line
lying within the city limits. that is Mt present
operated by the trolley. to some form which
VIII not require the overhead construction. II
Will select either the storage battery. which it
uses on its present street extension, or il will
operate with an underground electric conduit
over NIL that part Of it's line which lies within
the city, including an East Washington extern
sion authorized by law but not vet constructed,
ana thetuoinS the section over which the stor-
age battery cars now run. The Columbia rail-
way With miles Of double track is also soon TO
ADOPT mechanical motor. with either the stor-
age battery or an underground electric conduit.
its choice will probably be determined by the
degree OF success of the Metropolitan storage
foreground electric roads are expensive.
whether in Buda Pesth, Chicago, Allegheny
City or Washington. being exceeded in first
cost only by the cable, and the local roads
with smaller incomes than the leading
lines enjoy, anxious to secure mechanicai
motors that will be well within their means.
have studied to cheaper the cost Of this kind of
construction. plan has been submitted TO
the Columbia, for instance, of using one con-
duit between its lines of double track to
accommodate both sets Of tracks. thus
making one conduit do the work of the
two that are supplied to double
tracks ordinarily. The Washington aud Airing
ton road. which has in operation three miles Of
its line from the end of the Aqueduct bridge
to Arlington, using the trolley, is preparing
this section and will soon have it ready to
operate with an underground electric conduit
OF a new pattern, which 10 also to
be used upon the portion of this line within the
city of Washington when it is constructed. In
this electric conduit system there is no coutnu-
GUS conductor of exposed wire as in other sys-
TENS. The working current is carried in an in
sulated cable and fed automatically to success
sive short sections of the road the car passes
over each section. The loss of current bv leak
age from miles Of exposed wire is by this de-
vice avoided and the leakage reduced to a mimi
mum.
1t appears that all the various forms of i'm
proved motor, including that which bestows
" uistiuClioH upon are
now being or are soon to be thoroughly,
practically and extensively used in Washing
ton. The capital is already notable as
the only city in the world in which the i'm
proved grooved rail has entirely superseded the
projecting, wheel-wrenching T rail Wash
ington has within the last twenty years de-
veloped in many features of beauty. progress
iveness and good government into the model
American city, which the people of the re-
public visit not only with pleasure and graf
flied pride, but also with substantial profit in
hints derived concerning modern municipal
development which may be utilized at home.
1t is well within the bounds of probability that
Washington combining in its municipal policy
the push and progress Of the new with the
soldity and safety OF the old world.
viii in the near future become in the matter of
local rapid transit the model city. not only of
America, but of the world to which students
from all parts of the globe will resort for sug-
gestions concerning the latest and best forms
of street railway motor.
THEODORE ". MOVES.