St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-10
RUN BY AMMONIA.

Exhibition OF New Style of
Motor for Street Cars.
New York Times.
The Railway Ammonia Motor CON-
pany, which has offices in the DreXel
building, gave an exhibition of its sys-
TEN of RAINING street cars yesterday
afternoon. The motor this company
uses was invented by P. j. Mcmahon,
formerly chief engineer III the navy.
The cars run by ammonia motors
look very much like ordinary street
cars, except that they stand some
what higher from the ground, being
reached by two steps, and have what
looks like a long box attached to the
bottom, running from platform to plat
form. The wheels on each side are con-
nected by bar, like those on steam
locomotive, and by another bar with
piston, which is hidden from view. At
each end of the car is sort of ''cow-
catcher" arrangement, which has little
platform few inches wide around its
edge, and comes to point in front.
The plant for charging the cars is
simple. The company has temporary
one at 1856 West Twenty eighth street,
where yesterdays trials started. The
ammonia is first evapOrated, and after
the water has thus been removed from
it. it is passed through a coil OF pipes,
over which cold water is sprayed. it is
thus reduced to liquid called anhy-
drOus ammonia, which is collected in
ig tank, from which it is drawn into
mailer tank on the ear. This car tank
surrounded with an outer box con-
tanning hot water.
10 generate the power the anhydrOus
ammonia is heated to about so dogs, and
as the liquid will boil in the air at 3S1a
degs. below zero, the heat develops
pressure of $50 pounds. This pressure
works pressure in the same way as
steam.
Enough ammonia can be stored on an
ordinary car to run it for seventy miles
over an average road. When one charge
is exhausted another can be put in very
quickly. Mr.. McMahon reckoned the
cost of running car with his system at
l cent mile.
The sample car was taken out and run
up and down a couple of blocks Of the
unused tracks on Twenty-eighth street,
from Sixth avenue west, in yesterdays
experiments.
How quickly can you stop it?" asked
one of the visitors.
''Oh. when it's going eight miles an
hour can stop 1t IN ABOUT nine 1eet,
answered Henry Graham, the secretary
OF the company, who Was doing the hon
Ors. "Why, ran it up and down in
the shed here, where there are twenty
one feet of track, several times the other
day, and never used the brake once.
just reversed. See here"
Mr.. Graham started the car. Two
seconds more and he was wildly turning
on the machinery that reversed the
motor. There was a loud crash, and
the "cowcatcher" poked itself through
the closed door out on to the sidewalk.
The power was shut off just in time to
save the whole front of the building
from going.
Half an hour later the car tried to
treat a truck on Seventh avenue in the
same way.
Two cars similar to the one used yes
terday are now being experimental with
in Manchester, England. and are re-
ported as working successfully. A car
will probably be tested on one of the
city lines soon. To avoid all possibility
of passengers being annoyed by the
pungent and diSagreeable odor that was
noticeable yesterday, the company is
having a SlXteen-foot car built, which
will merely carry the motor.