Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-01
DESTRUCTION by TROLLEYs.
Telephone Cables, Water Mains ans
Gas Pipes COrroded by Freed Current

From the Baltimore American.
The corrosion of the underground cables
of telephone companies throughout the
country by the escape or freeing Of the
electric currents from the trolley systems
into the ground adjacent TO the under
ground cables has attracted The attention
of electrical engineers. and has given rise
to many scientific discussions as to the best
means of abating or obviating the trouble.
So far, no practical solution OF the problem
has been offered. and the telephone COM
panies in large cities are losing heavily by
the destruction of their cables.
The evil has not assumed alarming pro-
portions in Baltimore as yet. Though the
conduits carrying the metallic cables OF the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Com
pany are paralleled in many places by the
troleyS, there is yet no eviaedce Of corro-
sion of the cables. Superinten tent A. VIII
son, jr., of the telephone company stated
yesterday that this disintegraI.oa of the Ca
BILE would surely occur in this city in time.
The reason il had not yet done was be-
case the trolley had only been recently in
troduced. The ground receives through
leakage or design much of the electricity
from the return trolley. The currents work
down through the soil. penetrate the con-
duit, and attack the metallic cables, soon
corroding them. So far, the croun1 along
the underground cable has not Yet become
permeated with the escaped electricity, and
the metallic cables are unframed.
But the leakage of electricity from the
trolley is already felt in the house wires, OF
those running from the condIits UP into
houses, and there connect with the tele-
phone Instrument. There is an overcharge
of electricity on such wires, Causing a buzz
zing and disagreeable noise rendering the
transmission of sound waves iniisti3c 1T
and imperfect, and thus greatly Impairing
the working Of the telephone. The COM
plants of subscribers who use the under
ground system of the service led TO tnvesti-
cation by the telephone company's cleo
tricians, which resulted in The above dis
covery. From this the electricians 9educe
that the electricity is LEAKING rapidly from
the ground to the underground cables
which will be reached ut ND distant day.
The electricians here are, therefore anx-
iously watching the result of the inyesti-
cations in other cities, particularly in Eos
ton. where the greatest damage has been
done. The conclusion was reached there by
electricians that the best way To abate the
trouble was to enlarge the overhead wire,
and to connect the cables OF the telephone
| company with that wire-thus feeding 10th
the telephone and the electric railways
| from the one wire. 1t is Thought here that
| this plan might work fairly well though
the current on the trolley might prove too
| strong for the telephone II is do.lbtfui
however, If this will be the final solution
OF the problem. In the meanwhile. here
as well as elsewhere, the electric current is
| making Its way to the cables. TO the
cfty's water mains, and the gas company
! pipes. Both of the latter il is said. VIII
also be affected, and eheir disintegration
and destruction will be rapid when the
electricity strikes them and corroSion be-
gins.