The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-10-23

ing station should be as little above the
mean load as possible. 1t is found on
electric railways now at work that there is
a great waste of power, and therefore OF
fuel, in consequence OF the large CON
sumption of current in getting the trains
into motion by motors attached directly
to thesaxels On the South London Rail
way it is found that the power employed
electrically in overcoming the inertia of
the train is from twenty-five to fifty and
sixty per cent. greater than required to
keep the train going. Mr.. j. IL. Great
way, has shown that if this could be
avoided twenty to thirty per cent. of the
engine power which must under present
conditions be kept running might be
shut down. The author showed this by
diagrams representing the varlatlonsln the
consumption of power in this railway as
is given by Mr.. Greathead. For several
reasons the employment of geared loco
motives is undesirable on railways al
though single reduction gearing is most
generally adopted for tramways and
probably will remain best for that pur-
pose. The noise made by, hlgh-speed
gearing and the wear are both objection
able; otherwise a geared locomotive
offers the means of overcoming to some
extent the losses referred to.
The statement is made hat phosphores-
cent tubes are being introduced III Eng
land for practical lighting III places
where beauty is of more Importance. IMAM
a very brilliant illumination-a substl-
tute for some of the ordinary electro ar
rangements. A generator of special but
comparatively simple construction is
used. One form of vacuum tube is mace
of spiral of a thin glass tube, the ENDS
of which are connected TO two bulbs,
which contain the electrodes-thIs u.s.
ing, it is calculated, about one watt per
g.. ,1@<s so.l,f tod a nh1natJnn IN
these tubes is Stated to be that when
brilliantly phosphoresced they become
heated and the glass is apt to melt. The
light is never brilliant enough to replace
ordinary incandescent lamps, where soft
light appearance is desired they are SAID
to produce very pleasing effects from
$4,000 to 10, COCO volts are required Ior
the vacuum tubes, and this is Obtained
by means of transformer in oil. The
tubes are lighted by induction effects,
and are connected in series with parallel
condenSerS.
There was a conference in Greenfield,
Mass, the other day, upon the questlon
Of transmitting electrical power from
some of the mountain streams .The
Conwayrrpeople, who are interested insthe
development of an unused water power
in that town, have asked the Greenfield
electric lighting people to say how much
they will give for three hundred electric
horse power, to be sent over wires from
Conway. The Greenfield people are ready
to receive proposition, but will not
make one. Meanwhile another party
has approached the Greenfield managers
and offered to furnish six hundred horse
power at nominal price. There is
suspicion that this means that, sooner
or later another dam will be bullion the
Connecticut river, about two miles below
Turner's Falls. One of the schemes
,.,l hoU n M
is the building of railroad to connect
the. town with the outside world. Word
has been brought from Boston that capl-
talists are ready to put M half the
requisite capital, whatever the amount
needed may be. If.the proposed electric
road be built, it will run from South
Deerfield through to Conway Centre, and
thus connect that place wlththe Consol1-
dated and River railroads.
The Brooklyn Young Mems Christian
Association has outlined for the winter
season of 1894 a course OF lessons and
lectures ON the Theory and Practice of
Electricity" The lectures will be illus
trated by experiments performed before
the classes. The following branches will
be taken up; static electricity, its differ
ences from dynamic electricity; how pro-
duced and stored, and the purpoes to
which it can be applied; magnetism,
the important relation it bears to the
commercial production of the electric
current; the differences between .perma-
nent and electromagnetic, and how to
design and calculate the power of the
latter; the electric current, how distrib-
uted; it's application to lighting and the
transmission of power; the conducting
medium, insulation and the dangers to
be guarded against; the alternating and
direct :current incandescent systems OF
lighting and the arc circuit, together
with a lecture upon the installation and
management of lighting and power
plants. The association has secured the
services of H A. Benedict, the electrical
engineer employed by the government at
the Brooklyn navy yard, to take charge
and direct the work outlined above
RoStnp Transcrnt