The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-06-13

the world. believe that this electric loco
motive is the traction engine Of the fu-
ture, or is it not rather Jules Nernism?"
Quite Practical
NO indeed replied NJ. Bunau-Varilla,
emphatically. There is nothing Of Jules
Vernish Imagination about this electric
locomotive. AS you put it in that direct
way and ask me what I think of it as
practical engineer my reply is that l am
perfectly confident of its succeSs-a sue
cess which 1 consider the recent trial has
fully proved.
II regard this invention Of NJ. He'll
mann as the definite solution of the
problem Of the practical application Of
electricity as d tractive power as applied
on railroads"
What, according to you. are the prac-
teal advantages which this electric loco
motive offers? Would you explain them
50 that The general reading public can
understand e3sily?"
lone Of the first advantages is that
with perfect security a gain of speed
over that Of an express train of 80 per
cent. can he secured. That addition Of
speed can be obtained, and at the same
time a considerable economy of coal
effected.
I became interested in this electric
locomotive two years ago I saw at once
that it was a practical invention. 1 have
spent two years studying its details and
1 now consider it perfect.
But there have been former electric
locomotives invented which have failed?'
Why They Failed.
"Quite So" replied NJ. Bunau-Varilla,
land there was good reason for their
failure Hitherto two systems have been
tried, the one known as the trolley sys-
tenn and used in America and elsewhere
for tramways; that is to say, with the
assistance of a conductor along the
route That was exceedingly expensive.
The other system has been that of car
rying- accumulators, which were very
cumbersome and had to be filled along
the road, entailing the organizing of
electric stations along the road. That
raised insuperab!e objections from the
practical point of view.
M. Heilmann has for the first time
tried a third solution. one which no one
had thought of before To put it simply,
his locomotive carries its own electric
station along with il. It makes the nee
essary electric motive power as it goes
Thus the two objections of the preceding
systems are avoided
But the question of expense?"
THE machine is slightly more eX-
pensive than an ordinary locomotive, but
that is nothing compared to the economy
which is effected in the consumption Of
/ COAL
How much is that?"
1.-The ordinary steam locomotive con-
sumes about ten kilos of coal per kilO-
meter. The Heimann electric engine
consumes but six kilos in the same dis
lance. In fact, it shows the eXtraor-
binary result of nearly double the force
with nearly half the consumption of coal
That Of itself is an enormous result.
There is besides another very strong
advantage which every railway engineer
will most readily appreciate. It is this:
Most Of you know, and yet some may
not. that it is impossible to drive the or
binary steam locomotive further than
200 lHilometers at the utmost. When the
ordinary locomotive has done that dis
lance it must be changed, cleaned and
rested. But with this electric locomo-
tive we can go ahead indefinitely.
II can best illustrate the reason of
that in the following way. The steam
locomotive can only go distance of 200
kilometers. but the steamboat, as you
know, can, given coal enough, keep on
almost indefinitely. The reason of that
is simple. 1t is merely that the engines
on board the steamship are protected,
while those on the steam locomotive are
exposed TO the dust. In this new electric
| locomotive the machinery is cased in
and therefore completely protected So
this locomotive, given coal, and of course
there is no difficulty about that, can go
on from Paris 10 Constantinople without
changing on the ordinary trains now
running the locomotive is changed from
seventy to forty times between here and
Constantinople.
Can Carry More Coal.
what coal do YOU carry compared to
an ordinary locomotives"
IAN ordinary locomotive will carry two
tons Of coal: we can carry three or more,
and that would take us six hundred kilo-
metres
"Of course all kinds of objections have
been raised and criticisms have been
plentiful. To all such there is a ready
answer. 1t was said that the engines
would be too long to negotiate the
curves. but that does not hold, as the
engines can be fitted on trolley wheels.
which work admirably. and that does
away with that objection. Others have
il that the machinery is complicated.
ssIt NAV be the case now with this
electric locomotive. that the machinery
NAV seem complicated. 1t is not more
so than is necessary. and If there are