The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1895-07-20

Electric Locomotive in Railroading.
In the opinion IF many experts the
time when the electric locomotive will
take the place of the steam locomotive
for all kinds of railroad work is much
nearer than has generally been i'm
agined. In support of this belief Will
lam Baxter, Jr., points out that no en-
gineer OF any prominence would have
ventured to say, three or four years
ago, that at the present time the cleo
trio motor would be making such in
roads into the legitimate field of the
steam locomotive as it really is max
ing to-day. Mr.. Baxter maintains that
the ability Of electricity to compete
with steam has always been under
estimated. The main reason for this
is that about the only direction in
which competition was considered pos
Sible was in the matter of coal con-
sumption, whereas railroad men.
whether engaged in operating steam
or electric roads, know that the coal
bill IS only one of the items in the
cost of operation and that it does not
constitute such a large portion Of the
total expenditure as to make it possi-
BILE Tor even very great reduction IN
this direction to determine the superb
ority of one system over the other"
MI. Baxter summarizes the principal
advantages of the electric motor as
follows: First, the cost of repairs is
less with electric than with steam To-
cOmotiyes. The mechanism is far more
simple; there are not so many moving
parts, and these parts are not so much
exposed to the action of mud, sand,
water, etc. In the second place, the
miles run per day, or, in other words,
the hours of service obtained per day,
are less with steam than with electric
traction. Consequently, the cost Of Ia
Dor per mile run is much greater and
the amount of work done with given
sum invested in locomotives is less
than with motors. Locomotives run
ming at an average speed OF thirty or
forty miles per hour do not make any
more miles per day than motor cars
which only average about one-thlro
these speeds. The reason that locomo-
tives cannot be run as many hours as
motors is their limitations OF wear ana
tear. They cannot stand continuously
the rough and tumble treatment that
motors are subjected to and they nave
to be run into the round house and be
thoroughly examined and cleaned up
for the next days run. The import
ance of the bearing of this fact is evil
dent. When electric motors of larger
size and for higher speed come, as
they inevitably will, to take the place
of locomotives, they will be run ap-
proximately the same number OF hours
as the motors now in use, and Will,
therefore, cover from two and halt
to three times the distance now cover
ed. by locomotives. The third funda-
mental advanta ge Of electric traction
in this competition is that the motors
used to draw train can be placed
under one of the cars. This will re-
duce the weight of the train, and
therefore the power required to move
it. The motor car could be made much
lighter than the locomotive at present
used, and this would give a further
saving in power. Less weight would
be carried on any one pair of Wheels
and the weight would be more thor
oughly spring-supported. This would
materially reduce the strain on the
track, and consequently the cost Of
maintenance.