The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-19

body. The armatures are Of the latest
barrel wound type. and present q very
massive appearance. The fields ere Of
steel. according to the well known gen..
eral electric design. and run remarkably
cool. The machine compounds from 600
volts no load to 700 volts full load. The
performance OF bo:h the generator and
engine under the severe fluctuations
to which this character OF work 10 sub
ject shows that the apparatus must have
been carefully designed. with reference
to the peculiar conditions to which II
was to be subjected.
From the railway generators the cur
rent Is brought over In cables. OF 10000
G. NJ. cross-sectlon, to switchboard OF
white marble. erected on a platform
raised at the south end OF the engine
room. This switchboard consists OF
four standard "K' generator panels.
each equipped with all the necessary
instruments for controlling and meas
uring the current from one generator.
The machines are protected from acci-
dent arising from short circuit by auto
matte circuit breakers. one OF which Is
fixed to the upper part of each panel.
The most interesting portion OF the
installat ton is, of course. the locomo-
tives. Electric locomotives OF such
weight ana power had never before been
conceived. but II has always been a rule
in American electric railway practice
from the beginning. to push ahead where
improvements were possible and make
the results realize the expectations. and
there has been no departure from the
rule in this case. The ninety-SiX ton
electric locomotive Is a success. 1t was
designed to do very heavy work and to
handle trains such as the largest steam
locomotives handle. 1t Is. OF course.
also designed to run In either direction.
Test Highly Succcss,nI.
A test of the first completed truck,
representing one-half OF the locomotive.
was made upon lthe tracks at the
Sohnectady shops OF the general Elec-
trio company. In order to obtain the
necessary load, heavy slx-wheel en-
gine was made use of and the electric
locomotive truck coupled to 1t. The
machines We're then set in opposite di-
rections and tugged at the connecting
couplings as In a tug of war The
electric locomotive had a slight advan-
tage over the steam engine In weight
on the driving wheels, and pulled II up
and down t.ie track with apparent ease.
For the same weight upon the drivers
1t was shown that the electric locomo-
steam locomotive.
Each motor Is rated at $50 horse
power and takes a normal current of
900 ampe;s. The controlling devices
measuring instrumaMss, etc, occupy
the interior of the cab. The controller
Is erected In one half of the cab. and
1t Is Of series parallel type. The re-
serving leaver projects through the up
per plate Of the controller cover. The
resistances are placed around the frame
beneath the floor OF the cab. The loco
motive Is equipped with a 1000 to $500
automatic circuit breaker and one 1000
ampere magnetic cut out Of 5000 am
pere Illuminated dial Weston ammeter
and one illuminated dial Weston vol
meter. The compressed air for the
whistle and brakes Is supplide by an
Oscillatlng cylinder electric air pump,
the air tanks being placed at each end
of the complete locomotive. The inter-
Tor Of the cab Is illuminated by clusters
Of incandescent lights. Contact with
the overhead conductor Is affected by
means of a sliding shuttlellke shoe Of
brass, which is fixed to a flexible support
fastened to the top OF the cab. The
trolley" support is diamond shaped
and compresslble. contracting and ex-
panding as the height demands, and
is arranged to lean on one side of the
other as the locomotive runs on one
side or the other of the overhead conduc-
tor. It Is, however, rigid in so far as
movement forward or backward over
thelocomotive IS concerned. Tho cur
rem Is brought to the locomotive by
means Of cables connected to the shoe
and fastened to the trolley" support.
The conductor is simply reversed iron
conduit. or trough, erected overhead on
trusses in the open and in the tunnel
attached to the crown of the arch. In
the open the conductor Is directly over
the center of the track; in the tunnel
over the center line Of the space be-
tween the tracks.