The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-14

of the girder. groove, stilt-like ct" or
the other styles OF rail in electric rail-
ways, there is useG the conventional T
rail employed by steam roads. The rails
weigh seVenty-SiSht pounds TO the yard,
and are of the type ;>nown Us the "Old
Colony section" Az inches high. and are
laid precisely as the rails Of steam roads.
Two flexible copper bands seven inches
long are under the base of the rails at
each joint and riVetei to them. The bands
are so placed that when the angle bars
used in splicing The rails are III position
the bonds cannot he seen. The length Of
the Bond is reduced TO Il minimum to in
sure the maximum carrying capacity with
a minimum Of resistance.
The tracks are fifteen feet apart from
centre to centre, and between the tracks
is the single line oI poles upon which are
supported the cables and trolley wire
crossarrns. The poles are y to IA inches
at the butt, and 10 to Il inches at the top.
They are painted black 10 point six feet
from the ground. and white to within one
foot of the crossarn, then finished black.
How the 3IotorS Look.
Four motor cars. built after the style of
baggag cars, are the electric locomo-
tives To secure traction they have been
steam TO electricity, and IS now operating
made extra heavy, weighing, when fully
equipped, about sixty thousand pounds
each. Two will have four motors each.
and the others two motors each hung on
trucks.
The cars are equipped with the West
inghouse air-hrake, and have all standard
appliances of the steam cars. In addition
to the ffteen-inch gong at the front end
OF the motor cars. each of these cars
have chime whistle. worked with COM
pressed air in place of steam.
Save for Il single feature, there is not
the slightest resemblance TO the steam To-
connective That feature is the cCw-catcher
at both ends of the motor cars. 1t is sit
uated underneath the platforms instead
of projecting beyond the body of the loco
tive, as with the steam locomotive. The
wheels are about the size of the largest
wheels used on steam cars, but the aXles
are considerably heavier TO withstand the
strain of the electric gearing.
One of the Reasons tor selecting the
Nantasket branch as the line for expert
condensed most OF the difficult problems
which will have to lie solved, before cleo
tricity can be recognized as a successful
substitute for steam. The grades are
steep and the curves sharp and frequent.
Trains are now running at short intervals
on the road
The Baltimore Experiment.
The Baltimore & Ohio road has also IN
dertaken the work of solving the electro
cal problem. 1t is the intention of this
company TO operate freight and Dassen-
ger trains in the Great Belt Line tunnel
of Baltimore by locomotives in which the
sole propulsive power viii be electricity
The work on the generating plant and
the huge motors is about completed A
half-section of the truck of one of the
motors is shown here. The motors were
built at Schenectady, and a unique test
made there shows that the hauling power
OF the motor Is greater than that OF the
heavy steam locomotive on the tracks
of the New York Central the motor was
hitched to 4 heavy SiX-wheei engine. The
machines were set in motion in opposite
directions, ard the great tug OF war be-
tween steam ard electricity VAS begun.
The strain or the coupling-pin was ter
rife, but the question was soon solved as
the electric locomotive pulled the steam
engine up and DOWN the track at Will.