Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-06-06
WILL THE ELECTRIC MOTOR sUpERsEDE
STEAM.

WILL tnE ELESIktN fNOtOk SUPEHSEDE
STEAM.
Let us inquire into the advantages
which electricity offers over steam.
Instead of hundreds of locomotives
burning coal in hundreds of individu-
al furnaces, working their steam in
hundreds of cylinders = for the largest
part of the time under very unecono.
mical conditions, and then exhausting
1t into the free air-we have in the
case of the electric road power stations
situated at intervals, say, of 80 miles,
equipped with the most modern triple
or quadruple expansion condensing
engines, and utilizing to the utmost
degree the heat contained in the coal.
But besides the direct economy there
is another feature peculiar to electric
power distribution, which is directly
applicable to railroad work. Thus, il
a division of double-track railroad,
100 miles in length, had, say, 40 trains
running at one time, each averaging
500 horsepower, there would thus be q
total of 10000 horse power required in
the steam equipment Of the locomo.
tives. But as a part of the trains are
at standstill during aportion of the
time, and some going down grade and
hence consuming little or no power, it
follows that the actual amount of
power employed at any one instant is
considerably less than the maximum
10000 horsepower which the entire
equipment can develop. Hence, il
such u road were to be equipped cleo
trically, this would be taken advantage
of to the extent that the central power
stations in the case assumed above,
would probably be designed for maxi
mum capacity of not more than $1,000
horsepower, or 25 per cent less than
the total power Of the present steam
| locomotives.
Comparing the electric with the
steam locomotive as mechanisms, pure
and simple, there is Il wide difference
between them as regards simplicity
On the one hand we have an aggrega.
ton consisting of boilers, pumps, cyl.
inders, valves, piston and connecting
rods, with reciprocating motions, while
on the other hand, the electric loco,
motive has but Il single moving part
the armature, having "a rotary motion
1t follows that the cost of repairs for a
simple mechanism like the electric
locomotive would be far below that OF
the steam locomotive. But aside from
this, the fact that the single moving
part of the electric locomotive has a
rotary motion, makes it possible to APP
ply the power directly to the axle
Thus, instead of having to concentrate
all the weight required for traction on
from two to four driving-axles, each
car may be equipped with its own
motive power; hence the power re-
quired may be divided up proportions
ately to the number of cars composing
the train. This avoids the great wear
on the track and roadbed which the
heavy locomotives, with their sham
mer effect" inhict Oh them, and also
makes it possible to operate with a
lighter roadbed generally, including
lighter bridges and sleeper grades. On
the other hand, should it be deemed
desirable to concentrate all the train
propelling power into one-car unit,
that could be readily accomplished, and
the weight of the passenger utilized to
give the necessary adhesion between
rail and wheel.
Again, this method of propulsion, in
which power is applied directly to the
axle by rotary motion, has an impor-
tant bearing on the speed at which it is
possible to drive train. AS we have
shown above, the steam locomotive
embodies in its construction recipro.
eating parts, that is, they have to-
and fro motion. The inertia Of these
parts is such that they cannot be
worked above a certain number of
strokes per second without danger OF
rupture. 70 this must be added the
hammering of the track, which wodld
be greatly increased at high speeds,
and what is perhaps still more OBJ.
jectionable, the horizontal vibration
which would be impaired to the train,
and which would make such trains
almost unbearable for passengers, since
it would be practically impossible to
balance the moving parts completely.
There are no such hindrances to high
speeds with the electric locomotive;
the perfectly balanced armature with
its rotary motion can be run at any
speed short of that which would make
it fly apart due to centrifugal force,
and the speed at which this would oc-
cur is far beyond that at which the
public would care to travel, even in
these times of cannon-ball expresses.
If to the advantages we have just emu