The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-14
Frc,n the Gostor Transcript.

cohStructIoA Is ilN- - iuula .. Il novel
~ after :N, except as regards the force
tnat nfoiels It. Aiany ycats ago th,re
was frequently seen oH :hc streets oi
tona.dSe Il busy designed - carry
Two PERSONS, Win Steam for It's motor
power, th3t mlde good time over road :
tLdt were not noted .gr thcir smuotH-
Hes. The Metropolitan street k3liroGi
company once 'Nueri.C eltsd with sa1t
We're called "dumWy engines" and
thCy would probably have como iatn
use had there not lprg = great outcry
raised 2Hdiu?t tnom because they
frightened horses. bdt these, Of course,
We're designed for use on lion rails, and
are not within the Tcncral scope ui ti!s
article, which deals only with vehicles
run on the ordinary roads propelled By
motors to take the place OF horS' $.
Carriages without horses have LONG
been popular in France. since 1892
they have been coming rapidly into
favor through the mventi1n OF ECtro-
leum motor. 1hr recent race from
Paris 10 Bordeaux, In which machines
adapted by MINI. pGuhars and LcvIS-
sor, of Paris, to carriages of two or four
seats competed, has attracted the at
tcntion of not only France. but OF
America, These carriages. made after
traditional patterns, are driven by
differently either at the back or in the
front. The driver sits with lever
ready to his hand, by means of which
the machinery can be set IN motion in
a few minutes. Some eXpcrimentevs
have proved that two minutes will suf-
fice for q start, ana others agree upon
five minutes as the time required.
Anyhow, ii Is small affair, even If
the horses have a sort of advantage
here. But horses, at least, cannot go
backward, except at great personal in
convenience. and after n vast amount
of manipulation by the coachman The
petroleum carriage runs either way
without protest. And in the matter of
speed no mere horse can approach 1t.
The average speed on good roads rec
commended by the manufacturers Is
something more than eleven miles an
hour, and even greater claims are made
for ii. The petroleum in these engines
is used as a fuel for the production If
steam. They are as easily worked as !.
tricycle., probably easier. A novice, a.
many wl:ness, is able, rpon the first
trial. to drive his carriage over twn
hundred miles in two days of ten hours
apiece. Tourists have wandered over
half dozen departments in them, AMI
the taste Is spreading every day.
These vehicles, perfect as they ap-
pear to be. Will have to give place to The
later devices Of electricians. So far
those that have been constructed have
proved too heavy and expensive
to find general sale. The bat
teries alone cost about $500
They have undoubtod advantages
The are clean, noiseless and
require no engineer or skilled operator
ra.. 1i,N,r IN, tl,.a
and the cable car But the excessive
load of the batteries and the lack of
facilities for recharging them will pro-
hibit their use outside Of large cities for
some time to come. Supplies of pctro-
leum and gasoline are to be obtained
III any town. The petroleum vehicles
arc light, more convenient in running,
and also require no engineer For
these reasons they must take the pre-
cedence for ordinary use until the in
genuity of the Yankee has overcome
the obstacles that electricity presents.
Take. for instance, the electric wagon
of the Boston inventor II is heroic in
its proportions, resembling an English
brake in general design, and is built
to outlast the wonderful one-hoss
shay 1t weighs 5,lO0 pounds and is
the heaviest motor wagon
on the continent. rivaling in weight
the steam omnibuses OF Paris. The
general design of the vehicle Is well
adapted to the purpose. The batteries
In the body and under the
iront seat are extremely powerful, con-
sisting of forty-four chloride cells, with
q total capacity OF two hundred am.
pere hours, and an average discharge
rate OF twenty-five ampheres. The
motor yields four horse power and three
different speeds are obtained, the mini
mum being four and the maximum
fourteen miles an hour The owner
mas put this carriage through the PAGES
in hill climbing and over heavy roads
with most satisfactory results.
An electrical wagon In use in Phila-
delphia has run several hundred miles
without an accident. AS compared
with petroleum vehicles it is rather
ponderous, weighing 1850 pounds. Tho
batteries weigh 1,6O0 pounds and con-
Fist OF sixty chloride accumulaters.
having maximum capacity of thirteen
horse power. From 30 tn 100 miles can
be accomplished on one charge, accord
ing to the grade and speed, and the
maximum speed attainable is fifteen
miles an hour The motor, Weighing
800 pounds is nominal three horsr
power electric launch type, capable Of
developing for n short time nine full
horse power. Steering Is accomplished
by means of n wheel in front of the
driver
The first electric wagon ever seen near
New York has just appeared in Brook
yn. 1t came from the West. and IS
he invention of two residents of Kansas |
'ity 1t weighs about 1900 pounds. and |
ts at present constructed has but one |
seat Eighteen hundred pounds of |
storage batteries of the chloride accu- |
nulater type furnish the power. which |
IS communicated to the wheels by a |
"a Wilde friction pulley running on q |
steel iiange attached to the inside OF the |
'ear wheels. When desired. an auto |
ratio lever detachcs the power from |
me driving wheel without stopping the |
i'Otion OF the motor. On ordinary GOOD |
'oads a speed Of Fifteen or eighteen |
niles an hour can be obtained. and for |
ascending hills rcserve cf twelve |
!orse power can he drawn upon. \ run |
VI fifty niles can he made. with one |
-harge of the lrttcrles.
Lock Haven, Pa. is also n claimant |
or hOnors i'm this direction. This wagon |
$ intended for hotel service The seats |
'un lengthwise. aud under them are |
~ w WV ',''' - iSS' 'i"Nt SNiIs III dli, |
our on each side. Though so few in |
number. theac cells arc said by the in |
'entor to have sufficient capacity 10 |
I'm the wagon fifteen days Of nineteen |
iours each. recharGirg themselves from |
generator often sixteen candle power |
lights. The motor develops three horse
,ower. goGred "a equal six. The ve-
iicle weights i.C00 rourds. and Ia said I
% carry 5000 pounds The rubber |
Tres. with which 1t Is fitted. increase |
he comforts of riding.
When the wagon stops or Is running |
'own hill the generator returns the |
ised up current to the battcri9s. thus |
power. II Is claipbed that |
m a good road a speed Of twenty-five
milo an hour can he reached. and the
,rotect is on foot To apply the invention
o fire and police patrol Yaecns. hotel |