The morning times., 1895-07-21
The making and Running
OF the Street Cable
Enormous Development of the Rapid Transit Street
System Throughout the Country--Some
Strands of a Great Industry

steam engines and driving machinery last q
lifetime.
In addition to these items the company
saves great deal of expense in the wages
of hoStlers and stable men and the force of
men employed by the Washington and
Georgetown road is less than half what it
was when horse cars were used. Besides
great many extra car horses were always
kept on hand TO be used in case OF an
emergency such as great celebration, and
they cost as much to keep in idleness as
when at work
With the cable road q greater demand
simply means to put more cars on and prob
ably shovel on a little more coal. And then
the road, of course, expects TO receive a
more liberal patronage than when horse
cars were used because of the more efficient
service.
Alter the excavations are completed the
construction of the cable conduit is com
paratively simple. II consists virtually OF
a sectional iron tube with q slot opening
into the street through which the grip
passes. In the tube are the wheels or
pulleys upon which the cable runs. Man
holes or entrances into the conduit are
placed at varying distances apart, through
which the workmen get at the cable rope
ana pulleys Tor the purpose OF Oi'ing and
observation The castings or yokes used
to preserve the uniform shape of the conduit
also serve to support the outside rails upon
which the cars rur. The pullcys are at
tached to brackets on the yokcs, and on
straight road are placed upright in the
center or the track, while on curves they
are laid flat and the cab,e runs around them
COST $500 coo A MILE.
Excavation for the trench Is easy where
the streets are free from underground i'm
pediments in the way of pipes, as they are
IN Washington, but in laying the cable
trench on the Broadway road in New York
City the contractors frequently came across
places where there were thirty or forty
pipes belonging TO different companies.
Gas pipes, water pipes, steam, pneumatic
and electric pipes, all belonging 10 com.
panies whose rights the cable company was
bound to respect, and the work OF getting
the pipes out of the way had to be done
without interfering with their service. This
increased the expense oftheroad enormously
and some parts Of il are said TO have cost
at the rate OF $500 900 a mile.
Perhaps the longest piece OF single piece
OF cable rope in use in this country is in
New York from Sixth street to One Hun
dred and Thirtieth street, a distance of
about SIX and a half miles, making about
thirteen miles OF cable. This enormous
wire rope weighs in the neighborhood OF
26O tons, and TO move ii through the
trench without the weight OF any cars
would require the combined strength OF
] 200 men.
The cable used in the Washington roads
is the same as that used in nearly all the
roads in the country, is made Of twisted
steel wire, and upon its strength and dura-
blhty depends 10 a large extent the sue
cessful working Of THE road. 1t is Of cX-
traordinary strength, and erdures the
Clamplng of the grips thousands Of times
every day without showing signs Of wear
often for half year The cable is watched
very carefully, however, and any sign of
weakness is at once detected and rcInedied
When the strands become worn out by
friction and unravel. as they sometimes do,