The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-12

inch Iron q bars riveted to a cover
plate liz inches wide, and constructed
in section 80 feet long. 1t weighs about
so pounds per foot At intervals of fif-
teen feet inside the tunnel there are
suspended from the arch transverse
channel frames, each holding four cast
Ings, into which are fitted conical porce-
lain insulators. Twelve inches into the
masonry of the tunnel are driven the
bolts necessary to support these frames.
The bolts pass downward through the
outside pair of insulators. The bolts
attaching the conductors to the channel
frames pass through the inside pair
of insulators and support an iron stir
rup in which the conductor hangs. This
method affords double insulation, and
If leakage occurs it can only be by the
current passing the insulators between
the conductor and the transverse chan
mel, and then the insulation between the
channel and the bole in the tunnel arch
The height of the conductors above the
level of the top of the rails is II feet 6
inches in the tunnel, and they are fixed
a little on each side of the center line,
This plan was adopted to avoid the risk
standing on the top of passing freight
cars. An additional precaution is pro-
vided in the shape of continuous wood
en- shields fastened to the iron stirrup
which supports the conductors.
| outside the tunnel the conductors rise
to a height of twenty-five feet. They
are hung from span consisting of two
chains Of iron rods, each span being $50
| feet long. The spans are supported by
! latticed iron trusses stretching over the
! tracks, and resemble miniature suspen-
sion bridges. The trusses vary in
length from thirty feet to sixty-two
feet, the longer truss being used to span
| five tracks. The spans are fastened
at the end to heavy timbers, which run
vertically down through the trusses and
| serve to prevent the current escaping
| to the span and thence to the truss.
AT Intervals of fifteen feet vertical rods
are dropped from the spans to a porce-
! lain insulator holding a bolt, which in
turn supports the overhead conductor.
| The double insulator is followed along
the entire length of the line. Upon the
straight track the conductors are sus-
pended from single spans, but upon the
curves double span is employed.
In order that the conductor may form
a perfectly continuous circuit, each sta
ton is connected to the next by means
of copper band. Between the conduc-
tors are laid the feeder cables, which
are connected at intervals to the over
| head conductors.
The tunnel is lighted by large 32-can-
die power Edison lamps. fixed at inter-
walls of TX feet on each side, s feet from
the ground, in wooden blocks, which
are cut out around the lamp to protect
lit from moisture dripping from the
walls.
| This Is the most modern and first
| important application of electricity to
| the steam trunk railroad In the world.
Few would have dared to predict five
years ago that this result would be real
lied so quickly when Edison ran his
| little locomotive aroun Menlo park;
Elihu Thomson developed one which is
still slowed away at Swampscott, and
Frank Sprague began to lay the tracks
1 for his trolley road In Richmond some
1 eight years ago And yet so rapidly
| does the human mind accustom Itself
| to new things that not only was the
| development of these locomotives ex-
pected, but electricity was almost
sighted because it had not been done
| before.
The ultimate results of the innova-
ton none can tell. 1t would be useless
to predict the immediate adoption of
| electrical propulsion by the steam
Iroads, for the great questions Of money
and expediency both demand considera-
A ton. The first step which costs has,
however, been made by the corps of
electrical engineers and inventors In the
employ of the General Electric COM
pany, and great credit is due the Bal
timore and Ohio railroad for Its courage
in making the first essay