The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-08-16

Suggestive Experiment With the Eiec.
tric Il mad

Suggestive Experiment With the E'ec'
: trio Road.
a It is reported that the three great
: railway systems that run south, wes'
n and northwest from Chicago are a,
n work on plan for the immediate and
n extensive use of electricity AS a motive
4 power for passenger trains on their
: roads, Electric locomotive manufac-
y turers are figuring ON the cost OF the
t engines, and negotiations have pro-
3 crossed almost to the point OF signing
, contracts 1t is calculated that the
. cost of the substitution in the passen :
= ger and mail service of three great
| trunk lines will aggregate $40, O0O'OOo
to S12, 900. 600, but it is believed that
) the consequent economy OF operation
} will Justify the outlay. The purpose
/ is to utilize the vast coal deposits that
lie in the heart of Illinois, Iowa and
some of the northwestern states, by es-
tablishing great power generating
plants at the mouth of the mines, thus
saving the cost of transportation TO
Chicago or other centers. The plant
in Illinois may ultimately become OF
as great capacity as that of Niagara.
The system proposed is briefly, out
lined by Holland in the Phlladel-
phia Press as follows; Starting out
from Chicago locomotive will be
fitted with a suitable chloride accumu-
lator storage battery of the system
which is made by Philadelphia manu-
facturers. This chloride battery is
charged at the station in Chicago and
so charged as to carry the locomotive
at certain speed for certain dis.
lance When the section of the road
which is proportionate to the power OF
this storage battery has been passed |
over, the locomotive will stop and in a
very few minutes time, by the use of
crane working by electricity. the
exhausted battery will be removed from
the locomotive and another fully charg
ed be put in that ones place: thus an
other section of the road will be passed
over again and the exhausted battery
be removed and fresh one substitu-
ted, the exhausted ones being recharg
ed for the use of the following train.
All of the electricity comes from the
central generating station, which is
located at the mines The plans do not
contemplate an entire substitution of
for steam. The electric To- ,,
comotives will be used only for passen
ger and mail train service Steam will .
be used as heretofore for drawing ,,
freight trains, for the problem of eco
nomical and successful use of electric :
ity for freight service has not been :
solved Besides, the continuation of
the steam locomotive as haulcr of :
freight, will prevent the dead loss !
which an entire substitution OF cleo >
tricity for steam would entail. The ;
question of speed has not yet been !,
reached. 1t is sufficient for the man
ayers of these three roads to know, as
they think they do, that it is possible !,
10 obtain and maintain with safety
higher rate of speed with the proposed
,lectric locomotives and the chloride {
accumulation batteries than can be Sc y
.ured by the use of steam, and that ,
his high rate will probably be found d d
o be more economical What the
maximum rate will be can only be de
after experimental tests.
There is no doubt that something of =
he kind is certain of early adoption is
" all the steam lines of the country
nd of the world in fact. This is in T
Iced the ''age of electricity and cleo fe
richly is the coming motive power. o
is chief advantage, especially with u
he solution of the. problem of its "
ransfer to distances without serious b
>ss, lies in the fact that it can be l.
enerated by water power practically
$ well as by steam, Thus natures n,
nergy now running to waste so largely al
ill be harnessed to mans use. L
If such great economy can be effect M n,
/ by the use 90 electricity generated Ia
,om coal on the western prairies, FIR
hat will not be done in mountain ID
us country like Vermont, with power
nough running down its hillsides to r.
ropel electric cars over every rod of b,
S territory, When the issue becomes pa
he between mining and burn ing coal =, -
II power or simply using over and ov In,
again every few rods the propulsive 81
over the God of the mountains has fie
applied in such abundance, how can ~ -.
lere be any question which will ulti te,
ately come out ahead? st
The song the Reformcr has been -.
nging for years is that better days W. W !
e surely coming for old Vermont nj
he development of the electric car is els
ing to make it true boyoud the wild ov'
t imagining. std
The men are living to-day who will
2 the Green Mountain state the ia ~,
red SpOt of all America