The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-06-01

tricty will be opened for passenger
traffic within few days. The Metro
polftan Elevated railroad of Chicago
VIII afford means Of rapid transit be-
tween the business center of that city,
and the immense district lying between
the north and south branches Of the
Chicago river, and known as the West
Side, where some 100000 of Chicago's
population reside.
| Those who were fortunate enough to
visit the beautiful transient city by
Lake Michigan during the exposition,
will remember the Intramural railway.
whose elevated structure wound In and
out between the buildings and whose
cars were propelled by electricity. The
| West Side electrical road will be OPP
Grated on a similar system, and the
people who live in the houses contigu-
Gus to the track will be free from the
many disadvantages inseparable from
traction by steam. In fact, both for
passengers and dwellers along the line.
electricity will represent the perfection
Of traction system.
Docs Not Dsfigurc the Streets.
The Metropolitan Elevated Electric
| IL
among elevated railroads. The track
is carried upon an elevated structure of
steel, and Is built over land which the
company has purchased outright. with
the exception, of course, of the public
streets which 1t crosses. This has al
lowed 1t to construct the road in an eX-
ceptionally substantial manner, and
frees the company from the Disagree
ablo necessity Of contesting suits from
damages to property, which have
proved so embarrassing to elevated
roads built along the public streets.
The railway being built through the
alleys In the center Of the blocks be
hind the houses, does not disfigure the
| streets.
The road Is divided into several d.
visions, branching out into the triangu-
lar-shaped territory of the populous
West Side, and attaining total length
of about eighteen miles. The main or
trunk line, which runs from Franklin
street to Paulina street, has four tracks
and Is nearly two miles long, the
| branch lines have only two tracks.
There will be forty-three passenger sta
tions, all handsome brick structures
built directly beneath the tracks and
having every convenience for waiting
passengers.
The Antithcsis Of the Trolley.
The electrical system employed Is
that known as the third rail system of
the General Electric company, by
which company the road was equipped.
This is the antithesis of the overhead
trolley system, with which the electric
street railway has made us SO familiar,
the current being taken from third
rail running beside the track by means
of a flat metal contact shoe. which
hangs down from the car truck and Is
kept in contact by powerful spring.
| The station where the power Is gener-
ated has been built on Throop street,
near Van Buren. 1t contains already
an array of great engines and dynamos,
ready to furnish the current to drive
the cars as soon as the line is open for
| traffic.
Four Allis Corliss vertical compound
inverted engines, two of 1000 horse
power, and two of 1000 horsepower
are in place. The smaller engines each
| drive an 500 kilowatt dynamo, while
each large engine turns a 1900 kilowatt
dynamo, the dynamo being placed with
the fly wheels between the high and
low pressure cylinders of the engines.
There is no betting in the station.
| These great dynamos, the largest of
| which are nearly sixteen feet high and
weigh ninety-three and One-half tons
each, are rated to furnish in the ag-
gregate over 5000 amperes of current
at a pressure of $50 volts, or about
5000 horse power
Precautions Against Accident.
Every precaution is taken to guard
against accident. There are no wires
in the winding of the massive forty-one
ton armature revolving between
twelve field magnets. 1t is built up of
iron lamnations fastened to spider"
as the wheel-like frame Is called, and
copper bars sunk in slots in the sur
face of armature. The insulation Is Of
mica. Lightning cannot reach the dyn-
amo over the wires to destroy the gen.
orator. 1t would first have to pass
lightning arrester, but this switches 1t
off it's baleful errand and conducts 1t
underneath the ground to spend itself
harmlessly. Short circuits, which are
means given by accident to the cur
rent to hurry back to the dynamo,
without first performing its proper
duty, and injure it by overlooking 1t.
are taken care of by an ingenious de-
vice which breaks the circuit auto
matically and illustrates impending
damage as soon as the flow of current
exceeds certain fixed amount.
Heavy cables of copper run under the
floor of the room to the switchboard on
which are mounted the different instru-
ments which show the performance of
the electrical machinery and the con-
cumption of current. 1t also carries
the protecting devices, as well as the
heavy copper knife blade switches
which kleam red against the marble
panels, and which are used to conduct
the current to other cables which feed
1t to the lateral or third rails elevated
little above the ordinary rails. After
the current has done It's work in turn
ing the motors 1t continues along the
circuit back to the dynamo by the rails
of the regular track.
A Precursor OF Great Things.
The cars will be operated In two and
four car trains. The first car of each
train will be a motor car drawing the
other cars which are known as trail
ers" The motor cars will be equipped
with two motors of 100 horsepower
each mounted upon the forward truck.
These powerful motors are controlled
by special controller, which turns the
electricity into them and effects the
different necessary speed combinations.
At first fifty-five motor and 100 trailer
cas- will be put into service, but this
number will be increased as the line is
extended and the traffic becomes heavi-
er. A small compartment built out
upon the platform Is provided for the
motorman at each end OF the motor car.
A sliding door near the gate allows OF