The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-08
lRD TINE Of TROLLEY


New York. July 1.-THE Herald today
gives an interesting account of recent
experiments made with electric loco
motives made by eastern capitalists In
the following:
While the United States has been al
most gridironed during the past eight
years with hundreds Of trolley roads
to supply the rapidly growing demands
/ Of city and suburban transit. the first
railroad proper. with ordinary passen-
ger and freight trains. has just been
put into operation. This departure Is
an epoch making one in the history
Of railroad development. and the trial
tests have thus far met with degree
: Of success that promises the early ad-
vent of the electric locomotive for all
kinds Of trafIlc
The hrst piece Of railroad thus
equipped IL . branch OF the Old Colony
road. ON Nantasket Beech. in Massa-
chusekts. and the credit for the enter
prise. a. well as the record Of having
operated the first electric railroad OF
standard gauge and capacity. belongs
to the New York. New Haven ana
Hartford company.
The line thus fitted out Is. Of course
in one sense. an experiment, and Is only
about seven miles in length. over -FOUR
Of which are made up of numerous
sharp curves There Il only one grade
however. Of about thdrty-four feet 70
the mile. the Sest Of the road being
practically level 1t is an excursion
route principally. with frequent STOPS
and extends from Old Colony House
70 Pemberton. at the end Of Nantaske'
Beach
Built for Nigh Sreeh
The line has all the distinctive tea-
lures Of an ordinary trolley hne' WIN
Its overhead wire and poles, except eha'
the casual observer can see that every
thing IL very substantially built ana
every provision made for safety at hish
speed. The track itself was first re-
built. with seventy-eight pound T rails
and thoroughly ballasted, the FORMER
steam driven trains having run on
Hfty-eisint pound rail at only ordinary
excursion train speeds. The overhead
work Is especially substantial IN ap-
pearance, and every precaution mas
6een taken to make a crucial test or the
question whether or not an overhead
trolley system is adapted to general
railway traffic, and the answer thus far
seems to be decidedly in the affirmative.
A specially designed trolley wire has
heen. used. having a cross section re-
sembling a figure eight. the lower lobe
Of the eight being somewhat larger ana
broader than the upper. This wire is
three-quarters of an inch deep and one
half an inch thick at the bottom, ana
weighs about a pound to the running
foot, which would make the wire cost
about $1,000 per mile for a double-track
nnA--a trtfiing amount as compared
the cost of roadway structure and
Il items of Construction,
The peculiar cross section OF the troll
ley wire is not given for the purpose
Of stiffening 1t or preventing slack. this
being effected by proper stretching, but
to provide a suitable means of fastening
the overhanging supports to the wire
securely, and in such way that the
large trolley wheel cannot possibly In
terfere with or be thrown off the wire
by striking the grips while passing
them at high speed.
Poles Close Together.
The trolley poles are placed between
the two tracks, with cross arms project
ing in opposite directions to support the
wire over the center rine Of each track.
The poles, Of southern pine, are twenty
four feet above ground. a foot square at
the top and considerably larger at the
bottom. They are placed much nearer
together than on ordinary trolley roads.
being only sixty feet apart on curves,
Of which the road has twenty in ALL