New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-11
AFFAIRS IN BROOKLYN.
TALKING OF ELECTRICITY
THE BROOKLYN ELEVATED KAihNoAD
LOOKING FOR SYSTEM
OTHER COMPANIES WATCHED WHILE THEY AXE
TRYING EXPERIMENTS " rs ~" VI
EXPENSE AND PROFIT IN CHANGE

,r,x,xc rxprpryENrs- QUESTION OF
EXPENSE AND PROFIT IN CHANGE
OF MOTIVE POWER
,rs Tho prookiyn Elevated Railroad
r-ornrs,v has been investigating various SC"e'"'
Cor m. propulsion Of its cars by eiec'rc"y' anu
comfy II has been sail that the company 49,
eouip It's system with electric motive power IA ~
near future The truth in the matter see"'9 "
mat the companv prefers that SOME othcr coh'pa",
cav the Manhattan Elevated OF New-horh' s
&c, make the experiment of electric equip'io"
Then IL the experiment is sucSessiu anu o,,,r
suits seem to warrant the expense tne 80 60
Elevated Company will also be likely 70 c""e
system TO electric one Inis ihe'"ou ,r,ro
vat,ve but hardly progressive. and 1t Is paseu o'"
rha, can no learned on the apparent haliue'n""
Of the company that II is not rich ehous" ' ~
the EXPENSE II the company were paying n.
II is said then 1t might take the risk oil a"
ment As 1t is. it prefers that we"''"''
ton should first accept the hazard 49,. ,,,os,
II IL known, however, that It's ofb'ers NV -, t.,
gated all the electric systems In use Oh 'o"U "
other cities and are still watching every r,sv
ment of electric motive power WIN i"'' a.
say that up to this time no sys'ei" nae largo
valoned which gives promise OF wsrrahuhg as
outlay of money by bringing about inc ,'.as
.,d sconomv I'm operation Undoubtedly lne "'N'
tisatians made by the officers OF 'he -,
Elevated road and their results nave ~" -.
the BROOKLYN Elevated Railroad COMPANY "'ep ,,
nj all BROOKLYN
follow a leader toward an eeononl0a' 'H'f
of their lines with electric power tits,
n r Nichols the chief engineer OF the brooHN
Company yesterday afternoon outlined '"e -
OF the company on the question: wheh lie '"N
q Tribune reporter as follows a,..
"The company is at present considering no u''
ran for electrical equipment any dehnite propo
siton from an electric company mas heiu i'o ''
and important meetings to consluer me H" t.
and Will hold none that know OF IN the ne' Nv
ure After the Worlds Fair was cioseu Tue nv
mural Railroad Company there wanted US 10 use
,ho .,ec,ric eouiDment of their elevated system
The material however. was not used, but Deca'"e
scattered. The Metropolitan Railroad sSSte'' ~,
IN operation in Chicago is practicaliY lue""oa'' ~
current Is not taken from an overhead Wre' ou'
from, a third rail which runs just ou'slde tne ""Nn'
~, an examination of this system came 10 'he
conclusion that it not what we wanted III 1919
I made careful study Of the eiectflc system II, w
on the Liverpool Overhead Railways goo" on
examination as | could make on this sioe OF 'ie
Atlantic That system Is nearly ike 'ne one "
onsrat,on IN Chicago the main difference being that
The third rail- from which the power Is taken runs
between and not outside Of the TWO Oh ""c" '''
car wheels move. The company seems 10 oe so
cessful financially, ana hoNOe IL ""' '' '
dividends of per cent ,.
We uant. The Kings County road, believe. inVes-
t!sa,ed the Westinghouse system ana iou r,ao
expensive ami my opinion is that the "eneia - -,
trc system o Is MOI oHin win electricity either our
sys,em or the Kings County system anu in ny and
~ MS on capital invested in discarded ensT n au
so firth would be nearly million more, anu ~ ~
hans half a million on the hihss oar,ain ,hst
in return that expense we sno9a os conomy in
we can gain adequately in speed ana sysem nor
operating. Neither the General EeT,. ny that
the nn smccessful elevated railroad system op
erated BY asSnl eigh tG miles long The speed at
taned Improvement but me sgsibed " If we
p,ere compelled 10 build anew, our own SYSTEM
we should use the electric power ne iri' :, p ~ss
road was equipped with electric power "neh u was
Colonel Hahn has given great ass T money
in notwithstanding on the Ninth,ave line IN Ne%
York o but he ne NneTasa with electricity in his lifetime
MIR Westinghouse tells aim, hear Una, ne n ian he
oeyeopea aetv of the electric systems would be
about The same as now exists, suppose. lhere are
atber reasons why We should be glad TO adopt a
really good electric system; there would not pc 81, 30
people living along the line would probably WELCOME
it would care much one way or the other so long
carried at g99}d ,5 spe sxposed rail through
vSi M '' euTrsn, IS carried on the Chicago and
Liverpool systems would be more dangerous thah
Not at All he answered. You see It's IKE this
Say they send 800 volts over trolley wte S
sectional area of one-quarter Inch; the tremendous
resistance makes 1t deadly. But send such current
oyer the rail IN use in LyeTPe0 SECTIONAL OF area ana
the resistance would he so decreased that II Moudu
he
from the officers of the Liverpool road mat the hVe
rail can be touched with impunity, and Is in no way
source of danger. ,..,o,, ,or
II am not antagonisc to the use OF electricity o'
such purposes: ] am only conservative, as me com
pany Is take a great interest in the propiein anu
Should welcome a profitable change OF power. .
mo | don't care 10 say which or the present >! -
TENS prefer Perhaps the Westinghouse system ~
operated little more cheaply than the others on
surface roads Judging from the results SHOWN vi
the De Kalb-aVe. line. - e.ors
The matter has been talked of by our oiflcers
lately only in a general way. We have had propo,
sitions made to that should permit our Ioau
10 be equipped with electric system, the pioposS.
ers bearing the expense. with the provision tnat IL
the system was operated cheaply and SATISFACTORILY
FOR a year We should accept It, There nave pe sh
two men within a year who have come 10 US WIN ii
plans and systems We gave them respectuai
hearing but the matter has not gone much oeyohu
that We shall watch the proposed experiment on
the Bridge with interest as II may contain SUM
useful points for us. We operate ABOUT twenty
miles the Kings County Company about ten.
"If the company were paying dlvdenus II nsn
he more disposed 70 take risks. But IL IL ptctlle
advisable 10 make the change Of power me company
would be financially able 10 do It, 1t prefers tnat
some other road shall make the experiment now
III the change should be made 1t is altogether
likely that the motors would be on each car. ana we
should not depend engines as we 90 now; ou'
each could move Independently In ei'her oirec'