New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-11
SUNDAY EDITION.
AUGUST II. 1895.

so1yed in time probably in the near future. but
they haven't been disposed Of yet. This then,
Is the first important objective point OK the ne""
affiliated engine builders.
In the next place, IL Is proposed to adapt the
Tesla polyphase system to railway traction All
the trolley cars now In operation and even Una.
big Baltimore switching engine. have machinery
which is actuated by the direct or continuous
current But Mr.. Westinghouse has long been
engaged in making dynamos that generate an
alternating current for lighting and other pur-
noses To be sure, he makes direct current
dvnamos and motors. too; but he has been par
ticuarly identified with the development OF the
alternating current; and practically all the ma
chinery in his immense new plant at East Pits
burg is driven with alternating current motors.
Now he wants to go step furtner and put tnat
style of motor on electric cars and engines. IL
has never been done yet. 1t Will not, however,
be the ordinary simple alternating current tnat 10
used In lighting which he VIII employ out tne
two-phase or three phase system the perfection
OF which is one of Mr.. Teslas great achieve-
ments.
ALTERNATING CURRENTS.
In the two-phase system two distinct alternate
ing currents are employed flowing through sepa'
rate wires, but both emanating from the same
dynamo and both actuatng the same motor
These have exactly the same frequency OF NUM-
her of oscillations to the second, but the crests
of one set Of wires adjusted so as TO come
lust one-Quarter OF a wave-engtn Denihd inc
crests Of the other set In the three-pnase sss
TEN there are three circuits. and one set OK
crests Is one-sxth OF wave-length behind an
other The special advantages OF the poiypnase
plan over a single alternating current need NOT
be pointed out here; but regarding the alternat.
ing current itself whatever its phase. IL shouio
be said that 1t is peculiarly suited to TRANSMISSION
over long distances.
II YOU ask any well-informed person why no
trolley line extends more than few miles from
the power house. he will tell you that the loss OF
current owing TO the resistance or the circuit ~
go great that cars cannot be operated advan-
tageously more th1n six Or eight miles from the
DYNAMO; and If you want longer line you must
have more power-houses But II you give cur
rent voltage enough it will go further; hence IN
some of the power plants 1t Is customary 10
increase the voltage OF current after IL Is gem
Grated, TO transmit II economically long
distance and then lower II at the point where u
is to be used. The two operations are conducted
by "step-up'' or 'step-down" transformers But
the alternating current Is the only one that can
be transformed in this manner with the APP
paratus usually employed for that purpose. the
Induction coil; hence its peculiar suitability TO
long distance work like the railroadng OF the
future.
Still another innovation which Mr.. Westins-
house hopes to introduce is the system OF supply.
ing electricity to his motors from below lnstead
OF above He will not employ the open conduit
with a shoe reaching down through slot 10 the
electric wire underground. Instead, he wants
to apply plan that has been IN use IN MS EAST
Pittsburg yards for several month"; This puts
the wires in sealed conduit. and runs properly
insulated branches up to metallic buttons or
plates in the middle OF the track, whence the
current Is picked UP by long horizontal bars att
tached to the car and making sliding contact
with the buttons 1t is only while the car Is
over these terminals, though, that the branch
wires are charged with electricity. At all other
times the current is automatically switched on.
THE QUESTION OF SPEED
There has been a good deal Of rather sensa~
tiona talk about the great speed to be attained
by electric cars in the near future However
sanguine he may be about the ultimate future
| though. Mr. Westinghouse talks cautiously on
| this point just now. Ii Is a simple matter 70
| gear an electric motor up to almost any speeo'
and to put enough current into 1t TO develop tnat
| speed. But. aside from the question OF economy.
| there are certain other difficulties TO be over
come before passenger trains run at 200. lou.
| or even 100 miles hour Perhaps the greatest
essential to high speed. with electricity or with
| steam Is to have an ideal road-free from curves
| and grade crossings, completely fenced in with
solid bed, perfect constructions and proper auto
| matte block Mr. Westinghouse would Ike
| to see switches entirely eliminated. so as 10 nave
no possible obstruction from that source.
Job H. Jackson of the well-known car-buiidine
| firm in Wilmington. DEL said to Tribune re-
porter last week that so far as car construction
| was concerned there was little Improvement that
could be made to promote higher speed He
| would give slightly heavier fiange TO the whees
| perhaps have the tires turned afresh after set-
ting them, render the exterior OF the coacn'
smoother to lessen atmospheric friction, ana
make other triing notifications but he de-
clared that cars really strong enough ana
safe enough now. The great peril. ne lnsisteov
lay in the track of the ordinary road under pres
ent conditions. This veteran car-builder doesnt
| feel comfortable when riding at a speed OF over
| sixty miles an hour. and 10 the other essentials
| just mentioned, OF suitable track for speed
, of one hundred miles or more an hour' ne woulo
| add thorough machine work on the rails tneni-
selves 1t is too late, perhaps. for existing roads
| to comply with all these requirements ana there-
fore II may be necessary 10 look to entirely new
| corporations to furnish the necessary track tof
| the very high speeds that are likely TO come m
| time
| At present there no surface indications
| that any such schemes are on foot; but goo1
| Judges believe that the capital would be forth-
| coming If special high speed electric roads We're
| projected by capable men Not only Is great
cleanliness and some economy attalnaDle by eiec-
| trio traction but the demand for e-saVing py
| busy men is steadily increasing and 1t is DOM
| mating factor in business That Is what makes
| the telephone and telegraph successful
| Mr. Westinghouse himself will not talk about
| the extent of the revolution in railroadng which
| has set in, but he strongly comments recene
| article of Frank J. Sprague in The Engineering
| Magazine" in which Mr.. Sprague took substan-
TALLY this ground: For the trunkline freight SER
vice steam Is at present decidedly more econom-
| ical than electricity. for express trains, when
| are few and heavy. and have long runs, steam
| still has the advantage. perhaps; but Tor the
suburban passenger business where the dls-
| tances are short, the service is frequent or the
| trains light electricity is the more economical.
| But suburban" is a very elastic word; and while
| Mr. Westinghouse does not commit himself def-
| nitely to any particular scheme just now ne mas
spoken favorably Of running either single cars
or pairs at intervals of five or ten minutes rom
| Jersey City TO Philadelphia. and perhaps TO
| Washington at a ninety-mle or an even higher
| rate OF speed. No doubt he had In mind In cons
nection with this some such cars as those OF the
| Mount Holly branch Of the Pennsylvania road
| But Albany is scarcely further away from New
York than Philadelphia; and Boston Is even
| nearer than Washington. Hence II there Is
traffic enough to support special electric road.
giving service of almost streetcar frequency.
| from North River to the Potomac, this generation
may similar lines reaching up the Hudson ana
| out through New-England before the century
| closes And with such examples before IT, the
| hustling busting West Will not be long In At
| tempting the same thing.
FOB TIE CAMBRIDGE TEAM