The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-30
ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.
tnsket Beach Line--A Race in New
York state.

Eighty Miles an Hour on the Nam
tasISet Beach Line--A Race in New
York state.
The new trolley system known as the
third-rail system. installed at Nantasket
! Beach, a feeder line Of the New York.
New Haven and Hartford railroad. was
recently completed Col. Heft. the cleo
! trical engineer In charge Of the instala-
ton, took a party of officials over the
road on a trial trip. According TO the
New York Herald on this trip the unusual
| speed of eighty miles an hour was attain
ed. The portion Of the track thus equip
ped is on the South Shore branch Of the
| Old Colony division, between Nantasket
| Junction and East Weynm, Mass. The
| novelty Of the system is in the third rail,
/ which displaces the overhead trolley wire.
| 1t is located between the tracks, and the
/ ends OF each rail connected TO the next by
| heavy bonding of copper wire. The ia
| miliar overhead pole is replaced by two
| shoes hung under the car which make
/ a sliding contact with the third rail, sup
plying the current. The shoes are thirty
! three feet apart on these cars. 1t is well
| known that the design of high-speed cleo
! trio motors presents few difficulties COM
| pared with the expenses Of a suitable
road-bed for exceedingly high speed, and
| ideal one for high speed work.
special dispatch to the Pittsburg Dis
| patch from North Tonawanda, n. y
| says.
An exciting race between an electric car
| on the Buffalo and Niagara Falls railroad
and an express train on the New York
! Central was run from Niagara Falls to
| Tonawanda between II and u O'Clock
] June p. This electric road Is considered
1 the finest In the world, and the cars are
heavy weight palace coaches.
At II o'clock both the trolley car and
| the express train pulled out of Niagara
| Falls. When the city was a mile behind
| the engineer of the express suggested "a
race by giving many short sharp blasts
| from the whistle. and then opening the
! throttle. The motorman responded by
/ turning on all the power, and the coach
/ began to wabble as she spun with light
/ ming speed over the level rOadbed.
! The electric coach moved at the rate of
! sixty miles an hour from Niagara Falls
| city line to Lasalle, and ran into TOna-
wada half a minute ahead OF the express
| train. 1t was the best race of the season,
| and Ii was the most exciting ever held
in the history Of the road.
| IN order to rebut the frequently made
claim that a locomotive can make as great
/ a mileage as an electric motor, w. Bax-
| ter, Jr., shows what Is done in actual
| practice and at the same time makes the
distinct statement that such a company
/ as the Pennsylvania railroad could effect
/ a saving of over &c. 100000, or 1874 per cent.
| of its operating expenses, by the adoption
| of electricity. on the railroad named
| there are l, l03 freight engines, giving a
| mileage of 20, 400, 1853 annually. In the pas
senger service there are ATS locomotives,
! and the total miles run per year by pas
! senger trains is l49O8, 800 Figuring on a
/ basis of 30 per cent, of the engines in use.
| the miles run per year would be 1850,
and on an 80 per cent basis, 5000
Trolley cars make an average speed of
| less than ten miles an hour run from 49,
to mil los A IA ia
| motor cars drawing freight trains at fir
| teen miles per hour could easily cover G5,-
| 600 or 1900 miles per year, and those used
| for passenger work, and making an aver
| age speed of thirty miles per hour, could
| run over 10000 miles per year. If so
| mucn greater yearly mileage could be
| made by electric motors II follows that
| the wages of motormen would be very
/ much less than the wages Of enginemen
| per train mile, the daily compensation
| not being higher, and the distance covered
| being far greater.
We are constantly assured that electric
| ity is in its infancy" yet to-day over
| 100000 900 is invested In electric railways
! in the United States, with l.200 miles Of
| roads and $1,000 trolley cars, says the
| Chicago Chronicle. In addition 1925 OOU,-
000 is invested in electric lighting, with
| private lighting plants valued at $500 009,-
900. There are estimated to be 1000 cleo
trio motors IN the United States, and our
investments are greater than In all other
countries combined. Taken altogether
these investments foot up some 81 $50, OO0,-
900, and they are increasing at the rate
of 100000 900 a year. All of this invest
ment has grown up within twenty years
and most of ii within ten years.
The number Of electric railways in Eu-
rope, according to '"Industrie Electrique,"
has increased during the past year from
79 to Ill, with a total length of $50 miles,
as against 435 miles in the year before.
The number of electric cars has IN the
same time increased from 1926 to LIN
According TO countries Germany Is far
ahead, with $50 moles or electric rail-
ways and S57 motor cars. Next follows
France, with but 81 miles, and 225 motor
cars. Then comes Great Britain, with
only s. miles and l6S cars. while Austro-
Hungary has As miles with 1877 cars. Next
are Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Bel
GUM in the order given, while Russia has
only one electric railroad, with six miles
of track and 80 motor cars. OF the Ill
European lines 81 are overhead trolleys,
of which there are IS in Germany, u in
Switzerland, 10 in France, and each in
England and Italy, and in Austro-Hun-
gary, etc. OF electric railroads with un-
foreground current there were but three
at the beginning Of this year, one each
in England, Germany and Hungary. Nine
lines are provided with an insulated CEN
trail track, through which the current
is conducted, eight of these railroads be-
ing in Great Britain and one in France.
The remaining eight lines are provided
with accumulators OF these four are in
r
each In England and the Netherlands.
At Hartlepool, England, there is a troll
ley system ofs peculiar construction. In
order to avoid the use of span wires, /. e.
wires extending across the street from
pole to pole, forming the supports of the
trolley wire in the ordinary system, and
also to prevent the obstruction of the
roadway by setting the poles in the middle
of the street, as is sometimes done in this
country, the trolley wire Is supported on
short brackets placed on poles set along
the curb. As the car runs in the middle
of the street. this construction necessi-
tates the trolley wheel and pole being
placed in a slanting position, almost at
right angles to the car. This construc-
ton Is unique I'm trolley systems, and to
an American looks decidedly awkward.
Johnnie Chafhe-"come. Mamie, let