Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-10
this country out Of several pieces Of steel.
with joints and YIELDS
A Matter of Terms.

use "a TIC Wor0S apparent anu scSNfeN
In the statements in regard to the cars
ability to climb a grade and make and
maintain a speed OF fifteen miles an hour.
I will tell my critical friend why I used
those words instead of more positive
terms. l inquired OF one OF the conductors
on the cable car line over which the air
car runs how the air motors were do
ing, and he replied: oh, this is TO road TO
test them on. There is not a particle of
grade to 1t. except where We cross the
tunnel. and the air got stuck in going
over that When the air car on which
rooe approached the grade referred to,
which is very short ONE, with an eleva-
ton of about four feet at it's highest point.
Mr.: Hardie took the lever in hand himself
and gave the car extra momentum, which
shot 1t up over the hill like a gravity car
and when We got beyond 1t on the level
tnere being a clear track ahead, l asked
MIN to let me see now fast she could go.
he put on the DOVE and the car made a
speed OF from twelve to fifteen miles an
hour for the distance of square. There
fore said the car crossed the grade with
out apparent difficulty and seemed to
be able to make and maintain the speed
claimed for it, which Is as much as | could
ccnscientiously say of it.
Incorrect Announcements.
THE great trouble with most of the
heretofore published statements in re-
gard to the use of compressed air for
traction purposes is that instead of stating
the facts investigation shows that all OPP
erations have been magnified and repre-
sensations exaggerated out of all proper
ton. A few weeks ago the New York
papers contain ed statements to this effect:
Workmen at 10th street are building
foundations of brick and stone broad,
deep and solid enor gh to support Corliss
engine and the plant of an air compressor
sufficient to supply a hundred cars with
stored energy
ION Friday last I went out to this point
to see what was going on, expecting to find
something to bear out the newspaper &C
counts of what was being done, but in
stead simply found that they have erected
n large building to be used exclusively
"A car shed for housing their cars. Adjoin
ing this building is the plant of the under
ground electric system, AMI alongside of
this there has been erected a one-story
gal. anized iron building. in which the Wor-
cestcr people are engaged in putting up one
air-compressing plant, at which they have
been working for several weeks. and have
considerable yet to do before completing
1t. This plant is a more substantial Hooking
one than that now used at the 12Jth street
section of the ID avenue line. The latter
plant consists of two compressors, each
the engineer said. being capable of supply
ing air for two cars or three if kept run
nlnB constantly. The air is stored in res
ervoirs alongside of the compressor, SINH
lar to the largest one used in the car. The
COMPRISING plant is underground, and the
cars are run In overhead and charged from
the reservoirs underneath. Each of these
plants cost about $4,000.
Amount of Water Needed.
Having in mind the application of the
lexington company for 10000 gallons of
water a day for use in connection with the
air plant they propose putting in, 1 asked
the engineer how much water he used a
day. and he replied from 1000 to 200 gal
Ions. What the lexington people want
with 10000 gallons day he could not i'm
agine. The Worcester plant is a little
Larger than the Rome plant and differently
constructed. The engineer in charge of the
former said it would supply good many
more than three cars with air. but he would
not indicate how many. l spoke to him
about the vibration of the Harde car. and
ne SAID the w orcester system would over
come that by running a trailer TO each mo-
tor and in this way con:ine the vibration
10 the motor. From my converse ton with
nlin, 1 inferred that vibration is one of the
ulfllcultleS to overcome in motive power
run on the same principle as a steam loco
motive, and nobody will deny that on a
locomotive there is considerable vibration
Air vs.. Underground Trolley.
In going to the power house Of the
traction company 1 took the underground
electric line at 10th street. where transfer
is made from the cable cars of the same
company. This is the system which Presi-
dent Vreeiand declares to be a failure 1t
appears to run as smoothly as our own
system Of that kind, and the conductors on
the line with whom l conversed spoke very
highly of it, and said there was 70 fault to
be found with 1t. In conversation with Mr.
Cooke of the Air Power Company he re-
ferred with a great deal of satisfaction to
Mr. Nreelands statement that the under
ground electric system vas a. failure The
trouble with this line is that it is only
transfer branch from the cable cars of the
same company, with very little traffic. Its
n.-;xy ,r-;tI
no corresponding returns for the outlay or
revenues sufficient to maintain Its indie
pendent operation. The failure therefore
to which Mr.. Vreeland alludes is not in the
system Itself, which has always worked
satisfactorily but as a source of revenue
to the company.
No Work Done Here Yet,
According to The Star Of August Z, the
management of the lexington company
state that they will have compressed air
cars running on their lines by September
10. Now, this statement will prove to be
like every former one put forth by the Off
Gals Of this road in regard to air motors
Everybody knows that air cars cannot be
made to run without wind, and that the
wind cannot be bottled without compress
ors and that compreSSorS cannot be put
up In a day. According to the statements
Of the machinists in charge Of the Hardie
and Hoadley plants in New York, it takes
from SiA weeks 10 TWO months 10 put up q
COMPRISING plant after the foundation is
prepared for it. September 10 is but thir-
ty-onc days off, and as yet no visible move
ment has been made at the power house
in the way of preparati ton for the air mo-
tors, except to file an application for a
supply of 100000 gallons of water a day.
When the patrons of the lexington line
the machinery for COMPRISING plant
lying around the power house and work
commenced on its erection they may call
culate on having air motors in operatio
on the line in from six weeks to two
months al the earliest from that time, and
not before, unless this company has dis
covered a process by which each car can
compress its own wind.
In closing his communication, Mr..
Shortall declares that compressed air has
come to stay. sincerely hope So No one
more than 1 will gladly hail it's success, or
the success Of any other satisfactory mo-
tive power that will remove from the
streets Of Washington the spectacle of the
suffering, jaded beasts which soulless
corporation compels to drag a four-thou-
sand-pound box, with the additional weight
OF the passengers, up the steep grades of
Louisiana and New York avenues during
such weather as we have experienced for
the paat several davs. hut T am not raody