Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-08-06
FLIES Like THE WIND.
An Electric Car operated by the Third
Rail System.

An Electric Car Operated by the Third
Rail System
Eighty miles an hour over the tan
gent between Nantasl>et Beach ana
Hull, In Massachusetts,, was the SEN
sation to which Col. Heft, chief cleo
trician of the Consolidated road, treated
his company of investigators the other
afternoon, and this In an open car IN
the teeth of a 15-knot breeze At one
time it seemed as if the sharp blasts
Of wind wereabeut to tear every inch or
clothing from the body.
This exhibition of the possibilities or
the subtle current in its application ID
rail transportation was incidental to a
very satisfactory test of what IS known
as the third-rail system. which has
been installed on the line of the South
Shore branch OF the Old Colony d.
vision between Nant3sket Junction and
East Weymouth, a distance of 3lk miles,
For the first time in the history OF cleo
tricaI development surface car was
propelled by. means OF this new device
In determining upon the extension OF
the company's electrical system to East
Weymouth the overhead trolley system
was abandoned and the third-rail meth
cd of contact adopted as the most read
ily adaptable to ordinary railroad re-
quirements-
The third rail is OF a peculiar shape,
the end view resembling a flattened A.
It is laid midway between the two Serv-
ice rails of each track. Each section OF
the third rail is so feet long and weighs
&c pounds to the yard. Tt is supported
by three ash blocks to each section, the
blocks being let into the ties. Before
use the blocks are boiled in vacuum
pans with a tar compound, and thus
each pore is filed with insulating ami
preservative material. The insulation
is almost perfect. The continuity OF
the third-rai circuit is secured by at
| taching each end of one rail to that OF
| the next by means of two heavy copper
bands. The line between Nantasket
Junction and Weymouth is absolutely
| distinct, electrically, from that between
the frst-named station and Pemberton.
1t is fed by its own feeders and provided
with its own automatic safety appH
ances, which, in case of carelessness or
accident to the third-rail section, enter
| into action and cut ali electricity from
1t. rendering it nothing more than pc
culiarly laid stretch of track.
The electricity is taken from the third
rail by two sliding shoes hung loosely
from the car, one suspended between
| the axles of each truck, Immediately
under the kingpin, by two links, which
allow it to slide easily over the top of
| the third rail and make perfect contact
with it all the time. The current is
brought to the motors through the
controllers and circuit breakers and re.
turns to the track rails by the wheels
The continuity of the return circuit il
H. II, Ill
| Of copper cable to join together the
ends of each pair of track rails, the end
of the bond being fastened into the
fange of the rail. The distance between
each of the two shoes on the cars is 3J
feet. No third rail being laid at the
crossings, the circuit is continued be-
| tween the broken ends by means OF
lead-covered cables. At the crossings
less than 80 feet wide one of the shoes
is always in contact; at wider ones
the impetus of the moving car brings
the shoes into contact again before the
car can come to rest.
A good idea of the advantage of cleo
tricity as a motive power compared
with steam may be gathered from the
fact that the two locomotives burn each
four tons of coal per day. willis no more
than four tons per day burned in the
power house serves to generate suffi-
cient power to operate the whole seven
miles of line between Pemberton and
Nantasket Junction by electricity.
Tt was on the return to Pemberto1
that Col Heft showed the possibilities
of the current, and those who rode with
him will never forget their experience
- 50 miles an hour in an open car
Hartford Times.