The free press., 1896-06-18

chief object sought by both
electricians and capitalists,
says the New York World. Not long
ago railroad Presidents, while admit
ting electricity was advantageous for
short lines thought it was not applica-
Bile to trunk lines.
There has been great change in
opinion during the past few months.
Rufus Hill, master mechanic OF the
Pennsylvania Railroad said:
"Last summer the Pennsylvania
Railroad made it's initial experiment
in the use of electricity on a line from
Burlington to Mount Holly, in New
Jersey. The sarcess of this expert
ment was beyond qtkaet.ia3n. Within
month the time schedule wa5 made at
the rate of over sixty miles an hour;
with frequent trains. The service has
been found to be far SUPP ior to any
thing known in steam railway practice
| and the economy in operation more
than we expected. An electric loco
motive has been used, not merely IN
hauling trains, but in switching SER
vice in the yards.
| ,"The Pennsylvania has an innumer-
able number of branches which have
been seriously affected by the compe-
tition of trolley lines. These have, in
many instances, taken away our busi-
ness, until we are forced to adopt elec-
tricity ourselves.
"We have the invaluable assistance
of the Westinghouse Company and the
Baldwin Locomotive Works, who have
been working in harmony to solve the
problem.
"We believe now that every diff.
Guilty has been overcome, and believe
that inside of five years the greater
part of the entire Pennsylvania sys-
tenn will be operated by electric loco
motives.
"One of tho serious drawbacks Oh
trunk lines has been the question OF
transmission of power. About fifteen
miles has been considered the limit OF
economical TRANSMISSION. This would
necessitate the establishing of power
houses every thirty miles over our en-
tire system. Now Tesla has perfected
a system of transmission which we
think can be applied to trunk lines,
and Mr. Westinghouse is confident his
company will soon have an alternating
current motor, practically adapted for
any railway service.
''With the perfection of this motor
all obstacles will have been removed.
The success in the transmission OF Nj
agara's current to New York has
opened to us such field as we scarcely
supposed was within our reach. In
the coal fields of Pennsylvania we have
an unlimited supply of culm, the COM
mercial value of which has been SO
small that it did not pay for shipping.
The Board of Trade of Scranton made
an appropriation six months ago for
the establishment of an experimental
plant for burning this culm at the
mouth of the mines, where it is stored
in vast heaps, thousands upon thou
sands of tons each.
Now, if the transmission of elec-
trio power $50 miles from Niagara
Falls to New York is possible-as it
has been shown to be-is there any
reason why VIC could not make use OF
these vast culm piles, which are scat
tered along within fifty miles OF our
railroad from Pittsburg to Philadel-
| phia? The owners of the coal mines
place no value whatever upon these
banks; and, In fact, they would be
| glad to get rid of them.
'"The Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany is an enthusiastic convert to
electricity, and during the summer we
shall make wide extensions in that di-
rection. Eventually-thati is. within
few years-we hope to have every
milo of the Pennsylvania Railroad sys-
tenn operated by electricity"
Colonel N. Fl. Heft. chief electrical
engineer of the New York, New Haven
and Hartford Railway, said;
''Our company has. perhaps, more
short lines upon which electricity can
lie used than any other railroad in the
country. We have proven by the
operation of the Nantasket Beach line
that electricity is economical. look
to a rapid substitution of the current
for steam.
''The Dedham branch, twenty -four
miles long. is now being transformed
and very shortly electric motors will
be drawing all the cars there. Onr
motor cars at Nantasket haul with
ease Pullman and passenger coaches.
'In five years we may be running
into New York from Boston behind
electric locomotives. There is moth
ing to prevent this. The heaviest
freight trains are being hauled into
Baltimore behind electric locomotives.
We run our Nantasket trains at speed
equal to that of the swiftest steam
trains. !.
81 have never been SO sanguine OF
the ultimate adoption of the electric
motor on all roads rs am now"