Evening star., 1896-09-30
THIRD RAIL ELECTRIC SYSTEM
Important transportation Experiments in
r- New England.
Description Of the Plan Now Being
Tried ON the Nantasket
Beach Road.

Mention was made in The Star of a few
days since that President Clarke of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail-
road Company in his annual report just is
sued of the operations of his line stated
that experiments made under the direction
OF the companys electrical department,
with third rail, had developed very salts
factory results in electrical propulsion of
cars.
letter received in Washington from a
leading official OF the Nantasket Beach
road. where experiments were also made on
larger scale with the third rail, says that
| In recent test a speed of eighty miles an
hour was speedily attained.
AT one time" the writer states. 'it
seemed as IL the sharp blasts of wind - e
about to tear every inch of clothing - n
the body"
This exhibition of the possibilities of the
subtle current in its application to 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 division between Nantasket
junction and East Weymouth, distance of
three and one-half niles. For the first time
in the history Of electrical developments a
surface car was propelled by means of this
new device.
In determining upon the extension of the
company's electrical system to East Wey-
mouth the overhead trolley system was
abandoned and the third rail method OF con-
tact adopted the one most readily
| adapted to ordinary railroad requirements.
The third rail is of peculiar shape, the
end view resembling a f1attened A. 1t is
laid midway between the two service rails
of each track. Each section of the third
| rail is thirty feet long and weighs ninety
three pounds to the yard. 1t is supported
by three ash blocks to each section, the
blocks being LET Ref
| the blocks are boiled in vacuum pans with
a tar compound, and thus each pore is filled
with insulation and preservative material
The insula tion is almost perfect The con-
tinuity of the third rail circuit is secured by
attaching 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, electri-
cally, from that between the frs named
station and Pemberton. 1t is fed by its
own feeders and provided with its own
automatic safety appliances, which, in case
of carelessness or accident third rail
section, enter into action and cut all cleo
triciiy from 1t, rendering II nothing more
than peculiarly laid stretch Of track.
The electricity is taken from the third rail
by two slidirg shoes hung loosely from the
car, one suspended between the aGles of
each truck, Immediately under the king
| pin, by two links, which allow Il 20 slide
easily over the top of the third rail and
The current is brCUont 20 the motors
through the controllers and circuit break
ers and returns to the track rails by the
wheels. The continuity of the return cir
cult is secured by using short. thick bond
| of copper cable TO joir together the ends
| of each pair of track rails. the end Of the
bord being fastened into the fange of the
rail The distanc" between each of the
two shoes on the cars is thiriy-three feet.
| No third iail being laid at the crossings
| the circuit is continued between the broken
erds by means of lead-covered cables AT
| the crossings less than thirty 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
cal can come to rest.
good idea of the advantage of elec-
tricity as motive power, compared with
steam, may be gathered from the fact
that the Two locomotives burn each four
tons of coal per day. while no more than
four tons per day burned in the power
horse serves to generate sufficient power
TO operate the whole seven miles of line
between Pemberton and Nantasket juno
| ton by electricity.