The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-02-21
Owosso's Electric Street Railway. AMod-
eran Plant in Every Respect.

Gran RANT In Every respect.
AT ten O'Clock last evening the motor cars
were run over the entire line making the
complete circuit twice. Everyone who
wished had free ride and cigars were free
I'd those who smoked. The cars were dec
GRATED with bunting and had designs I'm col
orcu lights on the front and rear of each car
ana the trolley pole was also covered with
cOiored lights presenting very pretty sight.
Inc company deserves great congratulatiOn
for the successful installation of their up to-
date street railroad.
number of citizens having spoken to
President l. ID. H. Ralph in regard to be-
ing furnished with electricity for lights and
motor power, an ordinance was prepared
and presented to the common council, grant
ing franchise to the Caledonia Light IL
Power Co., to erect poles In the city and do
that line OF work. The vote lacked one
Of the required two thirds The unfavOrable
vote was surprise to Mr.. Ralph. The
0w0sso & Corunna Traction Company is at
the back OF the Caledonia Light & Power
Company and would OF course, furnish the
electricity. Considerable adverse criticism
is heard in regard to the councils action in
this matter.
A visit to the power house of the o. & G..
L. Co., at Maple Ridge Park, made We'd
nesdsy afternoon was full Of interest.
President Palph and his assistants were
very courteous In explaining the various
points OF interest about the plant.
The power house Is a one story, brick
building 60x70 feei in size and divided into
three rooms, the east room containing the
engine and dynamo's, extends the entire
length OF the building and occupies about
h. fhn Nhn oil
the boiler room and the one occupied by the
new motor cars. These beautiful cars are
thirty five feet long and look much larger
than when on the fifty-foOt 'gondolas" Of
the Ann Arbor railway. Pits are made in
the car room SO that the repairer can get in
them and do his work while standing
President Ralph believes that every possible
provision should be made to make the work
as light and free from danger as possible,
and has carried out this idea in everything
pertaining to the plant.
The engine has very solid bed and is a
$50 horsepower engine. This engine was
made by the Atlas Company of Indianapolis,
whose engineer, j. G. Speckim, had charge
of the placing of the engine. That his At
tention had been of the closest and most
workmanlike kind, was demonstrated by
the test given the engine Wednesday after
noon. After the belts had been placed
around the ten foot 5000 pound fy-wheel,
at 4 o'clock Mr.. Ralph turned on the steam
and the engine started and ran perfectly,
without the least creaking or jar. With
ones eyes closed it would be hard to tell
that an engine was IN the room. The
engine is provided not with the usual ball
governor, bnt with an automatic governor
inside of fly wheel attached to the driving
axle. By this the engine changes from full
load to no load or vice versa without any
shock to the machinery.
The dynamos, of which there are two,
each one weighing $500 pounds are both in
line with the engine. The two belts are ap-
piled on what is known as the twin belt or
tandem principle, so successfully used at
the Atlanta Exposition. The belt driving
the dynamo near the engine revolves inside
of the belt driving the dynamo farther from
the engine, so that on one side of the fly
wheel there are always two thicknesses of
wide leather betting. The belts are said
not to slip on each other and one seems to
help the other along. Provision is made for
taking up any slack in the belts.
The dynamos and switchboard were in
stalled by X. w. Foster, graduate of Cor
nell University class of '91, an expert cleo
trican and an agreeable gentleman. He
represents the Triumph Co., of Cincinnati
and Chicago, which made the dynamOs,
each dynamo, the armature of which must
revove 625 times a minute, is nearly six
feet high and produces current of $50
volts, Tor pressure" of currently and 125
amperes, volume of CURRENT The work
which each dynamo can do is 65 KilO-Watts,
nearly SO horse power, so that dozen more
cars could easily be added to the plant wsth-
out any further outlay for dynamos. These
dynamos are an innovation in the fact thai
they are absolutely sparkless. The bear
ings are immersed in oil and the dynamo,
although running at very high speed de-
velopes very little heat. The regulation
necessary from full load to no load needs no
attention, as it is automatic.
There may be larger switch boards but
none handsomer than the one used here. II
consists of three polished marble slabs about
eight feet high and three feet wide, set in q
frame Of furnished brass, An eight-day
clock Is placed In the woodwork at the tor
OF the switchboard, which contains volt
meter capacity Of 600 volts, and two am
meters measuring 100 amperes each. Tit
trolley wire is divided into two sections, OF
circuits, one from the power house to COrun
ma and the other from the power house Il
West OwossO, so that one section could Op
crate, although the other were broken down
Each circuit is controlled by triple bladed
instantaneous switch, the electricity being
turned of by the engineer. Two lightning
arresters, containing mica plates will pre-
vent the lightning from burning out the ap
paratus. Two automatic circuit breaker.
instantly shut of the current when the troll
Icy wire breaks, falls or something touches
1t, making the electricity pass into tn,
ground. The danger Of trolley wires Is thu!
reduced to minimum, but nevertheless
people who are not electricians should leave
| trolley wires alone. Superintendent K. Fl
Beacham doesn't expect any complaints or
the point Of danger, as the whole plant II
thoroughly modern. The switch board also
contains two rheostats by which the volume