New-York tribune., 1896-05-31
.STREETCiR EXPERIMENTS.

TRIALS OF MOTORS on LINES OF THE THIRD-AVE.
RAILROAD.
The Third Avenue Railroad Company has begun
experimenting with underground trolley in upper
Amsterdam-ave.. and within two weeks will prob
ably place experimental compressed-air motor-cars
upon It's One-hundred- and twenty y-hfth-st. lines.
J. II. Robertson. the superintendent OF the com
pany said yesterday: THE compressed-air motors
with which shall conduct the experiments in
one -hundred-and-twenty-n -nfth-st. are to be fur
nished by the American Air Power Company, OF
this city. The air will be supplied from central
station. In the present instance the station VIII be
in One hundred twenty nnhst.. near the Hud-
son River. The air will be supplied to each car In a
series of tanks, about dozen in number which VIII
be placed under the car. A throttle valve, a re-
verslble lever and airbrake handle Will be re-
qured at the ends OF the car
Two cars have beer fitted up at Rome. this
State. with the motor. although the air-com-
pressors are being manufactured in Connecticut 1t
requires only fifteen seconds to charge the cars and
these will then run from fifteen to sixteen miles, or
fourteen miles. including stops.
Should the experiment in One -hundred-and-
twenty-hfth-st. prove successful. the compressed
air will be placed on the West Side
lines of the company.
This statement Of the superintendent means not
only that the newly acquired line from One-hun-
dred- and-sixty- -second-sr. up the Kngsbrdge Road
to the city limits Will be equipped with the COM
pressed-air motor. but that the Foriy-second- st,
Boulevard and line will also be sup
piled by the motive power, as well as the
present Amsterdam-ave. line.
The compressed-air OF the same length
the boxcars in The diameter OF the
wheels. however, IL on,y twenty-siN inches "hle
the wheels OF the cable-cars are thirty Inches IN
diameter. san the compresscd-air motor-cars are
said 10 be capable OF making twenty y-hve miles an
hour easily. The question of the comparative cost
OF the compressed air motor has not yet beer iS-
ured out by the Third Avenue Railroad Company.
MIR Roh srtson said yesterday: what our company
wants "a the most advanced and the best system
OF mo power possible. For the line in Third
ave. Il is nothing yet known which can take the
place IL the cable. our experiments now Apply
wholly TO the crosstown line In one hundred and
twenty y-ffth-s;. and the upper par, OF Amsterdam
ave"
There are three experimental cars being run in
Amsterdan-ave from One-hundred and eighty
s!xth-st to Fort George. They are of the under
ground electrical trolley system of construction:
which the Love Traction Company has introduced
system has proved decidedly successful.
An intere sting phase OF the history OF the com
pressed-air motor 10 be tried in one hundred and
twenty-hfth-st. spoken OF yesterday by Mr..
Robertson when he said: This motor was tried on
the Second-ave. branch OF the elevated rallroa l
somewhere about 1880 the first year or so OF the
construction OF that road. There were defects In
the motor at that time. which prevented It's adop-
ton These have been overcome since then, how
ever and Improvements have been made which
indicate that this motor IL capable OF giving as a
solution OF the problem Of motive power which Will
prove acceptable In all respects