The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-29
COMPRESSED AIR MOTORS.
THE NEW DEVICES MERELY IN n
EIPERIMENThE STAGE.

NAV SurreNds MAY NoN-MaN bs NNN "
= Test In - Month. but That's Net
LiEeIy-New York won't See the sys-
ten at work for siS Months, Anyhow
In spite of all that has been printed about
II, New York city ia not going TO have q com
pressed air system OF rapid transit In y month
or six weeks OF six months. II can no stated
authoritatlvely that the compressed air system
which, as some newspapers have decided, tho
Mo,ropolitan Traction Company must adopt
and put In operation within elk weeks on all Its
IInes,r Is not by any means perfected. The
systom that may DO said to find favor In the
eyes of tho traction people has been almost
perfected" since last December.
Tho newspapers" said an Official OF the
experimenting company to tho reporter for
THE sua. know a great deal more about this
system than we do. We would ask nothing
better in tho world than that our system OF
condensed air motive power were In a. good
condition as theirs appears to be. Unfortu-
natcly for us II Is not. If IL was 1 might say
there would be no secret about It,"
As has already been printed the conc ern
which Is doing the experimenting Is ths Amer
can Whoclock Engine Company, formerly tho
Wheelock Engine Company. whose New YORK
office Is in tho Postal Telegraph building.
The works Of the company are in Worces-
ter, Mass. The President Of the company Is
Edwin g. Cramp OF the Philadelphia ship
building firm, and tho treasurer Is Joseph ii.
Hnadloy. The company has n capital of $780,
600. and not S.. OO0, 900, as has been reported.
All tho experimenting in the compressed afr
line is going on at the shops in Worcester, and
It Is all done In secret. The works were visited
ON Wednesday by a. reporter for THE sun.
The works are out OF the ctsy and in South
Worcester. Last December, when the ex-
perlmentinR is supposed TO have begun, a high
board fence was built around the place. and
The only entrance or exit Is through the Office
of the company, which, is at one corner OF the
the shops is kept closed and locked. Nobody
IS let inside except the employees of the com
employees himself knows anything to speak If
about the work that is going on: This was
other thdn Tin SuN. who sought to learn the
secrets from the servants, and didn't even
show themselves at tho conpany's Office.
Tho plant is a great engine building plant,
divided into various dcpartemnts.. In one de-
partment one grade of work Is done, m an
each department know what is done in that
department, and that's all they know. Wor'
lnents. ior months. and many %fruitless efforts
have been made to learn what was going on.
and talked with the manager that official. had
copies OF two New York newspapers before him.
One. the WUrid. contained what purported to he
an interview with him In which he was made to
say;
You can run her at full speed without iolting
and stop her almost within her own length at
n moments notice. The car reyerses as easy
quite readily. l believe we have at last solved
The problem in street car revolution"
twenty miles an hour for u distance of from
be necessary to ~recharge the motor. A World
reporter who visited the motor was told that
I'm this Interview" said the manager. words
are put in my mouth that l never uttered. and
said nothing that could DO construed Into snch
he went on. have been guessing. and their
guessing has been pretty bad, The fact OF
out here concerning the condensed air motors.
1t is too soon; too early. The system is not in
condition to be exploited. IT, is all In the ex-
Have the Experiments advanced SO far"
n month or within any particular time you
will be ready for public experiments; that is,
70 put a motor on q car and run 1t out in pub
,.' cit would be t&hposs.blo," wa. the reply,
- Y, Ton M any time3 Inc Thing Is Just ht,h here: We
next week that would solve the whole thing.
or rae trial OF that same thing might show
back a month. That is as well, as can ex:
plain f. we are experimenting."
will it be possible ieSitimately to learn any
thing about the system?''-
anything here"
Whose Invention is it?"
We do not know that here. The plans for
certain machinery are sent to us and we fol-
low the plans and build the machinery. Whose
plans they. are We do not know. They are
sent to us by the officers Of the company"
You have cars of the Metropolitan Traction
Company here?'
We have"
us 1t possible that within a months time
these cars will be fitted with experimental mo-
tors and tested2"
Hardly within a months. time. You will
recall what l said before about experiment.
There are six cars Of the Metropolitan Trac-
ton Company, such as are used on the Broad
way line in the American Wheelock Engine
Company's yard. They are all done up in
canvas Just as they were when they were sent
from New. York. None of them has been ex-
with yet. No motors have been
on any of them. The railroad track In the
company's yard is not long enough for any
sort of a speed test, and even II a motor had got
out of the experimental stage and had reached
perfection it could not be said that it could
run seventeen miles at the rate of twenty miles
an hour. and as there are no hills IN the yard
known.
In conclusion IT may be said, on the authori-
" Of men who believe they know, that New
Workers may look for, a system of transit the
motive. power OF which WIN be confessed air;
but how soon nobody living knows, and the
OF. street cars is not revolutionized
yet by q long shot.