The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1896-07-14
STEAM SUPPLANTED.
TWO GREAT RAILROADS WILL
ADOPT ELECTRICITY.
Experiments by the Pennsylvania
and the New York and New Haven
Lines Prove a Success-Elec-
trio Locomotives.

T hLSl hlO11l us mOllNe
Il. power for railroads is now the
chief object sought by both
electricians and capitalists,
says the New York World. Not long
ago railroad Presidents, while admit
ing electricity was advantageous for
hort lines thought it was not applica-
BILE to trunk lines.
There has been n great change in
)pini on during the past few months.
iufus Hill, master mechanic of the
oennsy lvania Railroad said:
Last summer the Pennsylvania
Railroad made it's initial experiment
n the use of electricity on IA line from
Burlington to Mount Holly, in New
Jersey. The success of this expert
nent was beyond question. Within a
month the time schedule was made at
The rate of over sixty miles an hour,
With frequent trains. The service has
| been found to be far superior to any
hing known in steam railway practice
Iud the economy in operation moro
han we expected. An electric loco
motive has been used, not merely in
| hauling traips, but in switching ser
nee in the yards.
"Ihe Pennsylvania has an inuumer-
,ble number of branches which have
been seriously affected by the compe-
ition of trolley lines. These have, in
many instances, taken away our bust
ness, until we are forced to adopt cleo
richly ourselves.
ave have the invaluable assistance
If the Westinghouse Company and the
Baldwin Locomotive Works, who have
0een working in harmony to solve the
problem.
"We believe now that every diff
Guilty has been overcome, and believe
hat inside of five years the greater
part OF the entire Pennsylvania sys-
tenn will be operated by electric loco
motives.
zone of the serious drawbacks on
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-
lire system. Now Tesla has perfected
y system of transmission which we
think can be applied to trunk lines,
and NJ. Westinghouse is confident his
company will soon have an alternating
current motor, practically adapted for
any railway service.
"With the perfection OF this motor
NIL obstacles will have been removed.
The success in the transmission of Nj
Rgara'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 tho mines, where it is stored
in vast heaps, thousands upon thou
sands of tons each.
Now, if the transmission of cleo
trio power 45O 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 Philadcl-
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-
rcction. Eventual -that is. within
n few years-we hope to have every
mile Of tho Pennsylvania Railroad sys.
tenn operated by electricity"
Colonel n. H. Helt, chief electrical
engineer of the New York, New Haven
and Hartford Railway, said
"Our company has, perhaps, moro
short linen 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 Delham branch, twenty.four
miles long, is now being transformed
and worry shortly electric motors will
be drawing all the cars there Onr
motor cars at Nantasket haul with
case Pullman md 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 Nantrsket trainsat speed
equal to that Of the swiftest steam
trains.
'I have never been so sanguine OF
the ultimate adoption of the electric
motor on all roads as / am now"
Tfvoriod Rftondautg fo,. uisrc,cs