Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-10
Two-Thirds Of the lexington Roads
Experimental Time Gone.
THE FIFTH MONTH BEGINS TODAY
Some Observations by Citizen on
the Promises Made.
WASTING TIME AND MONEY

The NTH month of the six allowed the
lexington and Belt Railway Company by
the act Of June 10. 1896. to equip their lines
with compressed air motors. II that motive
power is TO be adopted commences today"
said Mr.. T. p. Kane Of lexington to a Star
reporter this morning
AS Tar as equipment is concerned, the
air motors and rapid transit are are an
nj en- a thing of the future as they were
the Gay the act was passed No require
heht OF the act has been complied with,
except the partial application of the pen
atty provision in the finding of a Judgment
against each company for $500 for failure
10 comply with the law. and no change
mas taken place in the status of the lines
except the swoppihg, through a process
OF legal jugglery, of a President NewboId
Tor Receiver Schoepf, a tweedledum for
tweedledee; but the day is not dis
tant when one OF three things must ham
pen namely, either these lines must he
equlpped as required by law, sell out or
pe sold out. Probably either of The latter
alternatives would be entirely Satisfactory
10 the present management. because II
would brlng about a condition of affairs
- uesHeu by them-the opportunity,
alter successfully wrecking the roads TO
Duy them in cheap, and thus crush our
me minority stockholders. whom they have
tried to freeze out ever since The roads
passed into their hands
1t behooves these minority stockholders.
therefore, and the bondholders too to look
SHARPLY after their interests, and to con-
slider well whether, as a business nrono-
sitlon, II Is better for them to risk sl34 80
the amount OF liability the receiver has
peutloned the court for authority to incur.
10 cover the cost of a partial experimental
equipment with an untried system of air
motors, with the possibility and proba bili;v
OF failure and consequent waste of that
amount OF money, or whether it would not
De more profitable In the end to a, once
comply with the second provision of the
| ACT or June 10. 1Sg6 by arranging TO nut
IN the Underground electric system which
| Ultimately. they will be compelled TO do
resident Newbold made the statement
| last winter that Mr. Saxtons estimate OF
| the cost IF the underground electric svs-
| tenn over the lexington line including in
the ejaculation the power house electric
| machinery and everything essential to the
| building and equipment of the road was
| mr. ETY. odd thousand dollars a mile. The
distance from the Pennsylvania railroad
depot to the head of New York avenue ono
| section of the lexington compsny's lire
Is not more than a mile and a half The
| Sl'i,5.p which IL Is proposed 10 invest in
zen experimental air cars would pay for
| tIe installation OF the underground electric
4 system on this entire section of road. and
| Inc stockholders would then have some
| thing substantial and satisfactory for their
outlay.
1
Receiver schoepf in his petition TO the
court speaks of the success of the COM
| pressed air motor system elsewhere
| Where in the United States can he point
| to the successful practical operation of a
| single street car by compressed air? ONLY
| three systems of compressed air street
| car motors are known to be In course of
| manufacture in this country, namely the
Hardie system of Rome, the mos, success
iul thus far of any: the Hoadley system Of
| Worcester Mass, and the Por.er system
| of Pittsburg, Pa Where is a single car of
| any one of these systems in successful
| operation? Three experimental cars of the
Hardie system have been running on the
| 10th street short line in New York city
| for the past two or three months but
| changes are constantly being made in
| them, and they do not seem to be any
| nearer OF adoption by the railway COM
pany testing them than when they made
| their first trial Great claims have been
| made in the newspapers for the Hoadley
system, which was TO be in operation in
| New York city the LIST of last July. 1t is
| stated on good authority that $l.5pO has
| already been expended by the Worcester
company in experimenting with a single
| car. and ii has not yet reached that state
| OF perfection to warrant their risking the
reputation of their system by a public
practical trial. The Porter company has
| for years manufactured air motors for
mines, pumping stations. steam railroad
terminals and such like purposes, but never
yet has applied the system to street cars
ard Its present efforts in that direction
| for the lexington company are all experi-
| mental
| Complex Mechanism
"A great many things to be consid-
ered In determining the success of the air
motor. The mere fact that the car has
the power to move is not sufficient Ii is
propelled on the same principle of a steam
locomotive, and has underneath il all the
complicated machinery of a locomotive
Time alone will determine the effect of
wear and tear upon this machinery and
the increased cost OF operation by reason
OF such wear and tear. The effect of the
cold weather upon the superheated water
W hich each car carries and upon the valves
| by reason of the more or less moisture
around them can be determined only by
the operation of the through a season
| of winter. These aud numerous other
| things must enter into the calculation in
| determining the success of this motive
| lower from 4 financial standpoint, as well
| as from the standpoint of its adaptability
for street car purposes under all the vary
ing conditions to which ii will be SUBJ
| jected
Under these circumstances no railroad
management which has proper regard
| for the interests of its bondholderS and
| stockholders will invest very extensively
In these motors until all these things have
| stood the test of time. Receiver Schoepf,
i'm his petition to the court, proposes 10
|
one result. in my opinion, will come from
| the trial of the air motors. Two three
| hundred thousand dollars and two three
| years time will be wasted IN experiment.
| ing with them, during which the companies
will continue to lose money because of
the want of cars of this pattern sufficient
| in number to give the public such a serv-
ice alone will attract to their lines the
traffic necessary to bring their revenues
| to divdend-paying basis, and at the
| end of this period the whole compressed
| air outfit i'll be discarded with the COM
| panies no better able to put in the under
| ground electric system than they are to.
| day. On the other hand, II the money and
| time that will be wasted in the trial OF
the air motors were devoted toward the
installation of the underground electril
system at the end of the same period the
: ines would have something substantial fol
their outlay and be on a paying basis
Woods College Incorporated.
! Today is the eleventh anniversary of tn,
, establishment of Woods Commercial Col
I, lepe and i'm commemOra ton of tha even,