The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-24
TO ADD TO MOTOR POWER.
ENaINEER PENNoGK says HE CAN
no so TENFOLD.

ny Means OF Ills NTnci.inc All tho Elevated
Trains Gould Bc Run on tho Receipts from
Ono Train y Dny-Aii Tiis TO nc Done ny
nm Invention for tho Dlstribution OF Voltage.
George b. Pcnnock, an electrical engineer Of
this city, says ho has invented a system OF clCc.
trical distribution which will rcvolutionizc tho
present methods Of railway transportation, from
tho surface road OF the city to transcontincntal
traffic. His claim Is that he can so distribute
electrical energy by means OF n new Kind OF
third rail system that n hundred trains can be
moved at a cost no greater than is now ncces-
sary to movo ono train. lie says that by his in.
vcntion no can, to all intonts and purposes,
transform 100 horse power into 100000, II need
he.
Mr.. Pennock was formerly u train dispatcher
oil the Pennsylvania Railroad. but for the last
thirty.tve years he has been dcvoting all his
time to electricity. He says he has practically
demonstrated the value OF his discovery in cleo
trio lighting by supplying sixty standard candle
power incaudescont lamps with one horse power.
With the present methods one horse power, he
says, is sufficient TO supply but eight lamps.
Mr.. Pennock has q laboratory at 1913 Greenwich
street, and in 1t Is a working model Of his inven-
ton.
my claims said Mr.. Ponnock yesterday,
''may seem extravaganza, but l know / can sub
s~tantiate each and every one. BY tho use Of tho
system I have discovered l will guarantee that
tho Manhattan Elevated Railroad can supply
the motive power for its lines at a cost which
tho fares from the passengers carried on ono
train q day will cover. At present 1t costs them
30 per cent. Of their receipts to supply motive
power, SO it is easy to calculate the saving that
will come from my system.
"In moving cars by electricity we generate at
o central point n certain amount OF horse power
in the shape Of electricity. That must be sent
out over the whole route on which the cars run.
and thoro must be as many times the power
required to move one car as there are cars. To
achieve the results which l claim will come
from my system-that is, not to need a power in
creased in proportion to the number OF cars
used-I would build q central station midway
between the terminals Of tho line, and in this
would put u 1000 horse power engine and a
800 horse power dynamo. That is all that would
be necessary to move any number Of trains. Then
] would put up my voltage distributor. which
brings about the required result.
This is a circular track cut up into 100
segments each 10 inches long. Mounted on it is
an electric motor car of one-half horse power
designed to run at q very high speed. to com.
plete the circuit of the track 400 times in q
minute. It Is locked in by two tracks above,
one of which carries the current to run the
motor, and the other the curront from the 500
horse power dynamo to the distributor.
Between tho rails OF the railroad tracks.
along tnelr Wnole length. IL placed q series OF
conducting segments, a brass rail one inch in
diameter, each segment 500 feet long. the seq.
ments separated from each other by O space of
three inches. Running side by side with these
segments will be n similar but continuous con-
segments in tho distributor is connected with
wires to a 500-foot segment between the tracks.
When all is ready tho motor car on the
distributor is set, in motion. and, as
Of 400 times a minute. It excessively closes
distributor and the large segmcnts between tho
tracks, and conveys to each segment sufficient
electricity to start q train. This current is taken
smaller voltage distributor on the train, in
charge Of the motorman. This consists of ten
gegments each attached to a motor on the train.
The force of tho current is 100 volts. The mo-
switch can use one motor with 100 volts or ten
with a thousand.
1.-THE current will be taken from the segments
on the, track to the voltage distributor on the
car similar to u trolley pole. One Of these troll
~ wheels or shoes will rest continuously on
Q continuous rail, SO that by generating 500
,rse power ut the dynamos. distributing 1t to
one TO start tho cars, ! can do all the work
Of the road with 500 horse power. In other
words, the same power is intermittently
transmitted from one train to another several
started they move on to the next segment. where
O now contact 10 made, thus giving fresh impetus.
Finally, l have invented an automatic negative
pole stepback to use in connection with the
motors on tho cars that will multiply tho cur
aside from the cheapness. there is the ole
mont Of safety. With the low voltage in each
Of the segments no one can be killed"
has signihed its desire to experiment with his
invention.