The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-19
AMONG RAILROAD men.
Dynamos Are Destined to Su-
persede locomotives
Successful Test of Electricity
i'm the East
Train Run By the Third Rail System
Thirteen Miles in Eighteen
Minutes

Hartford, Conn, May 19.-The direc-
tors of the New York, New Haven &
Hartford railroad company, in conjunc-
ton with the directors of the New York
& New England Railroad company, to-
day began the most important expert
ment ever undertaken by those who be-
lieve in the ultimate supremacy of cleo
tricity over steam as a motive power.
A train moved and controlled by cleo
tricity developed at a central power
house was run from Berlin to Hartford,
on a regular schedule, between two
trains drawn by steam locomotives, IN
the ordinary way The electrically
equipped train did not in any way in
terfere with the passage of the train
drawn by locomotives. This is Import
ant as showing that railroads on which
there Is a large and constant volume OF
passenger traffic may be gradually
changed from steam to electricity with
out any interference with the comfort
Ds passengers.
Col. H. H left, the chief electrical
engineer of the New York, New Haven,
and Hartford railroad, demonstrated to-
day that a direct current of electricity
can be sent without serious loss from
leakage for a distance of nearly 10 miles;
this means a radiOuS of 25 miles from
the central power station. Taking in
this case, Berlin, Conn, Is the center, it
will be possible to replace steam loco
motives and cars for Hartford, New
Britain, Meriden, Waterbury, Middle
the Nutmeg state, comprising a pOpula-
tion of over 200 600 Inhabitants.
The directors of the New York & New
Haven road have gone into this work in
earnest and if the present trial is sue
cessful there is little doubt that the
branches of the New Haven road, and
ultimately the main line between New
York and New Haven, viii be equipped
with electricity on the third rail system
instead of steam
The present power house in Berlin
f7vr al
Tectly connected, capable of being work
ed up to 1000 horse power each. This
power house is only half it's full size.
w hen the building is complete it will
have six times as much power
The third rail system, in which the
''live" rail is in the center of the track
was adopted by G. P. Clark president
of the New Haven road, after his ex-
perfence with the third rail at East
Nv eymOuth, Mass. Mr.. Clark made one
great saving in laying the track be-
aWeen Berlin and Hartford by deciding
that creOsOted wooden pegs were sufi-
GENTLY none conductive to replace the
expensive 1nsUlatOrs of porcelain and
glass, Which had hitherto been employ
ed. The central rail weighs SO pounds
TO the yard. The conductivity of iron
as compared with copper is in propor-
ton of one to six, SO that an iron rail
weighing SO pounds to the yard would
be equal to 1513 pounds of copper to the
yard, an amount which is never used in
actual practice.
The cars are Is bench omen cars each
equipped with two 125 horse power mo-
tors A controller is on each platform
and on one platform is an electrical air
pump, for the electric brakes and whis-
tie This pump is stopped and started
by an ingenious automatic ARA ngement
winch comes into play as the pressure
N the tanks rises above or falls below
50 pounds. The current was produced
at the dynamo at a pressure of $50 volts
ana six tncandescent lamps fed in ser
1eS at an average of 40 volts burn
brightly at the further end of the line
- miles from the power house, showing
that the electrical pressure necessary
10 move the train was still more than
suInclent and greatly more than was
expected
At all the crossings and switches this
%nlFd ran IS omitted, the current con-
%lnulng over two copper cables. each
one men in diameter, buried in the
ground The contact shoes, which are
nat pieces of iron hung under each
truck are 30 feet apart. At short cross
2hgs one IS always in contact; at cross
1ngs wider than SO feet a shoe hung in
the rear of the trailer car continues in
contact until the first shoe reaches the
third rail again
The distance to which the mower I,,as-
transmitted and the fact that no infeT
Kned1ate feeders We're used were the
chlef features of interest to tF7e RAILROAD
ana electrical experts today. USUALLY in
dhe overhead trolley system feeders Of
copper wire keep coming direct from
the dynamos. The IS miles were COM
pleted in Is minutes A