The herald., 1897-01-03
STREET RAILWAYS.
A Rapid Transit System That Is Un-
excelled-

| STREET RAILWAYS
| A Rapid Transit System That Is I'm
excelled-
No other city of its size in the United
States Is better supplied with facilities
| for urban and suburban rapid transit
Marvellous as was the growth of stree.
railway lines up to the beginning of 1896
the past twelve months have seen even
more wonderful progress, until today
every quarter of the wide-spreading city
is made easily accessible by rapid cleo
| tric cars of the most modern pattern
| When it Is considered that within the
! city limits there are over 100 miles of
| doubletrack street railways, which
| counting the operation of different lines
| of cars over portions of the same track,
would be properly increased ten miles
| the extent of the system can be compre-
| hended
| LOS ANGELES RAILWAY
The company operating the principal
| system of electric street railways bears
the title of the Los Angeles Railway
company, which now owns and controls
about ninety miles of double-track rail-
way, most OF II of the most modern build
| The present management assumed con-
troll in March. 1895, and proceeded to de-
velop plan for the electrizing of the old
| cable system and of the horse-car sys
| tenn. Some twenty-five miles of cable
line and twenty miles Of horse-car line
have been electrified. and three out o.
| four power houses abandoned. so that
| all the power is row supplied from one
| central station. at the corner of Sixth
| street and Central avenue.
| This is one of the largest stations on
the Pacific coast and consists of the two
500 horsepower triple expansion en-
gines. which were installed originally,
| and new installation Of one 25o horse
power cross compound vertical engine,
belted to a. 200 X. w. generator; one 500
horsepower cross compound Corliss en-
gine rope connected to two 27o X W.
generators and 1900 horsepower cross
| compound Allis engine direct connected
to a Walker 500 K. w. generator This
latter makes one OF the flfpst a. we'll az
the largest electric and steam units Oh
the Pacific coast. and combines the very
latest and most up-to-date practices in
steam and electricity. A new switch
board costing about $4,000, constructed
of black marble and mounted in a steel
frame has been installed. New car
penter paint and machine shops have
been built and all built of brick and
iron.
The old badly worn cars have been
steadily rebuilt and overhauled and
| made equal to the best and most m odern.
| Between sixty and seventy new cars OF
the latest type and especially designed
! for this climate have been built and
| placed in service.
Everywhere there has been improve
mept The boiler capacity has been in
creased to meet the fast growing de-
mands upon this end of the plant, and
everything now is in the most modern
shape.
| In the track construction the idea OF
| permanency has been dominant. The
| building of light roads In paved streets
| has taught the inevitable lesson TO in
vestors, and the present management has
| adopted as standard a siX-inch deep
| sixty pounds to the yard. siXty-foot lone
rail- which experience has proven to be
| the best adapted for street railway SER
vice of all the different types.
The company has acquired property ir
the oil district and develops its own OF
supply, so that it is practically inde.
! pendent of the oil market so far as fue
| goes.
1t has before it considerable work tc
| do in rearranging its track system ant
replacing light rails with heavier ones
but this is being attacked in a system
| attic way and satisfactory progress i!
| being made.
f. w. Wood has been the general man
ager and had the entire responsibility
and charge of all this great work. aideC
by an able staff.
THE TRACTION COMPANY,
A rival electric street railway compan,
bearing the above title entered the Lo
| Angeles field about two years ago an,
| promptly built an excellent double tract
| road across the city, from the Santa F.
La Grande station through the busines
section of the city at Third street an,
/ out TO University station, a distance o
six miles. During the past year anothe
line, over mile in length. was bull
| from Junction with the main line ol
| Vermont avenue, out West Adams stree
| to Western avenue. The total mileae g
of the company is over seven miles q
double track. The company has a well
equipped power house on Georgia Be
street. The equipment consists of twen
ty-tWo cars, eleven of which are con
stantly7 in use.
Since the new company began opera
tions here, there have been many con
lectures as to the ultimate destination 1
the line, it being conceded that SAINT
Monica would eventually be reached
For obvious reasons, General Manage
W. S. Hook does not tell definitely Wha
are the intentions of his company, bu
that the line will soon be extended I
| Boyle Heights and thence some day
Whittier is considerably more than
proba bility.
MAIN STREET AND AGRICUL-
TURAL PARK
The last of the horsecar lines in til
business portion of the city is about
90 the way of all antiquities. The Mai
street and Agricultural park road, rui
ming from the junction of Main an
Spring streets at Temple to the ia
7 crumbs, four and one-half miles, and
branch line of nearly a mile from Ma
and Fifth to the Arcade depot is now III
dergoing the process by which the hors,
and mules will be emancirated and the
he supplanted by electricity as motil
power, The relaying Of the track soutl
ward from Tenth street. on Main.
wei on toward completion, and troll
poles 3re being planted along that po
: ton Of the route north Of Tenth stree
: in tie shortest possible time this line
. ! railway viii have been changed to a