The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1897-04-03
AGE OF SPEED.
Unparalleled Swiftness of a New
Electric Express.
People May Soon Travel at the
Rate Of 100 Miles an Hour.

talked of 400 miles ON hour" trains
was placed in the s'crank" class.
Locomotive engineers. even while
their iron horses were galloping over
the steel roadway with the drivers
spinning out mile minute, smiled
knowingly when "100 miles an hour"
was mentioned, and said something to
the fremen about s'dreamers. But
engineers have changed their minds
lately, all because one of the largest
locomotive builders in the world has
turned ont an electric. locomotive
which, his experts say, can and will
ON hour. When the men OF the
throttle learned OF this they gasped,
but accepted the statement as true,
and now they are waiting for the steel:
clad comet to eat up 100 miles of dis
lance every sixty minutes.
This 'electric express" was built by
| the Baldwin Locomotive works and
the Westinghouse Electrical company
jointly. 1t is being tried on the Tur-
tie creek branch of the Pennsylvania
railroad, and every railroad company
in the world has its eye on it. Its
builders say that if it is success, it
means ''good-by" to the steam loco
motive, grade crossings. firemen,
boiler explosions on railroads and a
general Encouragement of block sig
mails.
The electric locomotive looks more
like baggage car fitted mp with a
pilot and headlight than it does like a
locomotive, and there is nothing in
its outward appearance to indicate the
enormous power it is said to possess.
The engine is remarkably stiff speci-
men of car construction. The frame
is made of ten-inch rolled channels,
decked with one-half inch rolled steel
plates. This method of construction
gives great strength to resist blows in
collision and the wrenches and strains
which will be incident to the high
speed for which the engine is intend
ed.
10 further increase the stiffness and
to add weight to provide the necessary
traction the entire framework is Gov
cred with half-inch steel plates, and
cast-iron plates are boIted to the floor.
Two trucks carry the frame, and
these trucks have all the easy.riding
features OF the sleeping-car trucks
The trucks are four-wheel, and as they
must withstand the heavy strains and
thrusts from powerful motors they are
built entirely different from car trucks.
The trucks are of a swiveling type, so
that the electric locomotive can easily
make short curves. The motors, which
are iron-clad, are carried directly be-
meath the car-bed, between the two
Trucks. They are entirely incased by
thin steel shells, SO that they are pro-
tected from dust, water and accidents
from flying roadbed ballast.
The rotary motion of the motors is
communicated to the axles of the
trucks by gearing. which permits the
use of any gear ratio. making the en-
CINE suitable for high speed or slow
pulling, and this feature gives posi-
BILE fexibility to the electric locomo-
tive which its steam brother does not
possess.
Instead of starting-bar or revers-
ing lever, the electric locomotive has
q controller" of which. the visible
parts consist of brass handle, some
what similar in appearance to the ham
die OF three-way valve, and half /
round box about three feet high.
With this controller the "motorneer"
starts his electric engine, regulates his
speed, reverses aud helps the air brake
out in cases of emergency.
The pump for COMPRISING air for
the air brakes has ali electric motor of
its own, Independent of the other
This electric-pneumatic
combination has one advantage over
the conventional automatic air brake.
for when the air is used the |
is automatically cut off.
from the propelling motors. In |
other respects the system is identi-
cal with that used on every passenger
train In the country.
The driving wheels or the electric |
locomotive are SO arranged that they |
may. be coupled with parallel rods
when the haul is heavy, as such loads
will not permit one pair of wheels to |
Zip without slipping the other. The
weight of the locomotive is 100000 |
pounds, and it is thirty-seven feet
ong. The speed shown in the expert
mental runs has demonstrated IL 10