Arizona republican., 1898-11-15
ELECTRIC LIGHT ON TRAINS.
How the Santa Fo System Differs From
 Others That Have Been Tried.

The announcement made 8 short time ago that four through trains on the Santa Fe line from Chicago to Los Angeles would be lighted by electricity brings up the question O. .he best mode of furnishing this kind of illumination. At least three general plans have been pursued.
 In Europe, where some of the rail- ways are short, it has been found to be practicable to light a train wr,h stor- age batteries alone A, the terminal stations the exhausted cells are taken out ard fully charged ones are put in. Inasmuch as the operation of recharg- ing a cell is a slow one-nearly as slow as the discharge-it is not feasible to obtain a fresh supply Of electricity as quickly cs of water or coal for the en- zine. Moreover, as the cells are heavy and delicate. they mus be handled with care No Daggag age-smashers are permitted to handle them. But stor- age battery lignEing, while suited to short lines, would never do for roads such as are found in America. To sup ply a 'irain running two thousand miles, as the Chicago and Los Angeles expresses do, it would be necessary to take along several carloads of batteries.
 The favori,te American system, there fore. has been to manufacture the elec- tricity for train in the baggage car, and only as fast as needed. In some eases the dynamo is operated by belt ing or gearing from the car axle. Then, when the train is in motion, the dyna- mo will run, and plenty of current will be obtained. T. has been considered preferable Cn some roads to run the dynamo by steam power, small en- zine being set I'D beside the generator
 E1,o I01 tive through special piF2. The draw back to these two plans is, or was, that when the train was stationary and when no engine had been attached to the cars-2s when sleeper was walt ing on a siding or a branch road for the hour of departlire-no current would bc produced, and consequently no light. Then again, it has happeEed that a car would be cut off at some junction to finish its run or branch. When for this or any other reason z separation from fhe baggage car Cc- cured the light would go out.
 Now the Santa Te people have adopt ed two little improvements that cbvi- ate these difficulties. In the first place. they provide each car in the train with its own dynamo, so that it is altogether independent of the engine ard bag gage car. Sc long as the car moves one of it's axles supplies power for the dynamo. The other modification cf the original American plan is to pro vide a small storage battery for each car in addition to the dynamo. This ls only large enough to contain electric ity for two or three hours, so that when the car is not in motion the battery Is drawn upon. When the train is un- der way the axlos do the business. meantime reflling the partially eX- hausIed cells.
 Each of the four trains on the Santa Fe is made up of six Pullman cars, consisting O. three sleepers, one dining one library and one observation car In the last three there are electric fans. Zach berth in the sleeper has it's own light. Eysn the locomotive headlight is to be furnished from the axles. Both in rosDect to distance covered-2,265 miles each way-and the completeness with which the train is lighted elee- trically. this venture surpasses every thing else Of the kind in the wofld.- New York Tribune.