The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-26
CARS RUN BY COMPRESSED AIR
FORTY AIR MOTORS SOON TO OPER-
ATE ON TWO LINES IN NEW YORK

cagO-PrObahIe Introduction in
st. Louis and other " Western Cities.
London Experimenting With
American SyStem-TO Replace
EIeclricity-Cost only 10 Cents Per
Car Mile and Much Cheaper in
Equipment.
New York. Dec. 23.-Within the next
twelve months compressed air VIII be put
TO use in operating suburban and street
railways in New York and other American
and English cities. The question Of pow
er for the handling of such traffic has mar
rowed down 70 the alternative of com
pressed air or electricity, and the decision
in favor of one or the other Of these is
likely to be Influenced by local conditions.
For some years electricity has held the
field without dangerous rival, but there
are abundant indications that from this
time on 1t must share the honors with the
new motive power.
The compressed air plant now being es-
tablished by the Metropolitan Traction
Company in New York is nearly complet-
ed and by the end of February forty air
motor cars will be in operation on the
ninth streets crosstown line Following
this, a belt line connecting the ferries and
railway stations and GOVERNS the hotel
and shopping districts viii be estab-
lished If the present plans of the Met
Topolitan Company are carried out, all the
crosstown lines in New York city, with
one or two exceptions, will be equipped
with air motors in the course Of the COM
ing two years.
Chicago and ST. Louis Also Equip
ping.
Although the New York line will be the
first in this country to be operated entirely
by compressed air, it will not long remain
the only one One of the Chicago lines
Is to be fitted with air power during the
coming summer, and negotiations for the
equipment of part of St Louis system
are nearly completed. The officers of the
American Air Power Company, who con-
troll the rights of the compressed air
system have been in consultation recently
with street railway men from a number
of Western cities, and it is expected that
some of them will adopt air power soon on
their lines.
Moreover, 1t is possible that the success
OF the american SYSTEM as demonstrated
by its actual operation may lead to its
adoption on the London underground
roads. ]. Allen Baker, an expert engin-
eer, who was sent over TO this country TO
investigate the subject, recently returned
20 London and submitted his report. He
compares compressed air with the gas
power now in use on the Blackpool line in
London and his conclusions are decidedly
favorable 10 the former Mr.. Baker finds
that not only is air power cheaper than
gas but it is superior in cleanliness and
is noiseless in operation, two important
considerations on an underground line.
On Railroad Suburban Lines.
In addition to these developments It Is
said that the New York Central Railroad
is preparing to use air-motor engines in
it's yard operations and in hauling trains
through the tunnel at the New York end
of the road, and on their Putnam division.
A compressed air engine has been used
for some time i'm the yards of the Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Fe road at Tope-
ka. for switching. and is reported TO have
worked satisfactorily.
When it is added that company is be-
ing formed in New York to utilize the air
motor in running automobile carriages, it
will be seen that 1899 promises to be a
great year for compressed air in a num-
Der of ways.
The American Air Power Company.
which controls both the Hardie and the
Hoadley motors, is capitalized at 100000
and among those said to be chiefly inter-
ested in it are p. A. b. Widener. William
c. Whitney and the other large stockhold-
ers of the Metropolitan Traction Company,
Col. A. w. Soper of the Pintsch Light
Company, Henry D. Cook, Alexander Nc
Leod, formerly president of the Reading
system, and numerous men of importance
in the financial world.
Wonderful Development of the Air
System.
The use of compressed air as a motive
power antedates electricity, although il
is only within the past few years that
the system successfully employed bv the
American Air Power Company has been
developed AS far back as 1879 an air
motor car was run on the streets of New
York. In the following year an English
man named Col Beaumont operated a
compressed-air engine at Wooiwch but
IL did not meet with favor. In 1889 the
city of Berne Switzerland, adopted air for
street traction, using what is known as
the Mekarsk system, and in the follow
ing year line was installed in France
and another at Chester, Eng. In 1892
Samuel E. Jarvis built an air-motor car
which was run on a specially constructed
line in Detroit. and in the same year the
Consolidated company of Toledo made
some experiments with car equipped
with the Mekarsh system.
None of these experiments were reported
failures, but from none of those tried in
this country did any important results
follow. One difficulty encountered was in
storing enough air to run the cars auv
considerable distance. The air was stored
at low pressure, and consequently the ca
pacity of any ordinary car was sufficient
10 carry it only about four miles The
COMPRISING apparatus was far from per-
feet. and the eXperimenters We're troubled
by the heating of the air during the COM
pressing process and by its freezing when
expanded.
IiaIdie, the Greatest ENpcrimenter
The development of compressed air
traction, as we have to-day, is chiefly
due to Robert Hardie a mechanical engi-
neer and inventor, who carried on his ex-
periments in the use of compressed air at
hlgh nressmre Tor seNnrll Nnars ~ Rome