The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-17
NEW AIR-POWER CAR TRIED
SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTAL RUN
OTER THE 23D STREET LINE.

A Dozen to BE Put ON for tho Night Service
within n Few Days-Cars Little Different
In Appearance from the Present Elec-
trics-Can Hun 10 to IL Miles nm Hour.
The first Of the air-powcr cars for the
Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth street line
OF the metropolitan road made an experimental
run over the Twenty-third street line yester-
day afternoon. Among the officials who made
the trip were II. FL. Vrceland. President OF tho
METROPOLITAN; A.. A.. Mcleod. President OF the
American Air Power Company. which supplies
the air motors; Fred pierson. chief engineer
OF the Metropolitan W. II. Knight. chief en-
Rineer OF the American Air Power Company;
NJ. q. Starritt. assistant engineer OF the Metre
po!itan. and H.. ID. Macdonald OF the Metro
politan.
Within a few days half n dozen OF the new
cars will be put on the Twenty-third street
line Tor the night schedule. The air for these
ears will be compressed by the 400 horse
power compressor which has been in operation
at the power house near the foot Of West
Twenty-Five street for some time. The l 800
horse power compressor is not completely
installed. 1t is expected that it will be in
operation within a few weeks. and then the
twenty new cars for the Twenty eighth and
Twenty-ninth street line will DO started. The
roadbed will not be changed now New rails
will probably be laid after the air-power cars
begin their trips.
The new cars have the same general appear
ance as tho standard electric cars used by the
Metropolitan road. Some Of the experimental
cars were run on uptown lines among the
electric cars and passengers never noticed the
difference. The compressed air bottles are
carried under the seats. three on a side. These
bottles are made in Germany of a spe-
cially prepared nickel steel after a process
tp, iIn &, o., tl,, ,,...I H., L ,, -, to .,,1 l.. .,,.,
plate for battleships. The first bottles were
made to withstand n pressure Of 5000 pounds
to the square inch. This left a margin OF safety
OF only 1900 pounds. The new bottles can
withstand a pressure of 10000 pounds 10 the
square inch. The maximum working pressure
wi, be 2.n,M pounds, and the normal pressure
Will be- 2.2OD pounds.
In the new power house at Eleventh avenue
and Twentv-fourth street is the 800 horse
power air compressor. which has much the
appearance OF a marine engine. This vertical
compressor is Il great Improvement over tho
horizontal compressor now in uss and will
do its work much more economically. The
compressor is about sixty feet high and
has a fly wheel twenty-five feet in diam
et"r, 1t is u four-staGe compressor. Tho
air is taken in a the rate Of ~ cubic feet 70 4
under a pressure Of 30 pound. 10 the square
inch. In the second compressor the pressure
: raised TO ~ pounds, and the original bulk
il reduced to IL cubic feet. In tn" third com
pressor the pressure is 5S'rounds anItho bulk
is reduced to l"uhic feet. Finally. in tho last
'''Illl'l'SN''Is NV Il'NNuI' Is ItlN''l " -.'NNf
pounds and til" bulk reduced to l., cubic feet.
This is all done in four seconds. Compressing
air so rapidly heats it 10 n high degree of tenn
pnrature. and SO after each compression. the
air l. cooled by passing over cold water pipes.
The capacity Of the new compressor. IL the
cars were charged directly from il. would he
eighty ears. BY establishing n reservoir OF
compassionate bottles the capacity will be in
craasedk indelnitely From the compressor
bottles the car bottles can he charged in two
minutes.
Acar will run sixteen miles on a single charge.
and the ears. as built will hay" a speed capacity
of from ten to twelve miles an hour. They
will be run at from fly" to six miles an hour
and will be charged after every other trip.
The mechanism of the new air motors is very
simple. mike the first air-power cars. in
which there was n great number Of moving
parts, the engines now To be used have very
few moving PARTS. Tho running gear moves
in a bath of oil.
The motors are controlled by the motormen
just as the motormcn control the electric
| motors now. The platform controllers are only
slightly different in appearance from those
used on the electric cars.
The new cars run very smoothly They are
started with very little OF a jerk. The aim ~
the Metropolitan s engineers has been.
In fact. to produce a ear which should
be as much like tho standard electric
car as possible. so that the running Of
them would not confuse the employees.
Tho ear which made the experimental run yes
who thought it was ono OF the rrosStown cleo
trio cars. Over in Paris the air-powcr cars are
built on locomotive designs.
The new cars for the rrOsstown line will ne
the first cars to be regularly run on a street
railroad in this country.