The sun., 1901-10-09
NEW USES FOR ELECTRICITY.
Machine Shops Change from the old
Steam Power Equipments for
Grenter Couventence

Greater Convenience.
",rhe outlook for the electrical indus
try is full of PROMISE" said represen-
tative of the General Electric Company
to Mail and Express reporter. During
the last twelve years q, 600 miles of
electric railway track have been laid
down in the United States, and these
lines have an equipment of 6S,0O0 motor
cars. The cost of this investment has
been approximately $1,000 100000, and
this seems to be only the beginning of
the work which the electric railways
will ultimately do. Already in many of
the States of the Union, particularly
Ohio, New York, Indiana and Michigan
are long stretches of interurban electric
roads. These interurban roads are serv-
ing to link the rural population to the
adjoining towns to an extent which must
always be impossible for existing steam
railroads to accomplish on account of
their conditions of operation. The result
is that an entirely new source of traffic
has been tapped without materially in
juring the steam roads which these cleo
trio roads often roughly parallel
Moreover, the electric railway is
gradually creeping into the service of the
owners of steam railroads for the suburb-
an traffic of densely populated districts
near large cities. To the New York
New Haven and Hartford Railway must
be given the credit of being the first
steam railroad to realize that there is
point at which density of traffic per
mile of track makes it true economy TO
abandon steam for the third rail. All
the elevated lines in Chicago are now
run by electricity, and the Manhattan
Elevated Railway in New York is under
going the process of conversion. The ex.
ample set by the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad in hauling its trains through the
tunnel under the city of Baltimore by
electric locomotives is likely to be fol-
lowed within a very short time by all
the steam railroads in the country which
have long tunnels. In -many special
cases also on steam railroads, such as
heavy mountain grades, where there is
abundant water power within reach, it
is probable that electric locomotives will
soon he substituted for steam locomotives
as pushers for heavy trains over these
grades.
I'm the lighting field the SUCCESS of
electricity is no less remarkable. All
new buildings of large size and compara-
lively high cost are now wired as i mat
ter of course for incandesccnt lamps, and
1t is worthy of note during the past four
or five years that no alternative gas
piping is provided in such bulldogs.
Most of the smaller towns, and even vii
lagos in the far West which have sprung
up during the past few years, are entire,
ly dependent upon electricity for lighting.
This is partly due to the higher first cost
of regular gas plant, and partly due
to the ease with which additional elec-
trical apparatus can be installed so as
to keep pace with the rapid growth of
the town or village.
There has been no great flourish of
trumpets over the achievements of cleo
tricity in machine shops. yet in no de-
partment of industry has it accomplished
such revolution as in this. 1t may be
confidently asserted that to-day no large
machine shop is built without making
provision for the operation of the tools
by electric motors and the distribution
of the power from a central generating
plant. Under the old system OF betting
and shafting, the engine to supply power
to the factory buildings in a large pfant
had to be so placed as to get its power
under conditions of maximum economy
attainable with betting and shafting. This
practically meant that the engines and
boilers to run the plant had to be placed
at the power center of the works, and,
therefore, at point where it was nat
urally most inconvenient to bring coal.
TO the boilers and remove the ashes. With
electrical transmission and distribution
of power the power house may be placed
on the outskirts of the plant alongside
the canal or railroad which brings the
coal.
Up to the present the possibility of
running small machine shops from the
mains of central stations in large cities
have not been fully realized But every
week some small and inefficient steam
engine runs for the last time, as its owner
discovers that the power service, which
can be obtained from the street main, is
not only cheaper in money value, but
means great saving in the worry and
bother of running steam plant under