The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1901-10-12
swTFTER THAN EAGLES.
Speed of Two and a Half Miles Per
Minute to be Made.
(New York Trlbune.

New York Tribune)
An experiment in electric traction
which will command worldwide atten-
ton is soon to be made on a short mill
Iary railway extending southwark from
Berlin. The feature of the project
which has thus far received the most
notice, and which from a popular point
of view, is probably the most inter-
esting, is the speed which it is pro-
posed to develop. This is at the rate
of between 125 and 135 miles an hour
or between two and two and a quarter
miles a minute. The road is only
eighteen and one-half miles in length,
and hence the trip should be made in
eight or nine minutes. If, however,
such a speed can be maintained for
that interval, it can be kept up for an
hour. All new questions of air resist
ance and road and car equipment ought
TO be disposed of in a tenth of that
time.
1t has been repeat edly pointed out
that much higher speeds than are now
attained on steam railways would be
practicable if curves and grade cross
lngs were done away with. 1t may
also prove necessary to modify the
form of the car more or less, the bet
ter to withstand blast greatly sur
passing the average hurricane in vio-
lence. The Berlin-Zossen track meets
the first of these requirements already.
And partial provision has been made
for the second by rounding the fronts
and sloping the roofs of the cars near
the ends Whether a more elaborate
taper will eventually prove desirable
is yet to be determined.
The coming trial will involve COM
paratively new and important prob
lens in electrical engineering. In the
first place, the alternating current will
be used instead of the direct current,
which is in practically universal SER
vice in traction work. This innovation
has been introduced on a few roads in
Switzerland and line in Italy which
skirts Lake Como, with apparent sue
cess, although a speed of more than
forty-five miles an hour has not been
recorded. In the next place, the feast
bility of taking off the current when
running at the rate Of 120 miles an hour
has been doubted. Again, the 'tri-
phase" system of alternating currents
calls for a more complicated arrange
ment of conductors than the direct
current The Lake Como line uses two
overhead wires and employs the rails
as substitute for the third. The
BerlinAZossen road viii have three
overhead wires, with three poles at
facts. In several other particulars also
the apparatus viii be original in de-
sign, and until its practical efficiency
is demonstrated absolute confidence
cannot be felt in regard to the result.
A larger degree of uncertainty exists
in the minds of experts as to the sat
isfactory working of the alternating
current for traction purposes than the
possibility of making 100 or even 140
miles an hour. The former question is
one over which wide differences of
opinion prevail. Further experiment
and discussion are needed, therefore,
to bring out the truth.
The electricians long ago found that
it is much more convenient to transmit
electricity for long distances when it
is in the form of an alternating cur
rent, because the voltage can be read
lily raised, and because it takes less
copper to conduct at a high voltage
than at low one. Consequently this
style of current is universally employed
on TRANSMISSION lines. Then, if at the
terminus a trolley road is to be oper-
ated, not only is the voltage brought
down to the desired level, but another
process is gone through with. The al
ternating current is converted into a
direct one. 1t has been argued that #
this last step could be avoided less APP
paratus would be needed, and that a
certain small waste of energy would
be prevented. Such reasoning is met
with the assertion that there are losses
in other ways which more than COM
pensate for the gain. And so the
economy Of the new scheme, as well as
the efficiency of the mechanism, is yet
in doubt. Finally, when these Ques-
tons have been cleared up, it will still
he necessary tO inouire into the eX-
pediency of using a system which will
not allow cars to be run over connect
ing roads where the direct current is
emOlOVed