The evening times., 1901-08-02
HIGH-SPREp ELECTRIC TRAINS.
Tests to BE Made in Berlin at IO5 TO
40 Miles an Hour.

100 Miles an Hour
Frank H. Mason the United States Con-
sui General at Berlin, has written 70 the
State Department correcting a statement
recently published in the American news
papers TO the effect that q speed Of rs
miles au hour had been attained on new
electric railway between Berlin and Ham
burg. Concerning the matter Mr.. Mason
says
This statement was widely repubished,
generally as the text of editorial con-
graduation that the problem of greatly in
creased speed in railway travel had been
so promptly and cOuclusively settled
From this the deduction was easy and
natural that within a few years. the pres
ent steam railway system would be wholly
superseded for passenger traffic by cleo
tricaI lines All this was so fa7 from the
actual fact and has inspired such a Choir
Us Of vain but insistent enquiry. that il
seems due and requisite that a plain, con-
else statement shall be made Of what has
been undertaken by the experimenters at
Berlin. what has been accomplished, and
what yet remains 20 be done.
For several years past II has been
recognized by scientific men IN Germany,
as elsewhere. that cars driven BY cleo
tricity. which have practically displaced
the horse car as means Of intramural
and suburban travel. would sooner or
later dispute the supremacy of steam rail-
ways for long distance passenger traffic.
The main governing motive for such
Transformation would be the greatly i'm
creased speed that could thereby be at
tanned
III was felt however. that the high
speed problem involved many details Of
construction and practice couceruinE
which comparatively little is known No
careful engineer OF capitalist would enter
upon the construction Of q hiEh-speeJ
railway for actual service until the whole
subject had been thoroughly studied and
its feasibility proven by practical dem
Custration- For this purpose there was
organized at Berlin. on the 10Th of Octo-
ber. 1893. "a su-caued -Studieu GesoIIschaft'
or company Tor experiments. in high
speed traction This company which has
for It's president Dr. Schulz. chief Of the
imperial railway Observation-Disclosures
as members the General Electric Compa-
NY of Berlin, 8Isssrs. SieIneus & Halske
the sreat machine builders BorSiE. Krupp
Halzmanu. and Van der Zuypen & Char
ivr. besides several banks. which under
took 10 supply the capital Of Sl7&560. for
the necessary expenses of construction.
The mere mention Of the foregoing names
will show that the Sudden GeselIschaft'
represents the foremost scientific and me
chanicaI ability OF Germany.
After more than year Of study and
experiment with motors. conductors and
especially the task Of taking up an cleo
t"ical circuit by motor moving al high
speed, Director Rathenau, of the General
Electric Company. in January Of this
year, had formal interview with the
German Emperor, in which he submitted
a plan for using as an experimental cleo
tric line the military railway leading
southwark from Berlin To Zosseu. a dis
tauce of $50 miles The proposition of
Mr. Ratheuau was promptly and fully ap-
proved. and from that moment the whole
scheme has had the active support of the
Imperial Government The lire 10 ZOsseu
is now in process Of preparation for the
trials which. it is expected, viii begin in
August OF September For these expert
ments two motor cars will be-. or have
been, built Each viii carry about fifty
pass, myers, and efforts viii be made 70
attain a speed Of from l25 To $50 an hour
Meanwhile Messrs. Siemeus * Halske
have been making some preliminary tests
on a short provisional line which was
built for experimental purposes "a year or
two age at their works at Lichterfelde
near Berlin. The motive Of these pre-
liminary trials has been TO test the i'm
p0Ttaut but hitherto undemonstraJed.
point whether a motor moving AT a speed
Of 100 miles an hour or more Will take the
current readily from a three-wire line.
1t is well known that there are certain
electric roads in Switzerland and North
ern Italy where alternating currents of
high potential are used, instead OF the 500
volt continuous current which is employ
ed on most city tramway ines. The high
voltage is used for the purpose mainly Of
being transmitted on small wires over
long distances from water-power general
ing plants II is then reduced by passing
through geuerators-lcraUed where the
current is wauted-to "A voltage consider
cd safe and suitable for working the
trains
In using this three-phase alternating
current u has been found necessary to
employ three conductors. namely, two
overhead wires and third rail-. The high
speed experiments here viii be based on
this arrangement. and the provisional line
Of Messrs- Siemens * Halske has carried
gained by the Swiss and Italian roads az