The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-04-08


An experiment IN electric traction
which viii attract worldwide attention
s. about 20 be undertaken in northern
Italy. Says the New York Tribune. The
line is ~ miles long aud las hitherto
been operated by steam. Us managers
have decided. however. to eqr.p D. with
electrical motive apparatus. one con.
sidcrtlou which animated them being
desire to get rId OF smoke in the
many tunnels along tAe route. The
road runs f0r . miles 90 the eastern
shore OF Lake Como, che southern ter.
minus being the town ~ LcccO. Near
Col.co. at the north end Of the lake.
the line forks, one branch continuing
In a northcrly direction 20 Chiavcuna
and The other reaching out eastward 90
S0udri0 Water power Tor operating
the whole system is found along The
Colico Sondrio branch. Neither in Eu-
rope nor America Is there at the pres
cot time q road of such length operated
by electricity. although there arc plcn.
~ of combinations u intorurban troll
ley lines which have better mileage.
But the most remarkable feature Ot
the LeccO-Chiavenna Sondrio road Is
the fact that Il is 10 be run with an
alternating and not a direct current.
This Is n radical innovation. and upon
the success with which various details
of the plan are worked out viii depend
the future Of many other electric roads.
For instance. IL was decided last year
20 convert the underground steam road
In London into an electric road. and
Just now half dozen OF the creates;
manufacturers Of electrical apparatus
in the world are competing FOR the con
tract. For the momsnt the system
which Is about 90 be tried ln northern
Italy has caught the fancy of the Lon
don company's engineers. and they are
investigating the subject eagerly.
The one great merit OF the altcrnat-
ing current is that lts voltage, or pres
sure, can be readily raised or lowered
The higher the voltage the more eco
nomlcally a given current can be sent
over "a wire; consequently the dyna-
mos OF all great transmission plants,
like that Of Niagara, are altcrnators,
and the current Us either generated al
the highest possible voltage or else IS
transformed upward Immediately after
being generated. ~ the point where
II Is communicates for Instance, In
Bunalo-it rs transformed down again,
and part of it Is then changed into a
direct current hy means OF rotary
converter" The remainder is utilized
Ia its original form.
ono Of tho leading manufacturers Of
electric railroad equipments in Buda-
pest has secured the contract foi citing
up the line IN northern Italy. The
work ls said Go be nearly completed,
and electrical operation Is expected 90
begin two or three months hence. 4
trial trip was made with a single car
over n part OF tho road early last am.
tumn aud speed Of 53 miles an hour
developed. The central power station
of the Italian road develops about 800
horsepower The current will be gen.
Grated AZ voltage Of 10000 and sent
thence to several substations There
II is 20 be transformed down 10 5000
volts. The motors or the cars will take
ii ~ that pressure. which Is six times
as high as the voltage Of ordinary troll.
ley currents.
Another important distinction he
tween the old system aud the new Is
that the former requires only two me
tallic conductors aud the other three
II the rails on which the cars run
serve for a conductor. a direct current
needs but one other. This may be ci-
thcr an overhead wire or n third rail
beside the track as on the Brooklyn
bridge aud some Of the elevated roads
But when three phase alternating
current Is employed there must be two
conductors In addition 10 the track
These will be overhead wires on the
Lccco Colico- Sondrio line. There has
been some talk Of using third and
fourth rails ON the District tunnel
line in London, but as yet Il is hy no
means certain that the CAM system
will Doe introduced there at all. II is
still more doubtful whether rails or
wires VIII Doe employed for conductors
Tho Lake Como road viii not have
special locomotives 10 haul It's trains,
as does the Central London. Each car
viii have four motors, one ON every
axle. The overhead wires are - inch
cs apart, The familiar pole ana grooy.
ed wheel VIII not be employed to take
the current from these. Elastic up
right frames, rising from opposite sides
OF the ear roof. viii sustain boxwood
rod running at right angles with the
track and several feet above the car.
on the rod will be two long. slender
aluminium rollers, pierced lengthwlse
and each coming H. contact with sep.
aratc wire.
Misgiyings are entertained by many
experts regarding the outcome Of this
gigantic experiment The complica-
tions likely 10 arise from a double
wire system at switches and crossings
may prove more serious than the con.
tractors expect Possibly other sur
prlscs are in store. But an extensive
practical test like this has long been
desired by electrical engineers. and
whatever the outcome Il will be an i'm.