The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-06-10
TROLLEY TO THE BEACH.
RAPID PROGRESS DURING THE
PAST week.
The Poles Up Nearly Half way-The
The work Going on Night and Day.
Amy Point IN the City TO the
Beach.

The reconstruction of the Wilmington
Seacoast Railroad into a trolley line
has advanced during the past week to
a point where the electric cars TO the
beach begin to assume the condition of
a reality.
Those who went 10 the beach or Sat
urday saw a double row of-poles ex-
teending from Ninth n Princess
streets along the Seaeoast Railroads
right-of-way TO almost n mile beyond
the Masonboro crossing.
The work has been done under a
gang Of men under the company's chief
lineman. Mr.. like King. On the left
a side going to the beach are the
high double cross armed poles that are
TO carry the three phase 10, 900 volt al
ternating current which next summer
will run the 200 X. w. rotary converter
at the Wrightsvllle sub-station. This
in turn feeds direct current to the rails
and trolley wire at a pressure of $50
volts. For this season, however, a
storage battery to be located in the old
depot at WrigLtsville will give the
pressure the needed boost" and be
charged in turn by the trolley wire and
heavy feeders which are carried on the
shorter poles with the single cross arm
located on the south side of the track
Between each pair of poles will be
carried the span wires from which the
trolley wire is TO be suspended to fur
nish the current to the cars them
selves.
During the week another large force
of men under MeSSrs. ]. T. Dooley and
j.. 9. Long have been retimbering and
regauging the Seacoast track from it's
In natinn u-ith iha k1o.tia T1o-S -
to about a mile beyond Delgado. Some
idea of the amount of work involved
may be formed from the fact that they
have already put in nearly three thous-
and new croSstie5 and Drawn in the
gauge to four feet eight and a half
inches, which is the standard on the
tracks Of the street railway in the city.
The slowest and most tedious part of
the work is the bonding or making the
electrical connection between the rails.
This is now being lone with two drill
ing machines which are running con-
tinuously day and night in order to
finish this part of the work at the same
time the other parts are completed.
Meanwhile at the power station of
the street railway. on Orange street.
preparations are being made to install
a 200 K. w. rotary generator to help
out the two dynamos now in operation.
Chief Engineer Thigpen expects to be
in good shape TO pull the whole outfit
when the cars are started to the beach.
The outside work is under the direc-
ton of Mr.. J. P. Jones who a done
this class of work in Buffalo, Balti-
more, YonkerS. and South Carolina
People near the Seacoast Railroad
have been wondering during the past
week why so MANY trains were being
run during the night. A little investi-
CATION would have shown car load after
a load of poles and crossties for dis
tribution between the city and
Wrightsville Beach. Twenty car loads
of poles and fifteen car loads Of ties
have already beer sent out. On Satur-
day of last week superintendent Jones
loaded in six hours a special train of
nine cars and distributed them the
next morning.
The number of men putting up poles
is 80, while 40 are working on the track
and II are drilling n bonding.
With the trolley line, We have no
doubt will come cheaper fare to the
beach. The rate for the round trip
should be % cents from any point in
the city.