New-York tribune., 1903-03-02
ELECTRIC RAILWAY EQUIPMENT.

The conferences which the consulting engi-
neers of British railways have just held In re-
gard to uniformity of electric equipment ana
which have been briefly mentioned In recent
cable dispatches, initiate and represent move
ment Of much significance One OF the most I'M
portaut practices Of railways operated by steam
| is the running of cars Of one line upon the
tracks Of another. Thus has arisen the neces-
sity for similarity of gauge, the employment OF
brakes and couplers Of the same type. and
Standardization in other details. As electricity
displaces steam as a motive power that policy
must be carried step further. In order to en-
able trains to run over connecting systems, GER
tain adjuncts OF the cars must be alike. even
if the mileage on each line is short Such uni
formty. of course, will not be the result Of acci-
dent. 1t must be carefully planned. That Brit
ish railway managers recognize this fact, and
are already seeking to find the proper basis Of
agreement is a sign Of much promise.
To a limited extent the tendency here men-
toned has for years been visible in this coun-
try-in this city, in fact Through trains have
been run on the tracks of the Brooklyn Bridge,
the Brooklyn elevated roads and portions Of the
old Brighton Beach and Long Island roads. To
make the trip from Park Row to Manhattan
Beach, for instance, it was necessary to travel
over four lines that were once unrelated. In
like manner plans have been announced for
transferring certain local trains of the New
York Central to the rapid transit subway in the
Borough of Manhattan two or three years hence.
The proposed admission of sCme of the New
Haven road trains to the Pennsylvania COM
panys underground station In Thrty-fourth-st.
illustrates the same principle. In actual prac-
tice nothing has yet been achieved in London,
but such transfers OF rolling stock have been
provided for in at least one instance. The
tracks Of the underground roads constituting
the Inner Circle" have been used not simply
for strictly local traffic, but also for few sub
urban trains of outside trunk lines. AS soon as
electricity was adopted for the one class Of ser
vice, the necessity for making changes in
order to take care Of the other class was ap-
precisted. When the conversion noW In prog
ress is complete both will be accommodated.
The example thus set will no doubt be promptly
followed both In and outside the metropolis in
England.
From the language Of the dispatches it would
appear that British trunk line railway man
ayers are considering the feasibility Of applying
electricity to long distance service as well as to
suburban traffic. The former involves some
difficulties which do not bAset the latter. It
has been suggested, too, that the great manu-
facturers Of electric traction equipment will
meeting the demands for suburban outfits alone
Long distance electric service is bound to come,
though; and since q certain amount of time
win necessarily be consumed in the formula
ton Of definite plans, to say nothing of actual
construction, the work Of investigation cannot
begin too soon. The British railroad companies
doubtless realize this fact They know that
everything cannot be effected in q day but
they are taking time by the forelock Indeed,
in their apparent appreciation Of the wisdom
Of the impending revolution, and In the hand
some manner in which they rise to the emer-
gency. they put most Of their American con-
temporaries to shame. On this side Of the At
lant1c practically al movements for the intro
duction Of electricity on steam roads have been
individual and Independent efforts. There has
yet been no general cooperation.
Upon many features Of Car, road and station
equipment Il is now feasible to reach an agree
ment Almost the only open question at pres
ent involves the relative merits Of the direct
and alternating types Of motor Experiments
during the coming year win doubtless throw
much light on this matter. The utility Of the
third raN as q conductor and OF the multiple
unit method of making up trains Is SO fully
established, though, that no mistake can be
made In their adoption. Whatever form of
motor be used under car, too. the dynamcs at
generating stations are sure to be Of the alter