New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-15
ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES.

| One can hardly read about the electric loco
| ,+io bich WIS tested near Schenectady last
Saturday without specializing over the cohse
ouences of introducing the machine 1nio acu'e
service two or three years hence. IL Is ineaii'
only for hauling through trains on those poi-
tons Of read which the New-1ork oelltrai wiz
eouip with a third rail for its suburban traihc'
Whether the company will find n more extern
siye use for that type Of engine is question
which cannot he answered offhand. The ofncers
of the Central are probably not in posltloh
TO form an opinion to-day. Being men or prac-
teal common sense, they will naturally WISH 10
wait until they have had chance to study the
merits of the system in the light of experience
before pushing the development further. How
ever no one but hardened skeptic will venture
to think that so enterprising 4 corporation Will
stop at the limit which 1t has imposed upon
itself for the present
By the purchase of local trolley lines as feed
ers in various parts of the State, the central
will come into the possession of several power
stations, whose enlargement for additional
service will be a simple matter. 1t is not I'M
likely that within fifty or one hundred miles OF
Niagara it can buy power much more cheaply
than it can generate it by steam near the
metropolis. Again, the next lot of locomotives
may cost less than the first. 1t is not an I'M
common practice for manufacturers of machin-
cry to assess upon the first few machines of
new kind the expense incident TO perfecting
the design. For these and other reasons it
seems probable that the Central will find the
electric haulage Of its heavy passenger trains
from New-York to Buffalo an attractive propo-
sition within the next five ten years.
In the mean time great changes will certainly
occur on many other railway systems of the
I country. Electricity will dlsplace steam for
suburban traffic on all nearly all the lines
leading into New-YOrk. On the NewHaven,
Long Island Pennsylvania. Erie and Lacka-
wanna the reform is practically foregone con-
clusiOn. For that class of business, no doubt
the practice in vogue on the elevated roads will
be adopted. The ACCESSIBILITY of having separate
electric locomotives to haul through trains for
! short distances will then become so obvious
that the example of the Central in this respect
is almost sure to be followed sooner or later
Near Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago
and other large cities the same thing may be
expected to happen When it does, the filing in
of the missing links cannot be long delayed. If
the Central once sees its way clear to run an
express from New-York to Buffalo with an cleo
trio engine. the country viii see the infection
spread rapidly.
Although the electric haulage of freight by
the same means is perfectly practicable the
economy of the operation is vet a matter of
doubt. For years the Baltimore and Ohio has
been moving freight trains through its Balti-
more tunnel by a less powerful locomotive than
the one tested al Schenectady but the plan was
adopted FOR other reasons than a desire to save
money When once the use Of electricity for
through passenger service becomes general
though. the situation will be modified. During
transition period Of greater or less duration
both kinds of power will probably be empIoyed
simultaneously on many roads Still there will
be natural tendency toward homogeneous
system of traction, and that will operate adj
versey to steam when its rival once gets a
foothold. The wholesale movement of freigbt
by electricity may prove little slow in coming
but the arguments in its favor are bound to
grow in force with every successive year.