, 1904-09-28
TrackIess Railroads.

llIOuSu SlIcelS, each car Tile
same curve as the locomotive. track
less railroads have beer established in
various parts of Europe. The latest
one to be built is only of a length of
two and one-half miles. 1t is to be
located In Prussia, the first one of its
kind in that country.
The main line will serve for the
transportation of persons, baggage,
mail and freight An extension is pos
sible at both ends. The roadway is
about twenty-three feet wide, with a
good basaltic cover about FIFTEEN feet
in width, running almost in an air line,
with the exception of a few curves.
A special continuance for coupling is
provided in order to keep an exact rut
of all the cars, which takes the place
of wheel flanges in ordinary rail trains.
The buildings to be erected for the use
of the railway are a power house, car
barns, repair shop and offices. For the
running of the railway Il current of
about 800 volts will be furnished. The
DONtl Will Dt COllQuNtcu " alo lloIl
the cars, which are provided with cleo
tromotors, by means of two rotary
poles, placed on the top of the cars,
and sliding blocks enabling the train to
give way from ten to twelve feet.
The wiring will consist of two hard
copper wires, with hard rubber insula-
tors, carried by iron poles about eight
cen feet above the middle of the road.
For entering farmyards lying close to
the road there will be used, instead OF
the regular wire, a connector and hexi-
BILE cable fifty to seventy feet in
length, by means of which the current
will be transmitted to the motor car.
Ordinary electric cars have but n
pole, and the second pole of these rail-
less cars serves for conducting back
the current, which is otherwise lone
through the rails.
When these trains pass each other
one will remain standing under the
wires and disconnect it's current until
the other has passed. The trains will
COlSlSl VI an tlctlllC lOCOLiOllNO lOL
drawing two or three cars, driven by
two electric motors of from twenty
five to forty horsepower, and will be
furnished with the necessary illuminate.
ing apparatus and brakes. The con-
Quoting crew has its place on the loco
motive. The cars for carrying freight
have d capacity of about five tons.
These cars will be coupled in such a
manner that the wheels of the car fol-
lowing run alongside the rut of the
forward one, thus making a wide rut
and avoiding the damaging of the road
on wet days. Some of the ears will be
open and some closed, and all will DO
fitted with the necessary brakes.
Farmers wagons can be attached to
the end of the train, provided the ordi-
nary tongues are replaced by shorter
coupling tongues.
For the passenger service a motor
omnibus, having a seating capacity of
sixteen and standing room for eight, Is
provided. In case of an increased pas
StllScI llulllC a plihlAdA Nait p'h VI
lighter construction than the motor
omnibus, will be added. Five or six
double trips at the rate of eight or ten
miles per hour will be made daily on
schedule time. For the accommodation
of the workingmen, in the morning and
evening, two labor trains consisting of
motor car and one or two passenger
cars will be added. Freight will lie
carried on week days only, as eondi-
tons may require, and during the inter-
walls between passenger trains. The
fare for the entire trip will be 6 cents.
For carrying freight the charge will be
S2.3S per carload of ten tons. Sub
scribers and parties doing ii large
freight business will be allowed Il dis
count.
There seems little doubt that the
trackless railroad is the beginning Of
a revolution in transportation the
world over. 1t takes no great stretch
of the imagination to picture a time
when trains of a similar construction
will be carrying freight and passen-
gers over the piked roads of America.
For this reason every detail of the new
system is interesting.
The Renard train, by the way, ~
by storage batteries and relay system
and did not require any overhead wires.