The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-14

New York Central Planning to Use
Electricity to Operate Trains.

I
Electricity to Operate Trains.
A commission of experts. consisting
of W. J. Wilgens, fifth vice president;
John r. Deems, general superintendent
of motive power OF the New York Cent
raj; Bion J. Arnold, Frank J. Sprague
and George Gibbs, consulting engineers
is now making investigations on behalf
Of the New York Central road upon the
result of which may largely depend the
use OF electricity as the future motive
power of the railroads of the country.
The magnitude of the work undertake
en- by the New York Central is such
that the company is perfecting its plans
with the utmost care. The substitu-
ton of electric for steam motive power
on 800 miles of passenger tracks, on
which are operated from 500 to ZOO trains
a day, is the most important electric
traction development ever undertaken.
The contract recently given to the CEN
eraI Electric company for the manu-
facture of 800 turbo-alternators with
an aggregate output of $4,000 horse
power which will supply the power
to move the trains calls for the largest
turbine installation in any country.
The New York CentraIs plan for cleo
IRRIGATION have been perfected in nearly
all the main features. The lines to
be electrified are the main line from
Forty-second street to White Plains,
twenty-four miles. These two lines will
have 300 miles of passenger tracks, as
a feature OF the scheme is the four
tracking of the entire electrical zone.
The present limits of the electric zone
extend no farther than the suburban
district, but the electrical engineers in
charge of the work have in mind the
probability that, with the growth of
electric traction roads, the electrical
zone will be greatly enlarged within a
few years. They believe that the time
is not far distant when the New York
Central Will find it to its advantage to
use electric motive power in it's pas
senger service throughout the length of
the Hudson division, 143 miles. The
present work is all being planned with
this probability in view.
For the suburban electrification the
direct current system, such as is used
on the New York elevated and under
ground lines, has been adopted. It
seems likely at present that in the fu-
ture Identification UP the Hudson from
Croton to Albany the alternating syS-
tenn, m which great progress has re-
Gently been made will be used. The
use of the direct current will facilitate
the interchange of equipment with 9TH
er rapid transit lines in New York and
vicinity. The power for this installa-
ton will be supplied by two stations,
one at Port Morris and the other at
YOnkerS.
The turbo-alternators ordered for
these power stations will have at the |
outset a capacity of 10000 horsepower.
stallation of $4,000 horsepower, of |
which each station will have $4,000 |
horse power. The SO, 00-hOYSe-p power |
installation will readily develop $4,000 |
horse power. The alternating current |
will be distributed at 1900 volts to |
eight substations. where the alternat-
ing current will be transformed into q /
600-volt continuous current and fed di-
rectly to the third rail. At crossings,
and in complicated yard work over
head rails will be used
The electric locomotives which will
haul the trains are now under con-
struction at the General Electric COM
pany's Schenectady works. The rail-
road has ordered thirty locomotives.
with the option of increasing the num-
Der to fifty The New York Central's
electric locomotive weighs eighty-five
tons, as compared with the heaviest
Atlantic type locomotive of the COM
pany Weighing forty-seven tons. The
normal rating of the locomotive is2200-
horsepower, with maximum of $500
horse power, or about so per cent
greater than that of the largest steam
passenger locomotives now in service.
The giant locomotive will be able to at
ain a speed of seventy-f1ve miles an
aour The electric locomotives will
AXE the through trains in and out OF
New York For the suburban service
locomotives will be eliminated. as the
rains will be hauled by motor cars In
he manner adopted on the New York
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