The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-19

| to places where the problem of ventila- | ton makes steam engines impracttcable. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad has them l for its tunnel through Baltimore for ex- 1 ample, and they will be used in the tun- | nels which the Pennsylvania railroad is building under the Hudson and East rivers here. These locomotives, however and those now building for the New 1 York Central, are not designed to run any great distance from the central pow CT house, and in rallroading they will play much the same role as is taken in water transportation by the tug which
 brings the ocean greyhound to her pier.
 Extension of Trolley Systems. On the other hand the revolution In city and suburban traffic brought by the increasing use of electricity has been ac- complished by an extension of the prin- ciple of the trolley car. On the elevated railroad and In the subway in this city, for instance each car in train has its
 own motor and no separate locomotive is required. The Long Island railroad Is rapidly installing a system of this kind in the western half of its territory and similar trains are operated in other parts
 of the county, as between Stamford and New Canaan, and between Bristol and Hartford. in Connecticut.
 | However convenient a method which
 transforms a railroad Into glorfled troll ley line may be for short hauls. where 1 there is an enormous amount of traf- | hc to be handled-and all railroad men | agree that it saves both time and mo- 1 ney-it Is not feasible on big systems all | ready equipped with full complement | of cars and locomotives of the old type
 To change to it would involve an ex-
 penditure beyond the reach of our wealth. l fest corporations and, moreover, 1t IS by no means certain that the results would prove satisfactory either to the rail-
 road or its patrons.
 Free From Objections.
 | In the type of electric locomotive adopt cd by the New Haven none of these
 objections to the general use of electricity
 in railroading Is said to exist. Although no announcement has been made or the company's intention to make any change in it's motive power except on the stretch l between Woodlawn and the Grand central
 station where the Improvements now | under way necessitate 1t. the railroad
 world Is not blind to the possibilities or l tho new engines Mechanical engineers
 have been met by the difficulty of trans 1 forming the alternating current gener- | ated in the power house Into dreeo | current powerful enough to operate trans at long distances from the central sla- | ton. Theoretically this difficulty can be
  stations. where rotary converters trans form, the alternating current into d1- rect one: but practically this means such increased expense for maintenance' labor fuel and other items that the old steam
 motive power is preferable
 Rv A device perfected within the last three years the new locomotives Of the New Haven road will transform the ai- ternating current themselves, and in thus doing away with the necessity of expen- sve sub-stations will remove one of the chief obstacles to the operation of through trains by electricity With equal ease they can be operated between the Grand Central station and Woodlawn. where the New Haven's territory really begins by
 a direct current, or run through the open i country toward Boston, receiving the current in its alternating form. Just how long it will be before electricity drives steam entirely out of the field, Is still
 A matter of mere guess work. but the changes in the New York terminal and the improved type of engine are bringing
 the time appreeiably nearer.
 Machine Is Practicable.
 That the newer machine Is practicable Is now settled beyond doubt. There are at least six power houses In New York city alone which are furnishing more power than would be necessary to operate
 new line like that between New York and New Haven One locomotive built for
 the New York Central has already been
 subjected to a practical test of 21,o00
 miles of travel and the greater simplic-
 ity of electrical operation warrants an
 assumption of corresponding reliability. It has been calculated that not more