Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-06
Child's Tragic Death.
THE MOTOR CAR.
Vehicle Which Will Fit in on Branch
Line Railroad
From the independent.


While the east is considering the "elec-
trolization' of the steam railroads the
west is looking In different direction for
It's transportation change. The motor car
is becoming a factor In The plans for the
management of local traffic on The branch
lines. and 1t has fine field in which to
to the west in larger degree than to the
east, and 1t Is interesting to note its many
advantages now that they are being de-
yeloped by the promoters of this sort of
passenger and freight movement.
The new motor differs from the troll
ley system In that II contains within itself
all the power needed for its movement
In the east, where waterfalls like Niagara
found to furnish unbounded quantities
of electricity. 1t is not difficult to equip an
electric line. The current can be Furnished
at price that enables the promoters to
pay good dividends. Then, too, there is
plenty of patronage. because the popula-
ton Is large and the towns near to-
gether. A trip over trolley line through
central New York takes one from village
to village with only few miles between
settlements.
This would be impossible in the west. An
eastern promoter was induced to go TO
central Kansas to look over the prospects
for an interurban line year ago. His
port included this observation: why
should we spend thousands OF dollars To
connect hamlet with thirty people and a
village with 40 people, none of whom wish
to visit the other place." That is the diff
Guilty With the trolley system in the west
not to mention the excessive cost OF power
when 1t must be produced ny coal that
costs twice what 1t does ir the eastern
states.
Then there-1s to be considered the con
ditions under which the western steam
railroads were built. glance at rail-
road map of the west will chow that the
syste ms consist generally of one principal
line tfr,U Cit m md
this fed by a score or more branches lead
ing up the valleys and into the grain sec
lions These branch lines are operated to
connect with the main line. of course, but
they are nevertheless expensive to conduct
In their passenger department. there
must be full complement of baggage,
mail and express assistance for the trains
At least one strictly passenger train Is run
over each of these branches every day,
though often a single car would handle
easily all the traffic furnished by the tribu-
tary country. These branches were usual
Ny built by means of bonds voted in the
bonds could be secured more branches were
built than the main line needed. In many
places parallel branches run for miles near
to each other, and are operated at a loss
merely as a matter of pride or OF CUSTOM
Here IL IL that the motor car finds It's
greatest opportunity. To equip such branch
lines with electricity would be extremely
extensive. The furnishing of power would
be at prohibitive cost. II there can be de-
vised a motor car that will supply its own
power and can be operated at a minimum
OF expense IL means new era for the
branch lines This IL Is that new inventions
have sought to accomplish, and the re-
suits of the experiments already made are
most encouraging.
Two types of motor cars are considered
by the railroad managers Both depend on
gasoline for the primary power, but one
utiiizes that power directly IN propelling
the car; the other applies the power to
an electric battery. and has the presumed
advantage of the storage OF electricity in
addition to the direct force that the gaso-
line itself furnishes.
The Union Pacific was pioneer in the
manufacture of the gasoline motor car.
Its motor car, No ], was completed March
1, 1906 and it's No. was put In service in
April of the present year. The first model
made a ong-dstanee run from Omaha to
Portland, Oregon, and return, entirely I'M
der its own power, Ginning some of the
steepest grades of the Rocky mountain
region without difficulty. Last August 1t
went into regular service on the kearney-
Galloway branch in Nebraska, making one
round trip daily. The following month mo-
tor car No. was put In service. 1t was a
distinct variation from the first model and
Is likely to mark new variety OF service
cars for railways. II is built on the plan
of the yacht. with port holes for windows,
tapering steel-coyered body, being made
to present the least possible obstruction to
wind This plan has been improved and
changed until IL mas become NO. !. the lat
est design from the shops. All these cars
are In actual service. One Is used in Kan
sas between Leayenworth and Lawrence:
one between Houston and Galveston, Tex:
one on the Oregon Short Line: one In Cali
fornia out OF Los Angeles. So successful
have been the tests that many more will
be used as fast as they can be manufac-
tured.
The weight OF the car is about $1,000
pounds very light design: It's structural
arrangement prevents telescoping. Each
car is driven by a one-hundred horsepower,
slx-cylinder gasoline engine, designed to
meet regular railroad service require
nlents; has make and break spark ig
nition with primary battery to start on
ard a magnetic for running service The
six cylinders. ex10 inches each, upright
type placed at right angles TO center line
OF car are arranged and connected up In
sets of three resulting I'm three power-giv-
ing pulsations at each revolution OF the
crank shaft. he acceleration of the cars.
owing to their weight, Is slower at the be-
ginning say for fifty feet. than the trolley
car. but after that II is very rapid. Speed
Of better than q mile minute has been
made on several trial runs, and forty miles
an hour Is a usual performance. Where
the requirements of the service demand.
trailers consisting OF combination mail.
baggage and express cars weighing about
Is 600 pounds and of the same general
form as the passenger cars are used salts
factorily.