The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-06-28
MOTOR oAR's work LIMITED.
Utility of Comparatively New vehicle
Said to Be Restricted.


The motor car is adapted for light
traffic and for light traffic only. says
the Engineering News, and we may
add that disregard Of this fact by
designers and promoters CT motor cars
IS leading to mistakes which are very
likely to give an undeserved black eye
TO the whole motor car business Most
OF the motor cars now being exper-
1mented with appear to US to be too
heavy too complicated and too heavily
powered to adapt them for their real
field of work
What that field is. also appears to
be strangely overlooked; both here
and abroad experiments are being
made with motor cars on suburban
and interurban lines of fairly heavy
traffic. So far as we can see the motor
car has small chance of success in any
such location. The place where the
motor car-or the properly designed
motor car-can save money and earn
money Is out in the backWOods There
Is very large mileage of railways in
this country on which the regular pas
senger traffic is small and is bound to
remain small for long years to come,
no matter what facilities for travel
are offered. On these branches and
spurs old locomotives discharged from
main line service are wheeling out the
remnant of their days, hauling infre-
quent passenger trains. which most of
to pay the train crews wages.
The management conduct their bus
mess In this manner because nothing
better is open to them, but we know
from frequent inquiries sent to this
journal that the poor economy. of the
realized by many intelligent andN pro-
gressive railway officials, and that a
potential demand exists for a more
economical type of motor. and will be
felt whenever such a motor is made
available.
As to whether any of the various
gasoline or gasoline-electric combina-
lions now being exploited are adapted
to meet this demand, We must express
our very grave doubts. We have said
that the field for the motor car is out
in the backwoods, but travelling cleo
trio power station on wheels out in the
backwoods is likely to go wrong incon-
veniently often, and leave its load Of
passengers stranded long way from
anywhere.
We are skeptical, on the whole, as
to whether the gasoline motor in any
form is adapted for such service as
that under consideration. There is
probably no better reason for the pre-
valent fad of gasoline-electric cars
than the current popularity of the
gasoline autom obiIe. A breakdown on
a private vehicle is a. mere trifle COM
pared with a similar breakdown on a
railway line rendering public service.
There is a good reason to believe
that for the field where the independ-
ent motor car is really economical, T.
E., the backwoodss a steam car should
be superior to anything Of the gaso-
line type. and from that point of view
the motor cars of half a dozen years
ago were better designs than those
now being exploited. We are well
aware Of the defects of those early
a<-- Eoe II
mistake that is now being repeated by
the gasoline car designers Of making
a car too big and heavy and putting
too much power in tin other words,
sacrificing too much to the matter of
speed. IN our opinion, high speed Is