Bisbee daily review., 1907-09-25
WILL ELECTRiFY TRAhS-bAy
 LINES
Southern Pacific Has Already Closed Contracts for Over S800,000 for Work at Fruit vale Power House.

NEW YORK, Sept 24.-- All quest tions as to the immediate execution of the Southern Pacihc's pIans to cleo. trify its trans-bay lines east of San Francisco has been disposed of by the closing of contracts aggregating be- tween $S00. 900 and $sOO,Ju0 for the Fruityale power house This central station will serve the oakland, Berke- ley, Alameda and Fru1tvale lines be- sides making provision for future needs. Including the expenditures for sub-stations and overhead work, the cost of carrying out these plans is in the neishborhood of s2,V00, ,00O.
 The contracts were let in New York by Mr.A. H. Babcoc.z. electrical engineer of the Southern Pacific Co. The Parker Boiler co. Of Philadelphia. received the order for boilers. H. R. Worthington for condensers and steam auxiliaries. the Westinghouse Machine Co. for the turoines and gen orators. and the General Electric Co. for motors and other car equipment.
 The Alameda lines VIII be first transformed to electrical traction. then will follow the lines that serve Oakland, Berkeley ana Fruitvale. By erecting it's own power house at the latter point, the company counts upon generating power even cheaper than 1t can be bought from the electric transmission lines running from the Sierra Nevada mountains. Cars will be run in solid trains with an electric motor at each end of the train, the power being delivered from an over head trolley. Although seating eighty persons these cars are so designed that they can discharge a full quota of passengers in a minute and a half.
 A system of elevated tracks is plan ned for the purpose of enabling the passengers to reach the upper decks of tne- fern, steamers Oakland mole has already been materially wfd- ened and provided with overhead tracks and trains to facilitate rapid handling of traffic
 The Alameda mole will be devoted exclusively to suburban travel. and the new electric lines now provided for will be equipped for high speed and comfort. oakland and Berkeley trains are served from Oakland mole. which is able not only to take care of this traffic. but also to receive over land and other trains
 This costly conYersioz of steam rail- ways into electric lines Is now under way, made necessary by the great in- crease in travel across san Francisco bay. The normal growth of this traffic was greatly accelerated by the San Francisco disaster, many who were then forced to move to the east ern shore of the bay still remaining there. Before the fire of last year the Southern Pacific ferries carried about a million passengers a month Since then this traffic has doubled. keeping above the two million mark and only showing a decrease recently as a re- suit of the restoration of more nor maj conditions. Three new ferry steamers are being built to accommo- date the constantly increasing travel over these lines. Since this ferry sys- fem was established. soo.0oo. .oo5 pas sengers have crossed San Francisco bay. Of whom only three have been killed. or one out of every hundred million.
 The fullest confidence of the south ern Pacific in the continued growth of